I had an even more hectic than usual week at work, but it was good hectic, involving lots of technical questions. That's always better than just shoveling the bureaucratic paperwork. The work-related exhaustion and the dreary weather early in the week meant that I didn't do a few recreational things I was thinking about. I did attempt to go out on Wednesday night to play Scrabble, only to find that the venue where the games were supposed to happen hadn't been reserved and was not available. I suppose we could have found some other coffeehouse to go to, but it just didn't happen. Not a big deal, but I would have made more effort to do things other nights had I known that would be the case.
I made up for the lack of weekday diversions this weekend with a trip to Philadelphia. I'd contemplated driving up on Saturday morning, but decided it would make more sense to take the train up after work on Friday. It's far more relaxing that way. I figured out the subway system there and got to the hotel in time to grab a takeout sandwich and settle in with the television to watch the Red Sox defeat the Source of All Evil in the Universe, despite Manny Ramirez dropping a routine fly ball.
But I can watch TV at home, so I spent Saturday morning doing a Volksmarch through east Philadelphia. The walk included various parts of the historic district, Penn's Landing, South Street, the Italian Market, and Chinatown. The weather was perfect and there was plenty to see, only some of which I'd seen the last time I was there. I was glad I had gotten an early start, though, as I'm a compulsive reader of historical signs and that makes these things take longer. I also wished the walk directions had more notes on the points of interest.
After the walk, I set out to the baseball stadium, which was my real excuse for the trip. Citizen's Bank Park is brand new this season. It's pretty much a standard modern ballpark. One of my minor gripes is the lack of originality in the new designs. Camden Yards was nice and cute and retro when it opened, but every single new ballpark has followed pretty much the same design, with minor customization. Pittsburgh, at least, has a nice view of the downtown skyline to offer, and Philadelphia tries to copy that. The problem is that the city of Philadelphia has no skyline to speak of, being a city that is dominated by fairly short brick structures, not modern skyscrapers. And the ballpark is several miles from Center City, so you wouldn't have great sightlines to begin with. The "unique" feature is the Liberty Bell. When a Phillies player hits a home run, this tacky electric bell rings and swings and lights up red, white, and blue.
It isn't entirely fair to comment on fans based on attending a single game, but I'd say the Phillies have a mix. There were two guys sitting near me who were obviously knowledgeable season ticket holders. But I felt that many of the attendees were more interested in the antics than in the game. I will admit, however, to some personal biases which slanted my reaction. For example, almost nobody sang along with "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." And then, there is the Phanatic. This is a mascot, big and green, vaguely birdlike but with a vacuum cleaner hose type nose. Mascots are, in general, pretty annoying and this one was more annoying than most. If a mascot must dance on top of the dugout, at least limit that idiocy to between innings. I don't want to be distracted from the action on the field by oversized alien chicken beasts. Apparently, this is a minority view these days, so should you happen to love mascots, just write me off as old and cranky.
I was trying to work in a way to mention the TV commercial the San Francisco Giants had for a while in the mid-1980's. There was a giant dancing crab who sang, "All the fans in Giants land, love that crazy crab." The fun part was that the commercial showed the fans booing the crab off the field. Then there was a voiceover about how Giants fans are different. Somehow, I can't imagine Phillies fans booing the Phanatic.
Anyway, it was a pleasant enough afternoon, despite the ballpark's lack of character and the annoying mascot. The Phillies won pretty soundly. The game was fine, with competent if unspectacular play. They were playing the Expos, so one couldn't expect many opportunities to be spectacular. And checking off another ballpark is always a fun thing to do.
I had to do something more conventionally touristy while I was in Philadelphia, so I went to the National Constitution Center this morning. This museum is fairly new and is quite good. Things start with a multimedia presentation, which focuses on what the words "we the people" mean. The auditorium empties into the exhibit hall, which has exhibits on various aspects of the Constitution. I could have used more time, in fact, as one can spend a lot of time playing with the interactive exhibits. I voted for Woodrow Wilson as my favorite President, but skipped putting on judicial robes and playing at being a Supreme Court justice. At the end, there are posters about a few current issues and one can write opinions on pieces of paper and stick them up using magnets. You can also sign a big ledger to show support for the Constitution. All in all, it's well worth the $6 admission, but I'd suggest allowing at least three hours.
The train home was fine, despite a guy having an excessively loud cellphone conversation for parts of it. Now I'm scurrying around trying to do a weekend's worth of errands in a couple of hours. I can't complain since I did this to myself.
Copyright 2004 Miriam H. Nadel