The last time I was in Nationals Park, the crowd was silent. All that could be heard was the distant celebration of the Los Angeles Dodgers who had just eliminated the Nationals from the National League playoffs.
The sad feeling that comes with the last loss of the season soon gives way to the reality that the next baseball game will come, at the earliest, in April. In between there is cold and dark.
I have had enough of cold and dark.
So I rode my bike to the baseball game. The goofy new bike valet didn’t bother me. The fact that the gates were closed didn’t bother me. They opened soon enough. I sat here:
The sun came out. Abe won the presidents’ race. A home run landed four seats away from me. Jose Lobaton played. He’s our back up catcher who spends most of his time on the bench looking through goggles made from solo cups. Lobe scored a run. Lobeee!
I got to see Michelle. It required supplemental oxygen to get to her seat. You can see her in this picture.
Okay, I lied.
She brought her parents. And her boyfriend. He’s a Sherpa. I am not making this up. I forgot his name. It might be Tenzing. I could be wrong. Forgetting names is my superpower. Michelle writes an awesome blog. You should read it. Michelle is a banquet in a lumberjack shirt. Sadly, Michelle is not a relief pitcher. We could have used one today. The Nats lost 4-2.
But that’s not important. I saw a baseball game for the first time in six months. I drank a beer. Okay, three, but who’s counting? I sat in the sun and got sunburned. I saw Michelle. She’s worth the climb. I rode my bike.
I didn’t get hit by an SUV.
I was home. Again.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
Root Root for the Home Team! I should have been at the Mariners Game on Friday to mark the occasion of Ken Griffey’s new statue at Safeco Field but I am waiting until at least July before I start letting the M’s get my hopes up only to let them down for the 16th year in a row (sad trombone). Still the worst day at the ballpark is better than the best day at work right?