More Mr. Peabody and the WABAC trips…
I think this is the last baseball oriented post for a while.
I have meant to write this post for years. This autograph is tied to a ’I remember where
I was when…’ moment. I have a few of those: Prince Diana’s death, 9-11 and the
Twin Towers, Challenger, the Iraq War, etc.
I was standing in the cold shadow of the Ball Park in Arlington.
I was in line waiting for the Texas Rangers signing event to start. I only had
one goal: Alex Rodriguez’s autograph.
I brought a ball, pop tarts, a Pepsi, and a book. This was
2003. I had a cell phone but it was always kept in the car for emergencies. It was
rare that a mobile phone was carried at all times. The internet wasn’t as fast
or friendly either.
I was ready for the marathon wait. When I joined the line at
4:30 AM, there was already 100 people in line. I was slightly nervous about my
chances of getting a signature. I knew how the front of the line swells with
last minute additions.
You may not know this abut me but I have a superpower. I attract people that don’t have social skills. Invariably, when I’m in line, the people next to me will want to chat. They do
not realize their opinions are offensive. They do not understand that their ‘facts’
are extremely wrong. They do not realize I am not deaf and they their side of
the discussion is heard through the whole line. Yes, if you ‘always’ meet the nicest
people in line and make friends with them, you can thank me. The ones that
never bother you are next to me and chipping away at my soul.
Reading my book did not deter his gentleman from talking to me.
After a few hours of being actively ignored, he bothered others. I did not take
pleasure in their discomfort.
The queue started on the west side of the stadium. At some point
we were moved to the north side. It was exciting to just be moving. It was out
of the cold wind. I’m not sure if that was done intentionally or not but it was
nice. However, this gave the obnoxious guy next to me got his second wind.
Spending so many hours next to the stadium you hear lots of odd
noises. You hear a lot of booms as the
forklifts move and drop pallets. You hear ventilators start and stop. You hear
workers shouting to each other.
Around 8AM CST, I remember hearing a thunder clap. I wasn’t
the normal boom from the stadium. I looked up and didn’t see any storm
clouds. A few minutes later Mr Obnoxious
got a call. Yes, he was one of the few that carried his cell with him.
I overhear part of the conversion. He hung up and announced
to the crowd that the Shuttle Columbia blew up over Texas. I was alarmed he would
be so crass to say something stupid like that. After 3 hours of his crap, I was
actually going to tell him to shut up as that was very sick and unfunny joke. Then
ominously, a few cell phones rang and people confirmed the event.
I was kicked in the gut by this news. I quickly wondered if
terrorist shot down the shuttle. This wasn’t long after 9-11. I assumed the odd
thunder I heard was the explosion. I was in line with no access to info other than
what I overheard as people talked. The rumors were flying fast and furious. The biggest one was that debris landed just
blocks away from where we were.
I really didn’t know if I should leave and go home or stay. Would it be petty of me to get my autograph? What
was a signed ball compared to the lives lost and the National disaster? I stayed. Judge me as you wish.
A few hours later I got my ball signed.
I went to my car and called The Wife. She was safe. She hadn’t
turned on the TV yet. She was doing some crafts while I was out of the house. She
turned on the news and confirmed some of what people were saying we chatted as
I drove home.
That was where I was on Feb 1, 2003.
AH
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