Picture it...

I was my usual uncooperative self as far as suggesting presents for my 30th birthday, so I wasn't surprised to find myself not lavished with gifts on my actual birthday. However, when Mrs. Dave let slip that she'd tried - and failed - to get tickets to the Sox-Reds game for that night, I figured I'd swing into action. A quick tour of Craigslist yielded a few hits, and to convince them to sell ME their tickets, here's the email I crafted...

From: Dave
To: anon-78538735@craigslist.org
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 11:25:11 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: In the words of Estelle Getty as Sofia Petrillo...

Picture it. Needham. June, 1975. Looie Tiant on the mound. A young couple, relaxing in bed watching the game on TV. Looie always spins, but is spinning a beauty. The wife, soon to be a mother, goes into labor. The father tears himself away from the television to drive his beloved to the hospital. It's a boy! Two days later, on Father's Day no less, the kid comes home, and is promptly baptized as a member of Red Sox nation. Oh yes - the kid's birthday? June 13th. Friday, June 13th. How apropos for a fan of this star-crossed team. Four months later, the kid is asleep (against his own wishes) while a stocky catcher does his early morning foul-line hula.

Fast-forward thirty years. The kid had his heart set on a birthday weekend celebration in Chicago, but despite his family's best efforts, they couldn't get tickets, and the plans fell by the wayside. His wife tries to get tickets for the night of his birthday, but is outbid on eBay by a heartless eSniper. She reveals her plans to him with frustration, the morning of his birthday. And then his thoughts and his gaze turn to Craigslist.

The kid is me. The wife is a converted Yankees fan who has been fully educated on the season of her husband's birth. She firmly believes that Armbrister should have been called out, that Carbo's homer was the one that set it up, and that Dewey's catch saved the game. Help us out, would you?

--Dave

The email worked, we got two tickets right next to the center-field camera position, getting in just in time to see Pudge throw out the ceremonial first pitch (to Luis Tiant, no less!). The rest of the team even cooperated and whupped up on the Reds in what local wags were dubbing "Game 8".