Day 9 & 10 - Knee Pads, Flirting and Another Broom

I forgot to share a story with you from Tuesday night.

While walking to the parking garage after the game on Tuesday night, I was at the intersection of 7th and Market Street...I was heading towards Pine and 7th...there were lots of people at the corner where we were waiting to get the "good-time to cross light". I noticed a lady was in front of me, holding her daughters (about 6 or 7 years old) hand with one hand and holding a mixed drink in the other. Her husband was standing next to her. All of a sudden, she starts to walk out into the street, still holding onto her daughters hand...she sort of stutter steps her way out into the middle of the street after several cars have honked and gone past her...as she took her first step out into the street, her husband asked her what she was doing and to stay there...she made it half way out intot the street and several people around her husband asked him what was she thinking...several cars had to stop for her to finally make it across the street, the whole time she had her daughter by her side and was stumbling to get across the street. We finally got the light to cross and by the time I was up there next to them, her husband kept his tone down, but asked her sternly, "what were you trying to do back there?" You could hear a sad tone in his voice as if this had happened before and you could his wife's blood-shot eyes and could tell she was drunk. He grabbed the little girls hand from his wife's and they walked down a different street than I was going.

...not all stories happen in the ballpark.

Wednesday's stories:

Introduced into a new change in our system...commissary 240 beer men now have to sell 3 products. 1)Beer 2)Peanuts or Cracker Jacks 3)soda or water...I'll stick with beer, peanuts and water.

I was making my rounds early on during batting practice when i noticed two older gentlemen. They looked a little rough...and when I say rough, I mean they looked like they were Father/Son and Brothers and Cousins...I sold a beer to one of them who had only one crutch to walk with, because he couldn't afford the other one he said...I started up a conversation with them...they said they were from around Columbia, "that's where the Tigers play. You ever come to those games?" I replied, "yes, I've been to a few games there." They were really excited to hear this and said, "Great, we hope we see you around there sometime then!"

I was going to get change from the commissary 240, where i've been assigned to for the past few home games and am evidently assigned there for good till they decide to switch things up again...when I noticed what looked like at first someone had spilled something on the floor...then i noticed something in that spilled soda didn't look right...then i notice the kid sitting next to the trash can...he didn't quite make it...he spewed chunks...and he must have eaten a hot dog earlier! I chose to take a different route to the commissary.

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After several games into the season, I've noticed that all of this heavy lifting and activeness of walking those steps has caused some serious pain in my right knee. Not just on the part where I'd kneel down either...I'm talking on the right-outside part of my knee.

Several veteran beer vendors suggested that I get knee pads as most of them do because the worst part of being a beer man is taking a knee during a sale while the game is taking place. Some have some hard shelled knee pads, others have soft gel ones, some have volleyball knee pads...some wear knee braces, which is where I may have to head to eventually. I went to Target and bought some volleyball knee pads. Stronger pain in the side of my knee, but overall, I didn't get bruised up from kneeling down onto concrete.

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Thursday's stories:

I got to see some guys form Lincoln today! Ed Plumier, Don Kauffman, Matt Searby and Kyle Wilson. Great group of guys. I won't mention the fact that I may or may not have had to carry my full load of beer and peanuts and water half way around the stadium to see them, but it was well worth it.

I was hit on again today.

I asked a lady to see her ID after she asked for a beer...she had her hair pulled back in a ball cap, big sun glasses on and she had a cardinal painted on the side of her face...no joke, she looked 22...maybe 25 at the oldest...she looked at me and said, "come here! I love you boy! let me give you a hug!" She leaned over from her seat and gave me a big hug. As she handed me her ID, she said that I would be breaking plenty of ladies' hearts by asking them for their ID's...especially ones in their 30's. yep, she was 34. I couldn't believe it! I seriously thought she had to be in early 20's. Most guys would wonder...was she attractive? yes, she didn't look 34! She looked great for a 34 year old! did she engage in having a conversation with me for the next few minutes? yes. ...all I did was do my job.

I was once again questioned about my age...I was asked if I was even old enough to be selling beer...so I did my routine of asking them how old did they think I was? I was impressed, one guy yelled out "27" but most of the people said "18 or 19"...they didn't card me.

I witnessed the best belt buckle i've seen yet while working at the stadium...an older guy had a large belt buckle, big enough to notice a giant deer standing tall on a hill and a huge fish in the background of it with "MISSOURI" in large letters wrapping around the top of it.

Then as "last call" was almost over...I had one beer left to get rid of...I wanted to sell a full 3 cases...so I went into a section I hadn't been to all day...I didn't even get down the first step when a group of ladies (probably in their late 40's-early 50's) asked me to stop. I said, "what can I get for you". The lady sitting on the end of the row asked me if I had salted nuts. This was true, I was selling peanuts, as usual. She said, "well the lady a few seats over wanted to know if you had salty nuts and if so, she wants some." I kid you not...they started giggling like a punk of jr. high girls would giggle if someone just said "nuts". I saw that they had numerous beer bottles on the ground around them...so I could only imagine that they were a little on the tipsy side. The lady a few seats down yelled at me, "you're sure they're salty?" "Yes" "Good, cause that's how I like them." I couldn't believe this...I was selling peanuts to a group of cougars who were giggling about saying "salty nuts". This is too true to be making it up...I never got to sell that last beer...stupid cougars took up my time asking about my peanuts.

Cards swept the Mets with today's win...2nd Series to be swept at home this season!

Total sales thus far:
5 Bottles of Water
41 Bags of Salty Peanuts
486 Bottles of Beer