Rainy Day Bowling

It's been raining in Southern California for the past few weeks.  Unfortunately, my garage flooded and I lost some items I won't be able to replace but I am thankful for what I have.

On this rainy day, I thought it would be a good idea to go bowling and have some fun.  I haven't been bowling for years and I figured it would be a nice place to be since it's a place where people are always smiling.  There's no crying in bowling, I suppose.  Even if you bowl a gutter ball, it's no big deal and the more you can laugh at yourself, the more fun you will have.  Because really, the sport is silly and there is no way you can be serious playing.  Don't get me wrong, there are some serious players out there but on this night, it was all for fun.

I scored over 100 which was a personal record for me, I think.

Red Sox Baseball: An American Tradition at Fenway Park

I wouldn't call myself a "baseball fan."  I enjoy sports but I never really got into the sport of baseball.  There are baseball fans, and then there are Red Sox fans.  You know you are getting close to Boston when most cars have red sox stickers on them and you can't walk down the street without coming across someone wearing Red Sox attire or seeing it on a billboard, on packaging, on signs or overhearing it in conversations that usually go something like, "blah blah, blah...Red Sox, blah, blah, wicked, etc."

Even during the game, there were fans sitting right behind me talking about players, how much money they were getting, their stats and the like.  No, not just for a few minutes....it went on the entire game.

Young and old, fans came out to support the team even though they aren't the best team in the league. I believe a lot of it has to do with tradition.  If you grow up going to the games, you will continue to go when you are older to remember the time you were there when you were younger.  I didn't grow up going to games but I do remember watching the Braves with my grandparents at their house each time I went to visit.  It was a tradition to watch with the TV full blast and when the commercials would come on my grandfather would put it on mute and let out a big, "whew" (being that the TV was so loud) and my grandmother saying, "isn't Andruw Jones the cutest thing?"

As simple as a baseball game is, be prepared to come hungry for junk food and pack extra cash in your wallet.  Everything is at least ten times as expensive as it would be at the store and there are lines to wait in to get just about anything you are craving like a hot dog, pizza, twirling giant pretzels that have been on for hours, ice cream, chowda, popcorn, peanuts and did I mention hot dogs?  I was surprised to see veggie dogs at one stand so I asked to see one and it looked like a dehydrated vienna sausage so I passed.

If anything, it was a sight to see and an experience to have once in a lifetime.  Fenway Park is one of the best stadiums to see a game since it hasn't changed much since it opened April 20, 1912.   The green monster is still run by hand and Pesky's Pole is full of signatures...in fact, one idiot climbed up during the game to get his name on the pole and stood there to wait for security to take him away as fans cheered him on and booed the police.

Thank you Ronnie for taking me to the game so I was able to step on board the Red Sox fan mothership and experience traditions that will live on for years to come.  Next time, I know you will get on the big screen singing "Sweet Caroline."

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