The bright white of the naval uniforms was almost blinding as I spotted the four sailors outside Wrigley Field today. Like the rest of us, they were waiting to see if any tickets became available for the Memorial Day game against the Marlins. Apparently it was a hot ticket with all the tourists in town for the long weekend.
"You guys looking for tickets?" asked a gentleman who, by his age, was probably no stranger to military service.
"Yes, sir," came the reply.
"Not anymore," he said, handing each a field box seat ticket and shaking their hands. "They're down the first base line. Have a good time."
I just LOVE when stuff like that happens!
Although they weren't free, I scored some pretty good seats for both Firecracker and myself.
I always enjoy the pre-game festivities on Memorial Day with Wayne Messmer adding "God Bless America" to his usual performance of the National Anthem. The Cubs really did it up right this year, as Challenger, a bald eagle, was set loose from a perch high in the center field bleachers. Magestic is the word that came to mind as we watched Challenger sail on the crosswinds before finally coming in to land on the arm of his handler just as Messmer reached the crescendo of the Star Spangled Banner.
One of the main marketing ploys the Cubs feature in the pre-game activities is the throwing out of the ceremonial "first"pitch. Usually, it's the assistant vice-president of some meat-packing company that wants some extra publicity. Pretty tiresome.
But not today.
Lt. Bryan Anderson had a baseball in his hand when he linked arms with his brother to take the field. A few people chuckled when Bryan knelt down to kiss the ground in front of the pitcher's mound. It was a completely different emotion that took over, however, when the triple-amputee Iraqi war veteran used his only remaining limb to throw a fastball to relief pitcher Angel Guzman.
Happy Memorial Day.
Monday, May 28, 2007
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