Peter and Martha hire a bus every year and take the minions on a field trip to Shea, or to Yankee Stadium, alternating years. Since 2008 is the last year both parks are alive, the bus is making trips to Queens and the Bronx this summer..
Lucky Peter and Martha.
Mistah and I have always heard stories about those bus trips, but we're too cheap broke to afford the trip. I mean, Major League Baseball has tons of money, and we have so very little money -- why should we give what we have to them? But Paul, the King of the Cranes couldn't make it, so donated his ticket to me.
.
Shea is going to be replaced by Citi Field, which is growing right in Shea's backyard. It's a beautiful looking park, reminiscent of the old Ebbets Field. 
We arrived at Shea, parked on a grassy knoll, and got out the coolers. Peter and Martha pack about 17 coolers of beer, plus grinders for everybody. There's Peter, next to the Peter Pan bus.Oh, hello Petah!
It was Jewish Heritage Day at Shea, so the players' names appeared on the scoreboard in Hebrew. I was happy to hear that, since I didn't recognize the letters, and thought it was finally all over for me.
That's Mr. Met with Keith Hernandez, announcing there are only 17 days left at Shea. Mex has bulked up. Too much shrimp scampi.
After doing their beer chores, Peter arrived at the seats with the rest of us . . .
. . . followed by Martha.
Kimmy and Jimmy were in the house . . .
. . . and so, of course, was I.
I could not stop taking photos of the gorgeous field with the new park blooming behind it.
Mistah Schleckah is NOT the only photographer in this family.
Fran and Maddie kept score.
Although that's Carlos Delgado up at bat,
it was Carlos Beltran who hit two home runs.
It was t-shirt give-away day, and those shirts are nice. 100% cotton, thank you very much.
Despite Beltran's heroics, the Mets had their usual bullpen woes, and there were a lot of huddles going on out there on the mound.
"Break it up, guys, break it up."
See? There's that shot again.
I smuggled in contraband. What? I can't afford $9 beers.
I'm anti-God Bless America, because it has nothing to do with baseball. But I like this moment because it preceded my Hightpoint of the Day -- the playing of Take Me Out To The Ballgame. . . in Yiddish.
When Owen's not busy being a reporter or a bartender, he's a Hollywood Movie Star.
John's boy Dave wore his fuzzy pink good luck hat all day. Fat lot of good that did.
The Astros tied it up in the top of the 7th, and the rally caps came out in the bottom of the 9th . . .
It was Jewish Heritage Day at Shea, so the players' names appeared on the scoreboard in Hebrew. I was happy to hear that, since I didn't recognize the letters, and thought it was finally all over for me.That's Mr. Met with Keith Hernandez, announcing there are only 17 days left at Shea. Mex has bulked up. Too much shrimp scampi.
After doing their beer chores, Peter arrived at the seats with the rest of us . . .. . . followed by Martha.
Kimmy and Jimmy were in the house . . .
. . . and so, of course, was I. 
I could not stop taking photos of the gorgeous field with the new park blooming behind it.Mistah Schleckah is NOT the only photographer in this family.
Fran and Maddie kept score.
Although that's Carlos Delgado up at bat,
it was Carlos Beltran who hit two home runs. .
Yay! Us!
Yay! Us! 
It was t-shirt give-away day, and those shirts are nice. 100% cotton, thank you very much.
Despite Beltran's heroics, the Mets had their usual bullpen woes, and there were a lot of huddles going on out there on the mound.
"Break it up, guys, break it up." LaGuardia Airport is right around the corner and Owen, as per, counted planes. The total for 2008 was a paltry 119, compared to 2007's 158.
.
.
See? There's that shot again.
I smuggled in contraband. What? I can't afford $9 beers.
I'm anti-God Bless America, because it has nothing to do with baseball. But I like this moment because it preceded my Hightpoint of the Day -- the playing of Take Me Out To The Ballgame. . . in Yiddish. 
When Owen's not busy being a reporter or a bartender, he's a Hollywood Movie Star.
John's boy Dave wore his fuzzy pink good luck hat all day. Fat lot of good that did.
The Astros tied it up in the top of the 7th, and the rally caps came out in the bottom of the 9th . . ..
Fat lot of good that did. Houston scored 2 in the top of the 10th.
And the bad guys won, 6-4.
Peter was awfully sentimental about the demise of Shea for someone who pretends not to be a Mets fan.
Bye, Shea.
The peeps headed home. . .
. . . and we headed back to our bus.
And said see ya later to New York and the Mets and Mighty Shea.
The Kids on the Bus will see you next year . . . at Citi Field.
Fat lot of good that did. Houston scored 2 in the top of the 10th.
And the bad guys won, 6-4.
Peter was awfully sentimental about the demise of Shea for someone who pretends not to be a Mets fan.
Bye, Shea.
The peeps headed home. . . 
. . . and we headed back to our bus.
And said see ya later to New York and the Mets and Mighty Shea.The Kids on the Bus will see you next year . . . at Citi Field.
wow!! There is NO WAY Madness could sit all the way up there in them seats and oh my gah I almost up'd my coffee looking at the view in the pics .. and people sit up there, DRUNK!?! How have m illions of people not DIED!? This is too much for me on a Monday morning. Additionally..it appeared that you were closer to the airplanes than the ball field, no? Im just sayin. Madness doesnt know diddly about baseball..but this post was lovely!
ReplyDeletePS..as I said over at the MadLands..Madness hearts your mom!
Love,
Madness
oh crap.. Ellie, do a bitch a favor and delete one of those comments that I double dipped on, please. Before people think Madness is a twit. Oh, they already DO think that? and I am? Eh.. either way.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Madness
Done. And no reader of ours is a twit, Madness. Just maybe enthusiastic. And over-caffeinated. ;)
ReplyDeletehmm.. Madness.. overcaffinated? NEVAH! overMEDICATED .. probably.
ReplyDeleteEllie .. have I ever told you how much Madness HEARTS "stories in pictures for my viewing pleasure" ?? Well, I do. A lot. Perhaps this is why I heart you so much? that and youre incredibly funny.
Ok, Love you, bye
Madness
Nice "Shea 08" swag, Ellie! (Nice free ticket too.)
ReplyDeleteLooks like it was a VERY fun day, and you did such a nice job with the photos, even without Mistah.
What a fun day! I covet the swag. Please tell me that's not wine in your water bottle.... I hear you on the $9 beers but it's something that just has to be done sometimes!
ReplyDeleteAnd Madness? You are a crack up.
Oh, it's wine allright. Of course it is! I put it in the freezer the night befoe the game, and showed it to Bill on my way out in the morning. He said, "Is that a margarita?" I said, "No, but what a great idea." So I grabbed the litre bottle of margies too, and shared it with my busmates on the way home.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the photo compliments, Beth. Mistah sure has set the bar high, photo-wise.
Wow, that brings back some memories. We used to drive there for weekend games when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteI should email my sister...her daughter's middle name is 'Shea.' No, really, it is.
You give good post. Love the pics.
ReplyDeleteWow. I haven't been to a ball game in a long time. But "Take Me Out..." in Yiddish? That is divine.
ReplyDeleteEllie, thank you so much for your excellent record of the day! What a great job! We were so happy that you were able to join in (and add to) the fun. We missed Paul's company and were sad he couldn't make it at the last minute, but how brilliant is he (besides, you know, teaching physics and being in charge of cranes and knowing how to fix tube amplifiers) to think of offering his ticket to the most eligible and sincere and enthusiastic fellow Met fan?
ReplyDeleteLove you, MJC
Um love your post here. The game looked like a blast. I love that Keith Hernandez's link takes him to his myspace page. Also, since I saw him on Seinfeld a few years ago, he and his mustache have earned a place in my heart. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteJackie, er, Jacki, er, Jacquee, er, Jacquie, er, Jacq-ku-stow .. whatever..
ReplyDeleteMadness is INDEED on crack, er, a crack up!
Ha!
Love back atcha biatch!
Madness
I wish I could have gone, too! If only they sold chicken-fried steaks in the stands, they wouldn't have had to replace Shea with Citi Field. That's what really ripped it for Shea. You and Mistah could have come back to Texas one day to watch the Astros go down in embarrassing defeat. Pity. Drown your tears with a few Shiner Bock Beers.
ReplyDeleteMuch as you'd like to, Mr. AKA, I'm not sure that even YOU will be able to patrol ALL of Texas' borders to keep us out. In the meantime, don't take it personally -- more chicken-fried steaks (blech) for you.
ReplyDeleteShiner Bocks, though? Now you're talking. At Harry's Tenaja in Alpine, TX pints are $2.50 at Happy Hour every day. Plus free peanuts.
As usual love the pictures! Who is owen? He's very pretty. I hate to see od sports staiums torn down for big new corporate omnstocities, but I guess it's never ending. Sad sad sad.
ReplyDeleteI'm more of a minor league gal, myself, but it's much harder to smuggle in contraband. Then again, the beers aren't $9 either. Only $7.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm all about minor league games. I'd sworn off major league baseball forEVER. Until I got a free ticket that included the game, the bus ride, grinders on the bus, and all the beer I could drink. And that's SAYING something...
ReplyDelete