Time Does Fly

Last Sunday around this time me boys and I were setting off for the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese of Boston, for Sunday Mass. It's huge, the largest Church in New England if you can believe them Catholics. Then it was off to Fenway Park in Boston for a tour and baseball game. Afterwards we did the greater part of the freedom walk to a few of the historic sites in the city: Paul Revere's home, Old North Church, and the site of the Boston Massacre to name a few. Oh, we saw the Cheers bar too, complete with a cutout of Norm at his corner seat. It was actually rather relaxed for a relatively packed day.

Fenway is a great old baseball stadium. I've been there twice now and look forward to the next visit, whenever that might be. I wish I had taken me Pops there but, spilled milk. 

We had great seats seven rows behind home plate and enjoyed a Fenway Frank, which is perhaps the best hot dog in baseball. Yes, yes, yes: Dodger dogs, Dodger dogs, Dodger dogs. But I ain't been to Chavez Ravine yet, so the taste test will have to wait. For now, the best dogs are Fenway Franks.

I actually found where you can order Fenway Franks online. But it's fifty bucks for five pounds and you are highly recommended to pay for overnight delivery, even though they pack them with coldness insulators of some sort which are supposed to be good for two or three days. That's when a fella has to tell himself that maybe, just maybe, they taste so good because of the company of my sons and the general atmosphere. Reason says they're probably not worth the expense. I gotta admit that I'm tempted to place an order though.

After Take Me Out to the Ball Game at the seventh inning stretch I believe singing Sweet Caroline between halves of the eighth inning at Fenway about the best audience participation event in all of Major League Baseball. The glance me son Frank and I exchanged as the song began (we had been to Fenway in 2016) told me he was as excited for it as I was. I'm glad me son Charlie has now experienced it too. 

I know that a big part of sports is rooting for your region. But it's nice when you're not invested in the outcome of the game, too. We rooted for Boston as they were the home nine, and they won 6-4. The Green Monster was cleared twice by three run home runs, so those were sights to see.

It is vaguely melancholy though when a trip you'd been anticipating for almost six months (our planning began right after the first of the year) is eventually behind you. Yet that feeling is far easier to deal with when you look back and have great memories. Those never leave, never grow old. And the Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, it won't be the last anyway.