Fenway Seats

Fenway Seats, originally uploaded by southiejason.

Believe it or not, last night, I had dinner with an old co-worker from my former California office who, up until about a year ago, had never heard of Fenway Park.

I know that doesn't make sense. Even I, an admitted Yankees fan (who would probably be as irritated about having my college graduation ceremony at Fenway as Red Sox fans would having theirs at Yankee Stadium) understand why Fenway Park is such hallowed ground, and that it should permeate the ignorance of non-sports fans.

I wouldn't expect the casual American to know where places like Jacobs Field (Cleveland), or Camden Yards (Baltimore) are.

But Fenway? Really?

Really.

So, I picked her up at her hotel last night - The Westin Waterfront (remarkably close to my part of Southie...) and gave her a quick driving tour of The Waterfront, The North End, Faneuil Hall / Government Center, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Kenmore, a drive across and back on the Mass Ave bridge (driving from Cambridge back into Boston being my favorite nighttime view of the city), The South End, and (after dinner) my part of Southie.

Approaching Kenmore, I pointed out the CITGO Sign (she had never heard of it).

Then, at Fenway, I drove down Landsdowne Street and mentioned that we were behind the Green Monster (she had never heard of it).

It just goes to show, what is something tantamount to breathing for many around here, isn't even on the radar of others.

I admit that this is likely a rare case of someone simply having no connection whatsoever with Boston landmarks and sports.

So, I did my part - if nothing else, I wanted her to realize that Boston was much more than the empty, windy streets outside of the Westin Waterfront and BCEC.

And that Fenway Park actually did exist.

Quality evening programming

I have this strange fascination with television shows about drug use and addicts.

At Meaghan and Dan's Boston wedding celebration a few years ago, I happened to be speaking with a woman who mentioned that her son was a producer for a show that was on A&E. I asked which show, and almost jumped atop her when she informed me that it was Intervention (my favorite show at the time).

I sat down this evening to scan through my viewing options in my DVR, and right after finishing an episode of High Stakes Poker, I went immediately to the Lisa Ling-hosted documentary on National Geographic HD about meth use. Poker and drugs. Not exactly the kind of stuff I'd see on According to Jim, a show I have no interest watching.

It's weird - I don't do drugs. Never have. Not even pot. Not once. Not even at a place like Brown, where pretty much everyone smoked up.

Truly, I think this interest is a self-esteem builder that makes my petty gripes seem trivial, when the alternative could be rotting teeth from meth mouth and track marks.