11 Apr, 2005 – Boston, MA. Game Day. This is it! Happy Birthdays! Kielbasas from Uncle Tom. Train to Kenmore. Souvenirs. Conspicuous consumption. Pictures. Interviewed by Channel 4 (birthday boys from San Fran here for Opening Day, etc., etc.). Stay on Yawkey after everyone else thrown out (trick is to keep moving). Gates open. Field of Dreams! Batting practice. First base line. Just miss one. Damon. Ortiz. Millar. Mueller. More. Head for seats. Great Seats #1 and 2 at end, row 8. Sun warm. Skies blue blue. Perfect. Seatmate Eric goes 275, played football for Syracuse 98-02. Thrilled to meet 56 lb Stephen. Can’t fit his a$$ in the seat, but Stephen gives him lots of shoulder room. Instant best buds. Stephen visits bullpen fence, Yank tosses him a ball. Keeper. Birthday boy from San Fran story makes its rounds, folks stop by to say hi, congratulate him, buy him ice cream. All with such nice accents! Ceremony On! Flags, Pops/Symphony playing “2001,” banners 1903, … 1918… Big Big Surprise Banner! Big Music. Rings for everybody. And their brother. Rings say “greatest comeback in history.” That means you know who had greatest choke in history. Sadly, didn’t see those commemorative rings – surely Sox offered to make them a batch? Speaking of Yonkers, they all watch respectfully while standing in their dugout, even clap for all the old Red Sox (class move, very surprising); Pesky gets some help from Yaz, raises Banner under US Flag; lumps in throat, tears, good times, high fives and fists all around, mastercard moment. End of nightmare, end of dream, time to wake up happy. Game On! Sox bring out Wake, who’s feeling the moment. Lights out. Yonkers trots out Moose, whose feeling the moment as well. Shelled. And shelled. More shelled. Awesum game. Sox win eleventy-seven to negative four. Stephen in heaven. Dad beams. Trains home to Southie, more lobster with Uncle Tom and buddy Billy. Perfect end to perfect day.<!–EndFragment–>

Nice shoes indeed my friend