(Nats Stadium at dusk with rain coming in. Photo Socotra.)
I was at the desk, looking over some financials. There were many balls in the air; more than I knew possible.
The skies were ominous to the west; we were supposed to go to a Nationals game with Joe, since his hometown Cards were in town for a three-day engagement.
He had some fabulous tickets to the Diamond-level concourse, and entirely new way to witness a ball game and a unique sporting experience in which there is no particular reason to watch the field at all if you don’t care to.
Included with the cost of the ticket is an open bar (beer and wine only, real alcohol extra) and complementary buffet stations, with everything from traditional hot dogs to clams and pasta, salads and steamer round.
(Traditional Ball Park fare in the Diamond Suite: dogs and popcorn shrimp. Photo Socotra.)
(It is a new world: healthier fare at buffet station two. Photo Socotra.)
This is a long way from the bleacher seats at old Tiger Stadium in Detroit, and it sounded like fun.
I was thinking about that, and Annook’s periodic reporting through the day about the state of the construction project that had to be completed before she took off to go home. She sent pictures, and I have to say she pulled off something pretty amazing.
(Annook’s masterpiece kitchen. Now we only have to figure out how to pay for it. Photo Annook.)
I was pleased with what Annook had accomplished, and she could go back to Alaska. I was basking in the sense that we were actually moving forward when I got the call from a friend about another friend.
It was shortly before I was going to wrap things up and head to Big Pink to change clothes. Apparently our friend had shot herself Monday, from what the Police could tell. She had been an officer of the court, and had a Glock. The Medical Examiner will have more on the details of it, since death by gunshot always needs to be checked out by the authorities.
So, I thought, going down on the elevator, our friend had been lying there for nearly three days, if the estimate of time-of-death was correct. I had no idea things were so bad. She must have felt there was no way out.
I stopped by Joe’s place to beg off on the game, since I was pretty shook up. He said that I could go upstairs and stew about it or go out. Crowd would take the mind off things. He had a point, though I was a little dubious. He mentioned the open bar, and I decided to get changed and go.
It turned out to be a great game, and the food was good and Kelly kept the white wine coming, though it was not nearly as good as Willow’s Happy Hour White.
St. Louis trailed 4-2 going into the eighth and forced extra innings against the Nationals’ top two relievers.
As it turned out, Reliever Fernando Salas Fernando gave up a three-run homer to Danny Espinosa in the bottom of the 10th to boost the Nats to a 7-4 sweep of the series against the Cards, who have now dropped six straight.
We were not there to see it, though. I had to ask Joe to get me out of there, since the crowd was closing in on me, and it didn’t seem like there was any way out.
(Cards stage a late rally as Vic gets agoraphobia. Photo Socotra.)
Copyright 2011 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com