take me out to the crowd

Every year we look forward to that one week when the Red Sox come to the Bay Area. We get tickets to as many games as we can, we steal out of work early and head to Oakland to watch the game. I've talked before about what it means to live with a Bostonian, and this is part of the package. I secretly like the A's (don't tell Chicky). I like the A's because they are scrappy; they have a crappy stadium in a crappy part of town, their payroll is small, they lose guys constantly to bigger teams. And yet they keep winning. They have spirit, those guys.

Our ritual includes avoiding paying for parking by parking nearby in a lousy area. We invariably get hit up for money on the walk to the stadium every single time, last night included. There is always (as you can see from my lousy camera phone picture - by the way, Chicky, that's Big Papi at bat) a ton of Sox fans in the park, almost seeming to equal the A's fans. It's always loud, always fun, and almost always, a fight breaks out. Last night was no different, this time the mini-riot was nearby and took multiple security guards to disassemble. It's painful to watch a guy bounce down some stadium seating; a Sox fan at that. Dude. Respect the home team advantage.

I generally get along with everyone because I can go either way. If the A's made a good play, I cheer. Same for the Sox. I'm equal opportunity. It probably annoys J but I remind him that the A's payroll is microscopic in comparison to the Sox. We both love the underdog. The A's won last night and in final analysis I decided that was fine by me. They played a great game.

But even though last night's game was awesome, an 11 inning extravaganza at that, what I was most struck by were the hawkers. The malteds and the churros, the pizzas and the peanuts. The men and women of all ages running up and down the aisles selling their wares. That looks like a shit job, hawking. And I know enough to know the pay is shit too. And they get yelled by drunks. Those boxes they carry on their shoulders don't look fun either, all those ice cream sandwiches and cotton candy inside.

There was one old guy in particular who broke my heart. He was easily in his 60's, running up and down the stairs selling churros while looking so tired. He must need the job badly, as it seemed hard for him to do. But he kept smiling. I noticed how he cheered when the A's scored a run. You know how sometimes you see someone and they are instantly in your heart for no tangible reason? It was like that with this guy. But he was busy and there was really nothing I could do but notice.

In other and much more exciting news, our Just Post fundraising project is doing so, so well. Mad's nifty thermometer shows we've already raised $1,145 and we still have 5 days to go till the 10th. I can't thank everyone enough who's given money and written posts about our project. We've already raised enough to pay all the expenses for all eleven kids for one whole month. Blogosphere, you rock. Don't stop now.

I, on the other hand, suck at photo placement so I don't know how to get rid of all that dead space up there next to the thermometer. But so it goes.