Everyone Remembers Their First

Everyone remembers their first..  That sentence is usually tied to one's first sexual experience. But it doesn't matter what first you're talking about.  Whether that be your first pet, your first kiss or first concert, these are things that humans tend to lock away deep in their memories and can recall at a moment's notice.

Well maybe you have heard there is this little band called the Foo Fighters who this past weekend played this little ballpark called Fenway. I've seen a number of shows there and I'll be honest, the acoustics aren't great. And, as long as we're being honest, it's not that great for watching a ballgame either. It's an amazing park, but the seats suck, they don't even face the field half the time and more often than not the product on the field isn't even worth watching. But I digress..

For a long time it has been a goal of mine, a bucket list item if you will, to sit front row at a concert. And unless you count being belly up to the stage for Letters to Cleo and Bare Naked Ladies at Smith College in the mid 90s front row (which I don't), it was still on the list. Until Saturday.

I was lucky enough to go to this show with my wife and 2 friends and sat front row, right in front of a wall of bass amplifiers. I truly thought my heart was going to explode during the Mighty Mighty Bosstones set. Thankfully, the Foo Fighters are not a bass heavy band and Taylor Hawkins, the drummer was set on the opposite side of the stage. Again, having never officially sat that close for a show before I had no idea what I was in for. I was able to see small interactions between the band as well as between the band and friends that were offstage which was interesting.

I had always wondered what it was like to sit front row, and now I know.. it's LOUD! Thankfully we were wearing ear plugs because we're not that young anymore and actually value our hearing.. But it was such a different perspective, turning around and looking at tens of thousands of people behind me was weird. And although I enjoyed it, I don't need to do it again. I can cross it off the bucket list and move on to something else.

And that something else was enjoying a Foo Fighters concert with my boys. They are still young (8 in September), however they have been listening to the Foo Fighters since they've been alive. We always told ourselves that we would not succumb to the Barney and Disney Radio crap.. If we were driving, they were going to listen to what we listened to. Hence, their music library consists of all sorts of music. (See earlier blog entitled Müzik, Μουσική, Musiikki)  For example, their favorite song right now is Fire by Jimi Hendrix. A friend's son is learning drums and he made a birthday mix of good drum songs and handed it out at the party. My boys listen to it every time they're in the car. Sadly, they have been asking if they can see Jimi in concert. I told them that unfortunately he is dead and has been for a long time. But, I know there are many people right there with them who would like to see him in concert.

Thankfully I am in a position where I was able to take them to this show and share their first concert experience with them. Everyone plays the game. You know, "what was your first concert"? Mine was Steve Miller Band at Great Woods (known by no other name) in the summer of 1992. We were CIT's at summer camp in NH and as a special night out trip we all got tickets to the show. We sat on what was known back then as "The Lawn". Great Woods is an amphitheater in Mansfield, MA that holds about 19K people. 10K in the lower seating area and then another 9K up on the lawn. This was pre cell phone days where you met someone at a place at a time and you went there. There was no "text me when you get there" or "change of plans we're going here instead". You had to wade through thousands of people just to get the side of the lawn to go to the bathroom, get something to eat, etc. There are very large cement poles that tell you what section you're in if you are in the lower bowl area. Well people on the lawn used to use those as markers so you knew about where you were. And then you used that pole and and an approximation of how far up the lawn you were so you could meet back up with your group. An inexact science at best, yet we always seemed to manage to meet back up with our friends. But after numerous iterations of "the lawn" going from grass, to mulch, to sand, etc they have now turned it into actual rows of seats which makes it more difficult for larger groups to sit together, dance, etc. Oh well, another part of my youth gone.. 

But everyone has a first concert and everyone has that conversation with people regardless of who they are. And it doesn't matter what it was. Oftentimes kids were taken to a show by their parents because either a) they thought it would be a nice night out or b) the parents had tickets and couldn't get a babysitter. But this show was something I knew the boys would want to see and I wanted to share it with them. Again, they've grown up listening to this band and know about 10-11 songs. That is probably more than some of the people that were there to be honest. They were able to sing along to some of the them and had no problem dancing around and just being mesmerized at the live performance that was happening right in front of them. 

As I've said before, life is full of experiences and this opportunity was one I was not about to pass up.

Cross another one off my bucket list too. It's something that they will never ever forget, nor will I. 

Now batting....

It's official!  The Twins of Anarchy have been signed by the Red Sox!!  Well, not the Boston Red Sox unfortunately, the Little League version of the Red Sox..  But hey, still better than being on the Yankees..

And it's so amazing to see them be on the field, taking grounders, catching pop ups, hitting off a tee against the backstop. It seems like just the other day Max was moving the toys away from Mitch because he couldn't crawl and therefore would have no toys to play with.. Now I can just envision them being in the middle of a 6-4-3 double play..

I'm just wondering when this happened... I mean, I throw grounders to them in the yard and we work on pop ups and hitting off a tee. However they never played T-Ball. There's something different when they're actually physically on a baseball diamond, in an infield position fielding ground balls.

Their first practice of the season was on Monday. And here is one of them, with his hat backwards in the ready position to field the ground ball. He watches it into his glove, scoops it up and takes it out and throws it right back into my glove like he had done it a thousand times..  I said "great job, that's the way to field a ground ball" while pointing my glove at him.. He points back with his glove in acknowledgement and starts to jog to the end of the line..

It was one of those moments that makes you proud to be a father.. But it was also kind of scary realizing that they're not always going to be my little boys.. They are going to grow up, and faster that I would like them to. They're already almost 8 which if you've been following this blog and/or just know their story, is an amazing feat in and of itself.

So I'll keep my dream alive of course of watching them at Fenway turning the double play for the Red Sox. But for now, I'll just enjoy pointing gloves at each other and being proud.

Spoiled

So my job comes with some perks like sporting event tickets, concerts, restaurant gift certificates, etc.. But this perk I got on my own.

I won a weekend stay at a Hilton Hotel in Philadelphia from a raffle. Coincidentally enough, I happen to know the manager of the hotel. My family and I were heading down to NY for our annual cousins weekend and then we were going to continue on to Philadelphia for a family vacation. We'd do some historical tours in Philly, take in a Phillies game, go to the zoo, etc. But we needed to change the raffle award to weeknights instead of a weekend to accommodate the dates we would be there.

I was not only able to get a great deal on 3 nights at the hotel, but got upgraded to a suite. So when we finally got to the hotel, we walk in and to the right was a small kitchen, to the left an enormous bathroom and a King size bed. There were couches, chairs and a work area as well. Then, we took the boys to the adjoining room which was to be theirs. They found a TV, a bathroom and a queen size bed all for them! Needless to say they were super psyched. That was also the weekend that Douglas started pooping in the potty.. I doubt there's any correlation, but you never know.

The reason for the back story is because that was the first time they had ever been to a hotel. Just like the first time they ever gone to a Red Sox game, they were in a luxury box. (They're first Bruins game was in a box too). They literally ate their way through 4 innings of the game and we practically had to roll them out to the car. I hope they don't think that every sporting event is like that..

So we were in NY recently for my twin cousins' Bat Mitzvah and we were staying in a hotel. We opened up the door to the room which was just a standard room with 2 queen beds, etc, nothing fancy. Immediately, we hear:

Daniel: "Where are you guys sleeping"?

Douglas: "Where's the kitchen"?

Ugh.. Looks like I have some un-spoiling to do..

Crystal Ball

The lights are down..  The din of the crowd is not unlike that of a Yankees/Red Sox playoff game.. you know that din...

The anticipation of the crowd is growing with every passing second..  The best band in the world is about to come on stage and perform.

Then finally a riser from the back of the stage ascends from the bowels of the arena and the bass of the drums is heart-pounding..  The crowd starts to go crazy and the greatest rock show on earth has commenced..

I was recently told by one of my sons that he wants to be a drummer..  Allow me this moment..

When Life Gives You Lemons: Part 2

It started like any other..  A nice day to go with your dad to the ballpark to watch the hometown team..  I knew I wasn't going to have many more chances to do that so I wanted to get it in while I could.  My dad and I enjoyed a great day at Fenway on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend 2007.  My wife, completing her 28th week was just as happy to relax on the bed with the dog and sleep.

We both went to sleep fairly early that night knowing we both had the day off the next day for Labor Day.  Plus, it was a long day for me traveling to Boston, the game and getting back.  Even though it's only an hour away, an hour back and the game was 3 hours it turned into an all day thing..  Always does.  I can honestly say it was one of the most sound sleeps I had been in in a long time.  And then, around 1am, poke poke..

"Um, honey, I think I'm having contractions".

"Huh?"  Oh, ok I'll get the watch and the paper.  Having finished the birthing class about 2 weeks earlier, I knew what my role was.  We time contractions for about 30 minutes and they are all over the place.  My wife just doesn't feel right and wants to call the doctor which was fine.  She calls the local hospital which is affiliated with our hospital in Boston and who does she get?  The one doctor out of the 6 she had seen that she didn't like. That doctor wanted us to come to the closer hospital.  When my wife asked what would happen if she needed to deliver (remember she just finished her 28th week) the doctor said well they would deliver there and then send the babies to Boston.  So when she tried to confirm that we would just follow the ambulance after, the answer was no, you'll stay here..   Well, then that was a big fat no thanks.. we'll just go to Boston.  It's 2am and I'm sure there won't be any traffic..  we'll take our chances..

So I quickly packed a bag (thankfully) and we started off to Boston.  Unfortunately, the only way we knew that time to go was Route 9, which is ALWAYS under construction..  So someone who was having contractions and had to drive in a car going over unevenly paved road with exposed sewer caps, she was less than thrilled.

They say it never happens like it does in the movies..  I'm calling shenanigans..  that's EXACTLY the way it happens..  We pull up into the emergency zone, and I get her out of the car screaming, "I need a wheelchair and a doctor!" We wheel her into the hospital and fill out endless forms before we can enter..  We finally get brought into an area to get checked out by a doctor.  While my wife is being tended to, I'm being asked a whole host of questions..  I think I answered all of them, I really don't know..  I do know the nurse was very impressed I knew her social security number (my wife's, not the nurses.  That would be have awkward). Then, I heard a doctor say "I can feel a head.  we need to get you the delivery room stat!"  Ok, I don't know if she said stat, but I'm keeping with the whole movie theme..  They literally threw scrubs at me and pointed me to a bathroom to go change and meet them outside. 

Do you remember the scene in Pulp Fiction after Vincent Vega's date with Mia Wallace where he's in the bathroom contemplating whether he should sleep with her or not all while she's OD'ing on the super crank he had in his jacket?  That was kinda the scene here where I'm getting ready with these scrubs asking myself in the mirror if this is really happening or is it a dream..  How could they be here already we still have 3 months before they're supposed to be born, we're not ready, we don't have anything, etc.. While it seemed like an hour it was probably only a minute or so.  I came out of the bathroom to an empty hallway.  No one.  I thought that can't be good.

Finally I find someone that said my wife needed to be taken to the ER immediately and they couldn't wait.  I got directed where to go and by the time I got there, they had already closed the doors and unfortunately, I was not allowed to enter.  So once again, like in the movies, I am sitting there in the hallway pacing around by myself wondering what was going on.  Then, like an angel I hear a familiar voice, "Ben?"  Now, my wife always complains that I know someone wherever we go.  I ran into a fraternity brother on the plane to Hawaii for our honeymoon for example.  There isn't a sporting event, concert or random place we go to that I don't see someone I know.  However, this time I think she would be happy.

"Kristin?"  It was an old friend of mine from growing up who happened to be working that night and was heading into the ER where my wife was giving birth.  It was her job to make sure that once born the babies airways were clear and they were breathing well.  Let me tell you, not being allowed to be in that room was the worst feeling ever.  After hearing about everyone else's experiences being in the delivery room, being together, taking pictures and video, to know I wasn't going to get to do that was deflating.  I knew these were the only children we would have which means I will never get to experience it.  A hole that will always be vacated.

Behind the Bag

October 25th, 1986.  I had turned 10 that summer and it was a fantastic summer..  I had gone to overnight camp for the first time in a little slice of heaven up in Brookline, NH.  My sister had gone the year before for a month, but she said wasn't for her.  My parents said try it one more time and this time your brother will go too.  After the first month, visiting day came for the kids who stayed all summer and it was changeover day for the kids who only went one month.  When my parents came up to get us, they asked my sister how it was and she said she didn't want to go back.  I then promptly said "can I have her month?"  I loved it so much I wanted to go the entire summer..  I remember vividly waiting not so patiently every morning that July for a counselor or camper to have a Boston Globe (back when people read the Globe) so I could see how the Red Sox did the night before.  My camp saying in the yearbook was actually "So how did the Red Sox do last night?"  I guess I was a little obsessed.

But in 1986, what 10 year old wasn't?  Hell, what 40 year old wasn't?  Boston sports in 1986 was something to witness.  The Celtics had just finished wrapping up their 16th World Championship by dispatching the Houston Rockets in 6 games (FYI, 85-86 Celtics best TEAM ever.  Ever.)  The Patriots had made their impossible run to their first Super Bowl the season prior (let's just say they scored the first 3 points of the game and the last 7.  Who really remembers giving up 46 in between?)  I also had my first beer during that game.  Coors Gold.  Mmm, Coors Gold...  Lastly, the Bruins had unfortunately lost to the hated Habs in 7 games in the Adams Division Semis (back when there were real divisions, none of this Eastern Conference/Western Conference crap.  Wales and Campbell dammit!)

But the Red Sox were different.  Boston was still a baseball town first and the hometown 9 hadn't won a World Series since..  well, you know when, I don't need to say it..  They had come close many times before my time (1946, 1967, 1975).  But this team was great.  Clemens, Hurst, Boggs, Rice, Evans.. 
I mean these guys were so good.  I thought it was over though when they were down 3-1 to the California Angels before they became the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and then became the Anaheim Angels I believe before finally settling on.. oh I don't even know.. I remember hoping Dave Henderson would somehow just get on base in Game 5 to keep the season alive.  He had gone 2 for 4  to that point and my sister and I were chanting "2 for 4 let's make it 3 for 5"..  You're really creative when your 10 and 14, huh?  And then somehow Hendu launched one over the wall and the Sox would go on to win the series and face the Mets in the World Series. (RIP Donnie Moore)

Fast forward to Game 6.  Heading into the 10th the Sox scored 2 runs to make it 5-3.  1 out.  2 outs.  Hell 1 STRIKE AWAY! (wait, I don't have to give that perm-head any royalties for using that do I? Boston folks, you know who I mean) And then, it was like a dam overflowed and the levees broke and it just all fell apart.  For the record, I do not blame Buckner.  Never have.  Well, maybe at that specific moment I did, but once I was old enough to analyze everything, I didn't.  He should have never been in there to begin with.  All playoffs McNamara had put in Dave Stapleton as a defensive replacement.  It's what you do in the playoffs.  Why not now when it means the most?  I didn't get it then and I still don't get it now.  But I digress..

We all know what happened..  Until 2004 when the Red Sox finally won it all (thank you Joe Buck for ruining it) Game 6 was all anybody could talk about regarding the Red Sox, that and that stupid "curse" (more royalties)..  And 2007 thankfully put it all to bed.  But some people still don't forgive Buckner.  I don't get that either.  Would I be this calm if the Sox hadn't won it in 04 and/or 07?  Perhaps not.  But I still wouldn't blame Buckner.  He has made peace with it a lot sooner than some locals have.  He finally got up the nerve to come to Boston and throw out the first pitch at Fenway and received a raucous standing ovation that lasted easily over 5 minutes.  I didn't think he was going to make it to actually throwing the pitch.  He was clearly moved by the ovation and I think it finally hit him that people were over it.

For a while it didn't bother me to watch it.  In fact, there were times after 04 that I would go back and watch it just to prove it didn't bother me anymore.  But after this most recent monumental collapse, the turmoil that is the front office and who knows what to make of the on-field product, it gives me that feeling again. 

October 25th, 2011.  It was time for a bath.  I had asked the boys numerous times to come upstairs, to no avail (nothing new there).  The bath was ready and the water was starting to get cold.  Finally I come downstairs to turn off Super Hero Squad and what happened to be on was E:60 doing some sort of retrospective of the 25 year anniversary of The Error.  So of course, I had to sit.  Suddenly, I was mesmerized.  It was pre-2004 all over again.  And since the boys love the Red Sox, they were watching.  I said "boys, I hope you never have to go through the agony of what I went through watching this game"..  They had no idea what I was talking about.  And as they show the replay over and over and over and over and over, I was like seriously people!!!  How many times can you show a 5 second clip in 1 minute?  Well the answer evidently is 12..  (for those of you who need a math refresher, get a calculator).

Well, apparently Mitch had had enough as well because he said "daddy, it's time to turn it off now".  Yes Mitch, it certainly is.

I Will Always Remember..

So there is that section in your High School yearbook that says something like, "I Will Always Remember" or something to that effect. It was always something like parties at so and so's house, football games and then a bunch of initials and letters that no one understood except for a select few people.. And I can guarantee you now that not even those select few people remember that they mean.

Well, I Will Always Remember Max and Mitch’s first Red Sox game.  It initially started when we told them we would take them if they started pooping on the potty..  It worked pretty well as Max is 100% trained and Mitch, well Mitch does ok.  A lot of kids regress sometimes during potty training so we’re not too worried.  But he’s done well enough to warrant still going..  (like not taking him was even an option)..

Well after weeks and weeks of  telling them it was coming, the day was finally here.  They wore Red Sox shirts because they were so excited and I brought their Wally shirts for the actual game in case they wanted to change.  After picking them up from school, we headed to the train.  First words out of Max’s mouth, “Are we there yet”?  Ugh, if this is how it’s going to go this is not going to be fun.  We were heading to Alewife and had about a 25 minute or so drive. But thankfully it went quickly..  So when Max asked me again and we actually were there I said, “yes, we are here”..

Max: “Mitch, did you hear that?  We’re here now.”

Mitch: “YEAH, I KNOW”, like Max had been saying it for the past 10 minutes…

Sometimes all you can do is laugh..  They are funny kids.

Anyway, they were very excited to ride the red train.  They were kept busy by Angry Birds and Mitch flirting with a girl on the T.  I swear he would have had a marriage proposal in another 5 minutes if we didn’t have to get off at Park St.  It’s those lashes, they get them every time..  The transfer to the Green train as it is known was pretty easy.  Got right on and got seats. Thankfully I remembered to take the bags of Cheez-Its from their lunches that they didn’t eat so they would have a snack.  I opened a bag for each of them because God forbid they actually share.  Max takes 1 Cheez-It and says I’m done.  Mitch of course does the same.  So now I have 2 open bags of Cheez-Its minus 1 Cheez-It each.  Typical.

But thankfully our stop came and we got out and met their mother, the Yankee fan on Comm Ave. (maybe a little show on CBS can take a cue on exactly how easy it actually is to meet someone's mother). The boys were very excited to go see Wally the Green Monster who lives at Fenway Park.  That’s all they kept talking for weeks.  So we walked through Kenmore Square and up towards Fenway.  Once inside on Yawkey of course we had to go in to the Souvenir Store where we promptly bought the boys green Red Sox hats (Wally color) and little Wally dolls.  Those Wally dolls ended up being life-savers..  On Yawkey Way a woman was very nice and was willing to take pictures of us.. Not that it mattered as Max rarely ever looks at the camera.  So we then went in so I could take the boys up the ramp to get a look at the field for the first time..  We went right down to home plate behind the net so they could see the entire park.  The bad thing about having twins is that there’s always an even ratio.  1 parent for each kid so it’s hard to take pictures..  I would have loved to have gone ahead and taken a picture of the boys’ faces when they saw the park for the first time..  But I guess you can’t have everything..

An usher then told us we couldn’t be down there without tickets, even though it was only 615p and the game wasn’t starting for an hour.  So it was off to the seats as the boys were getting a little restless.  They thought going up the escalator was very cool and loved seeing all the pictures of the Red Sox and the replica plaques of the Hall of Fame members.  Thankfully we were the first ones in the box.  The boys hadn’t even been in the box for 5 seconds before they found the popcorn and pretzels.  They made themselves comfortable on the big stools in front of the window and proceeded to eat everything they could find. Mitch had his first Fenway Frank and Max had his first Fenway Chicken Tender..  Overall they ate Fenway Franks, Chicken Tenders, popcorn, pretzels, pizza, ice cream, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, melon, red grapes, green grapes, orange and watermelon.  Thankfully this wasn’t all in the first 10 minutes.  Combined they only weight about 60 pounds.  I seriously do not know where they put it (or how they kept it all down).

People started to arrive and we went outside to the seats to hear the national anthem and the moment of silence for Mike Flanagan.  I was very proud of Max for being quiet and respectful through both of them.  However the cheering after the anthem proved to be a little loud for him so he went back inside.  watch a bit, go back inside, eat something, etc.. But everyone there was very cool and loved the fact it was their first game. Even the people in the box next to us were nice and interacting with the boys. 

Around the 4^th inning or so, lo and behold, the ice cream cart arrived!!  So needless to say the boys had to have ice cream in a Sox helmet..  I mean, it’s a rite of passage no?  While ice cream at 815p might not have been the best idea we’ve ever had, it certainly did stop them from continuously running into the wall and the door, even for just a short time.

Then, the Green Monster hit.. Literally..  They both said I want to go home.  And that was the end of that.  They had a good run.  Like Loyola Marymount in 1990.  But they needed to go home. The fact that they didn’t have a nap at school, either of them and still made it to 845p was very impressive.  And they didn’t run out onto the field which was even MORE impressive..

I’d say their first game was a rousing success.  They ate, they watched, they had fun.  And other than the Hokey Pokey, isn’t that really what it’s all about?

Unfortunately, they didn’t get to hear Dirty Water, but this is just the first game of many more to come..