HEY HEY! HOLY COW!
Friday, June 6, 2008 at 08:24PM 
As I compose this post the Chicago Cubs are in first place. Blink and you'll miss it! They last won the World Series in 1908 -- yes, one century ago -- the year the song Take Me Out To The Ballgame debuted. The Cubs haven't won the pennant since 1945. I know this not because I am a sports fan but because TG told me so. Diehard Cub fan that he is, he's all excited about the developments this season and really believes his Cubbies are going to go all the way. I have no opinion one way or the other but if I had one it would be strongly laced with abject skepticism. It was approximately 105 degrees in the shade so we made every effort to stay out of the shade.
If I'm wrong and the Cubs win the National League pennant this year, I'll be happy to go to Chicago and celebrate by shopping at Water Tower Place while TG pouts on Waveland Avenue (because no way can we afford World Series tickets, even if you could get them).
On August 24, 1978, TG and I had our first date ... he took me to Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, for my first major-league baseball game. The Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-1. I just looked that up here because I don't really remember it. All I know is that TG was very handsome and I had no idea what was happening (on the field, that is), but I enjoyed going to Chicago (albeit the South Side) on a beautiful late-summer night.
Romance was in the air along with the flying leather aspirin tablet; we were married 295 days later.
On a sweltering September day in 1982, when I was in my first trimester expecting our daughter Audrey, TG dragged me (no kicking and screaming was involved but I can assure you there was a great deal of whining) to Wrigley Field for my first official visit to the Friendly Confines.
Other than the fact that I had no desire to go to the game in the first place, I remember exactly three things about that day: (1) I was nauseated and retaining water; (2) it was approximately 105 degrees in the shade so we made every effort to stay out of the shade; and (3) we parked in Wisconsin to avoid paying what they charged for parking near the venue. Yes! These memories are completely accurate! I cannot imagine why you would doubt me.
We went back to Wrigleyville -- and Comiskey, both old and new -- several times over the years and they were all good times. Only problem was, by the seventh inning stretch I was usually so over it I could hardly remember my name. The scoreboredboard was fun to watch however, and at least at Cubs games you had Harry Caray's dinner-plate sized eyeglasses to marvel at. Also it amazed me that Harry could still stand at that point and count to three -- much less remember the words to Take Me Out To The Ballgame -- considering the amount of Budweiser he'd ingested in the first six and a half innings. Not to mention pregame.
So, the Cubs will face the Dodgers again tonight and if they win, TG will be beside himself with joy. Of course, they still have a lot of baseball to play and there is the curse of the billy goat to worry about! If Mr. Sianis's utterance of "the Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more" holds true like it has since 1945, as the summer wears on the Cub-induced grin will fade from TG's still-handsome face. I don't know why Mr. Wrigley didn't just let the goat, malodorous as he (the goat, that is) certainly must have been, sit down and enjoy a bag of peanuts. It might have changed the course of history.
Reader Comments (15)
Obviously, you are a wonderful wife and friend to TG. Did you ever try taking a book or magazine (only to look at towards the very end)? I did that once when attending a concert with one of my teens that I absolutely did not want to be at. It was quite relaxing, reading when I wasn't taking in the show.
PS My husband and I had our first date on May 4, 1978. And we were a blind date!
All I know is, TG is a wonderful husband and friend to me! But thank you for your kind words, Keli.
I never thought of taking along a book or magazine but that is an excellent idea! If I ever consent again to go somewhere I do not want to go, I will do that. Great advice. Of course now when I'm bored, I pull out my little blank book and write! I didn't do that back then although I should have.
A blind date, LOL! That's so sweet. And just a few months before our first date! Ah, such sweet and happy times.
I know nothing about the Cubs, except that no-one expects them to win. In the Couch Trip (one of my favourite non-Johnny movies) one character is trying to talk another down from a ledge by fantasising about them playing with the Cubs and winning the World Series and the guy says something like 'That's never gonna happen, man. The Cubs will never win a World Series'. It's not the 'playing with the Cubs' part he doubts, it's 'winning the World Series'. LOL!
Amazing what we did for our future husbands and partners, huh? OH took me to see Jaws. I have always hated gory thrillers and yet I went. He also took me to see All The President's Men ... yep, I hate political thrillers too. And yet we're still married, thirty-odd years later.
Yep! I've said many times, Greg could have taken me to a dogfight and I would have been happy just to sit there beside him. JAWS ... ewwwww! The Gregory likes that kind of stuff too but I cannot stand it. I don't like sports either, but I think he was testing me to see if I'd soldier along and fit into his lifestyle. But through the years he's done so many things just because I wanted to ... it evens out. The Cubs ... *sigh* ... I think most fans would be overjoyed if they could just get IN the World Series ... after 63 years that would be enough of an accomplishment! I doubt they'll win it again in our lifetimes but I hope I'm wrong.
LOL! I have yet to go on my first date but I hope it's at a place I'd like to go. What is it with men and gory horror movies? It's just a lot of fake blood and people screaming, even if it does sometimes scare me. What's with guys and baseball? I would so much rather be at a football game than a baseball game, but maybe that's just me. I almost always have a book with me when I travel. Reading is my get away.
Now I gotta tell ya...I like baseball...though not enough to require mucho innings'worth of watching at one sitting...not any more. When my precious Braves of the '90's/early 00's started waxing waning, I sorta lost interest. The interest has picked up a bit of late, but I don't relish (not as in all-American hot dogs) using up an entire afternoon sitting in front of a game...at home or at Turner Field, for that matter. Now my son? He has breakfast with ESPN EVERY morning! Mom makes scrambled eggs with cheese and toast (sometimes grits, depending on her baby boy's taste that day) and goes about her business whilst said young one consumes said breakfast and said sports station. Ew.
@ Robyn ... reading is my getaway too, but when you want to be with a man you'll make certain compromises. Our second date (the very next night) was a high school football game, by the way!
@ June ... LOL! No wonder that boy won't leave home! You're too good a cook ;-)
I hope your guys do it this year. My Red Sox got their chance, so now it's the Cubs' turn.
@ RJ ... I'll say your Red Sox got their chance! And looked great doing it! The Cubs, alas, can only dream.
My husband is a diehard Cubs fan too. If they win (heh), I'll meet you at Watertower Place, and the guys can hang out.
You've got yourself a deal, JD! Even if they don't win, maybe we'll make it up there this summer. I sure would like to.
Hi Jenny, I wanted to thank you for visiting my blog today.
I have to tell you, I'm one of those diehard Cubs fans and was one way before I met my husband (also one of the breed). Being a Cubs fan builds character. It teaches perseverance and how to bounce back after having your heart broken and how not to count your chickens before your eggs have hatched. (I'm firmly convinced that it wasn't Steve Bartman that kept them out of the 2003 World Series. It was my fault for having the chutzpah to buy a bottle of champagne and hide it in the back of the refrigerator.)
Anyway, I enjoyed coming and visiting your blog.
LOL Ruth! Way to go. I believe you may be right. I have no stake in the Cubs winning or losing but I feel for The Gregory so I'll keep rooting for them. I was watching the game tonight!
Love your blog by the way, and I'll certainly be back because I subscribed to your feed.
Wow, taking a girl to a ballgame on a first date is either really brave or -- as mentioned in one of the comments -- the ultimate test to see if she's a trooper.
Personally, I prefer my own first-date test: taking her to a Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana concert. If she agrees, I run away from her as fast as I can. If she balks, I give her a flower and we go to a movie. It's genius.
And yes, I'm joking.
Actually as personality yardsticks go, that Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana thing sounds like a great one to me, Kev! As usual I think you're onto something!