Going Home Again (Part 2)

In my last post, I wrote about  my upcoming weekend trip to Target Field to see the New York Mets play the Minnesota Twins.

On Friday evening I got to Target Field where the gametime temperature was 34 degrees.  This really isn't baseball weather.  But apparently the Mets didn't seem to mind as they proceeded to score 5 runs in their first at bat.  They scored ANOTHER 5 runs in the second frame and led 10-2 after two innings of play.  So maybe they were just used to the cold.

But prior to the start of the game I made my way through the gates and up to my seating level.  I was warmly greeted by two former co-workers not long after reaching the club seating level.  I started to get the feeling that this may not be as bad of an experience as I had first thought.

 I saw a number of people who have remained with the team as ushers and whom I supervised over a decade ago.  It was so great to see these people.  They all greeted me warmly and told me that I still looked the same as I did then.

I had people come by and visit me after they had heard that I was in the ballpark, some contacting me via text.

It was a great experience both days.  The Mets won twice over the local nine and a great many Mets fans stopped to chat about our team as they wore the orange and blue, just like I was.

I had a great tour on Saturday of the ballpark that I helped push for when I toiled at 501 Chicago Avenue.  Target Field is an amazing place.  It is incredibly well thought-out as far as functionality  and aesthetics. A beautiful place to be sure.  Target Field is the 16th stadium of the 30 current ballparks that I have visited.

The third game of the series was postponed today due to inclement weather, aka winter hasn't ended yet.  The rescheduled date is Monday August 19th.  I look forward to this trip as much as I did this one.  But I will certainly feel more at ease the next time and know that I really COULD go back home again.

I realized today that the biggest thing that worried me about returning to the home of the Twins is that I had been forgotten.  I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but I believe that to be the actual truth more than anything else.

My weekend was a great one and I am very thankful to everyone who made it so

Thomas Wolfe wasn't exactly right.

At least not this time.

I'm just sayin'