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April 21, 2009
Marathon Man
Patriot’s Day means three things in Massachusetts, the Boston Red Sox will play at 11 a.m., and the Boston Marathon will be run, and state workers will have the day off.
I was fortunate enough to be invited by a friend who conveniently lives on Beacon St., right around the 23 mile mark, to stop by and watch the festivities from there.
It seems that getting to the Marathon itself is kind of well, a marathon. State officials make it a point to tell the public to use public transportation. What they fail to realize is that many people have to use private transportation to get to the public transportation.
I traveled to Oak Grove in Malden to use P.T., but got shut out of a parking space there. Fortunately, I was early enough at Wellington Station to get one of the few remaining parking spots, and from there, made my way to the dreaded Green Line.
Between the Red Sox and Marathon crowd, one could only hope to squeeze or be squeezed onto a Green Line car. I retreated to the well of the steps of the car, fortunately on the side where the doors weren’t opening, and had to stand in an awkward position, keeping my weight on one leg to avoid being crushed my the throngs of people. Still, I found myself forced into some intimate moments with total strangers. My positioning forced me to make a new friend as eye was at eye level with a woman sitting in the first chair by the door I was at. Over the P.A. system the conductor scolded us like school children, repeatedly yelling, “Move all the way in! Watch the doors! Watch the doors!”
If she’d yelled “Raus! Raus!” I would’ve gotten nervous.
As luck would have it, I arrived at my destination just in time to catch the leaders coming by. You can tell by the slow speed of the motorcycle police coming down Beacon Street that the lead runners are arriving and that it’s not and attempt to pull over an errant motorist.
The winners, Ethiopia's Deriba Merga and Kenya's Salina Kosgei, come by and then the trickle of elite runners make their way past. Shortly thereafter, more and more runners go by and eventually the solid, but non-elite runners start to arrive en masse. As the line continues, more and more runners are walking. I find myself trying to encourage them with shouts of “You can do it!” or “Just three miles to go!”
It hits me how ridiculous this sounds. That makes it sounds like three miles is easy, when I know that I could not run the final three miles, much less the previous 23 that they’ve just run.
“You can do it!”?
Hell, I know that I can’t do it. In fact, I find myself feeling guilty for getting tired just clapping for ten minutes for people who have now run 23 miles.
The wheelchair athletes courageously make their way past, and deservedly get plenty of support.
One guy has clearly given up, judging by the fact that he is now walking with a Bud Light can in his hand, no less. Glad to see he followed a strict training regimen.
A female runner veers close to the curb and screams, “I need water! I need water!”
Fortunately, a woman a few feet away, who has her infant in a stroller, has a small bottle of water in her hand and removes the cap and hands it to the runner, who continues on her way. It might’ve been interesting to see what would have happened if she gave the runner the bottle of formula attached to the stroller.
It was right around then when the less serious runners come by. Super Heroes were well represented, with Captain America, Wonder Woman and Batman all making an appearance. No doubt, marathoners get asked a lot “Why on earth would you want to run 26 miles?” Perhaps an even more pertinent question is “Why on earth you would want to run 26 miles in a Batman costume?”
Also, a man with a blonde wig (with pig tails) comes by dressed as a Hooters waitress.
Other entertainment includes a tuba player and a man playing a sort of tom-tom or small kettledrum. One would never think that a tuba could be so melodic. Then a woman chimes in with her fife, much to the seeming annoyance of the tuba player who is forced by her to continuously play the song “Mama’s Little Baby Loves Shortening” (or whatever it’s called). My party host, Mike Donovan, videotapes the proceedings and joins in on tambourine, which seems to annoy the fife player. You can tell from her reaction in Mike’s video that she’s a little miffed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5jvrbHf5Ws&feature=channel
The Green Line train ride home wasn’t nearly as crowded, but with the Red Sox and Marathon traffic dispersing, takes an interminable hour. There is some entertainment as a young man on the train decides to use his cell phone to videotape the big drunk guy a few feet away. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to sober up and find that on YouTube some day.
So, if you know someone who ran the Boston Marathon, buy him or her a well-deserved beer…or Gatorade…or some deodorant.
Posted by dmargarita at 5:28 PM
Video Premiere
Hello, all...here's a video of a song I performed at an open mic coffeehouse a while back. You may recall a big hit in the 80's by a guy named Tommy Tutone (definitely a stage name) called "Jenny 867-5309." You may also recall that back in the days when you weren't required to dial the area code, many people dialed 867-5309 on a whim to see who would answer. This caused a commotion and legend has it that Tommy Tutone got sued. Well, I kind of wondered what might have happened to Jenny some 20 years later, so here you go and enjoy. You may have to copy and paste this to your browser to view it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBxyYUmr03E
Posted by dmargarita at 4:00 PM
April 7, 2009
Grapefruit Notes
With the baseball season officially underway, it seems like a good time to reflect on my recent visit to Spring Training, where the skies were blue, the weather was warm and…well, that in itself is enough.
Southwest Airlines doesn’t charge for checking luggage, but they seem to have invested in hiring comedy writers for their flight attendants.
Mar. 15---That aside, my first game was at Dunedin where the Toronto Blue Jays were hosting the Cincinnati Reds. We sit on the third base and for perhaps the first time ever, I remember to put sun block on to avoid the usual first-day burn. There’s not a lot of legroom, but that’s okay since we essentially have the row to ourselves. That way we don’t have to inconvenience too many people to get in and out. At one point we hear a thud behind us and realize that an elderly gentleman sitting in the last row has fallen over, due to a defective chair. Conveniently, one of the booming businesses in Florida seems to be injury law, judging by the amount of billboards with lawyer ads that abound.
Mar. 16---Again we’re back at Dunedin but the Blue Jays are playing the Red Sox, whose following extend to the Grapefruit League. Parking lots that were charging $10 the day before are now charging $20. We have the exact same seats but since today’s opponent is the Red Sox, the place is packed. Inconveniencing people to go to the concession stand becomes necessary. The Red Sox do their due diligence and we get to see regulars J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury, along with some top prospects. The Sox still manage to win.
One of the problems of big crowds at a ballgame…it provides more targets for foul balls. Seeing as there tend to be a lot of elderly patrons in Florida, folks who may move a bit slower than they used to, that increases the odds of a fan being hit. No less than two patrons are struck by foul balls, and an EMT attending to one fan is nearly also struck. Later, I’m unable to exit to the concourse as EMT’s are attending to yet a third patron.
The night game is in Bradenton, where the Pirates are hosting the defending American League Champs, the Tampa Bay Rays. It’s a nice old ballpark, although we still don’t have much legroom. A Pirates fan in front of us seems overly disturbed that his team is losing. Considering it’s late in the game, it’s a meaningless exhibition game and his team is now fielding players wearing numbers like “97” and will probably not be seen again this season, his worry seems needless. Then again, if you’re a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, you’ll take any win you can get, even if it’s in Spring Training.
Mar. 17---The day game is in Lakeland, where the Detroit Tigers host the Houston Astros. This place has come a long way since my first trip here. It seemed pretty exotic back then that they sold tuna sandwiches, instead of just hot dogs and pizza. Now they sell a wide variety of foods for just about all palates. Another plus is that it’s the first ballpark on the trip so far with actual legroom.
It’s overcast so sun block seems unnecessary but it turns out that those who say that you need sun block on those days the most, are correct. I wind up getting more of a burn that when it’s actually sunny out.
The night game is in Tampa. That’s where we watch the N.Y. Yankees take on the Pirates. If my late, super-Irish aunt, Ruth McGillicuddy O’Toole Murphy knew that I was spending St. Patrick’s Day at George Steinbrenner Field watching the Yankees, she’d be rolling over in her grave. Perhaps she did know and had something to do with the rain we wind up getting.
Out hotel that night is an old favorite, a Howard Johnson’s located on Dale Mabry Drive. It used to be an old favorite anyway, when there was a Dunkin’ Donuts next door. There’s still the “2001 Nude” club a couple of doors down, though. They’re a friendly bunch, judging by the sign that reads “NUDE GIRLS WELCOME BASEBALL FANS.” Unfortunately, there’s no place to respond with “Baseball fans welcome nude girls.”
Mar. 18---There’s only a day game for us since the only night game is too far away. That day game would be in Clearwater, the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s a great new ballpark, highlighted by the tiki bar in left field that remains open after the game, complete with a guitarist-singer. Those familiar with the Fenway Park policy of two beers-per-patron policy, might be thrown by the ability to purchase multiple beers, including a “bucket of beer” for $27.
Mar. 19---The day game is at Port Charlotte, home of the St. Louis Cardinals who face the Rays. Sorry, not much of interest note to report here other than Tampa shortstops making three throwing errors in the game. A good chance for souvenirs…if you’re sitting behind first base.
The night game is in Sarasota, home of the Cincinnati Reds. Well, it’s not their home for long. Next year they’ll be moving their Spring Training facilities to Arizona. What’s even sadder is that any merchandise commemorating their time in Sarasota is long sold out. The good news is that they’re playing the Red Sox. Major League Baseball requires (or at least’s requests) that traveling teams send at least two regular starting players. They figure that if fans are traveling hundreds of miles and spending a ton of dough to see your favorite team, you ought to see at least a couple of players whose name you’ll recognize. As a road game for the Red Sox, the team sends few regulars. Well, one actually and that’s shortstop Jed Lowrie, and he’s a starter mainly because of an injury to probable starting shortstop Julio Lugo.
Mar. 20---The big day, in that we make the ridiculously long drive to Ft. Myers to see the Red Sox play at home. I’ve managed to snag media credentials for this one, but we manage to miss an exit off of the highway and I don’t get there until after the game starts. It becomes a bit of a hassle to get the credentials but it happens, although I later find out it causes some consternation with the Sox press corps.
Mar. 21---Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are generally day game only days, so our day game is back in Clearwater. The highlight comes after the game when we make our first stop ever at the original Hooters restaurant. I mean…I like baseball…
Mar. 22---The last game for me is back at Lakeland. Not quite as sunny and warm as earlier in the week, but I make every effort to get as much sun as possible so that I can keep my color for as long as possible.
After all, what good is going to Florida in March if you can’t rub it in to your friends?
Posted by dmargarita at 11:20 PM