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Thursday April 12, 2001
"A sensational event was changing from the brown suit to the gray the contents of his pockets. He was earnest about these objects. They were of eternal importance, like baseball or the Republican Party." Sinclair Lewis , Babbitt
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dentist and baseball With a little work thrown in. Because of the dentist, I didn't go to work, but tried to work from home when I wasn't going to and fro the dentist. I also found time to try to clean up the guest room and this office. I resorted to sticking everything away in closets. Mostly. I did organize a little. But the clean surfaces do my heart good and allow me to think a little more clearly. We went to see the Round Rock Express. It is a Texas League Minor League Baseball Team. They play at the Dell Diamond. I hadn't been to a baseball game in years. The last one was a Toronto Blue Jays game in 1989 if I'm not mistaken. I've probably been to some UT games since then. Maybe. But it's all about brands, isn't it? Ads everywhere. The food is done sort of like the airport. Local (and not so local) vendors branding their, mostly not that different, areas. Lone Star Cafe. Po-ke-jos. Amy's Ice Cream. We spent $20.75 on one hot dog, one cheeseburger with fries, one large Coke, one Shiner Bock Draft and some Crackerjacks. (Yes, Crackerjacks. It's in the song you know.) There was a lot going on with the scoreboard showing video clips, ads, live video of the game and the audience. And the foul balls. And the dirtiest car in the lot got a carwash. And someone did a trivia question on baseball. A little league team got to go out on the field and get autographs. Oh, and they were, the Express, playing a pretty good game with lots of 'K's (strikeouts). Food was a big deal. And drink. A guy a few rows up was buying beers, peanuts and cotton candy and tipping the strolling vendors. (He must have cashed out of the market at the right time.) But everyone seemed to be buying the expensive food. Except for a family next to us. They'd brought sandwiches and their own drinks. At one point, a really large guy (no, bigger and taller than the guys in my pic) came down the steps carrying what appeared to be a footlong corny dog with a swirl of mustard all the way down it. The people behind me were intrigued. "Where'd
he get that?" Two tiny kids waded through a giant tub of popcorn and cotton candy in front of us. Another food critic popped up at one point as a man went down the aisle and said, "Oh, somebody's been to Hooter's and gotten chicken wings." No, they didn't have scantily-clad women. Just a concession with the wings and some drinks and stuff. It was all really fun and FFP and I had taken stuff to read while they changed sides and stuff. We didn't get hit by the ball and the Mascot (a dog in a railroad engineer's outfit named Spike) came along and kissed my hand. I think there is a gal in the costume but I'm not sure. Home again (OK, we left before it was over but we listened to it on the radio on the way home) we relaxed with TV and reading. But we can say we have seen the famous Dell Diamond on the plains of Round Rock. Dell, Dell, Dell everywhere. And if you get laid off at the plant, you can hustle beer or peanuts at the park.
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