Home Alone in the Burg
Estimated reading time: 14 minutes, 25 seconds
The Mets Are in the World Series!
Mark and I finally got on the number 7 train at Shea Stadium after the fifth game of the World Series on Thursday, October 18, 1973. The Mets had won 2-0, and everyone on the train, including us, was confident that they would win the World Series now that they had a 3-2 lead in the series as it shifted to Oakland.
Entering the subway car, the smell of cheap beer turned my stomach to the point I was afraid I would regurgitate. Because it was so cold – 38 degrees at the start of the game, Mark and I had not purchased a beer.
The vendors’ cry of “Cold beer here!” fell on deaf ears. Wearing two sweaters, a winter coat, and gloves, drinking beer would have been difficult, if not impossible.
When we transferred from the elevated 7 Train, we both unzipped our coats as we went underground to catch the G.
“The Mets will win the World Series,” Mark predicted. He was more of a baseball fan than I was, and he kept talking about the key plays. I said as little as possible so I would not show my ignorance.
Three weeks before, Mark and Roy spoke with me about attending the World Series.
“The Mets are amazing,” Mark had exclaimed. “We should go to the World Series!” Roy and I nodded our heads. “If they make it, they will play games, three, four, and five at Shea. If we can find three more to go with us, we could get six tickets, two for each game.” Roy and I nodded affirmatively again.
“I live in Queens and could go to the stadium and purchase the tickets,” Roy announced.
We quickly talked about potential partners and settled on a plan of action to secure tickets for the playoffs and the World Series.
“Let’s exit at Metropolitan Avenue and walk on Lorimer Street to our apartment,” I said.
“I wonder if the Pizza shop between Devoe and Ainslie is still open,” Mark asked. The sign in the window said they were closed.
When we got home, I found two notes stuck to my door in Kathy’s handwriting.
The first one read,
“Roy called. He says Jan, who was in our VISTA class, wants you to come to a party she is having on 11/10. He stressed she wants you to be there!”
First Phone Message
The second one read,
“Blossom called and said she will be in NY in January and wants to see you. Who or what is a Blossom? Is/was she the imaginary girlfriend? Her number is _________. “
Second Phone Message
Roy had been the one who purchased the tickets to the World Series. I remember Jan. I presented on life as a VISTA at the training session in December 1973. I had given her my phone number and address, but she had never called me.
If it had not been for my imaginary girlfriend, I would have tracked down her phone number and called her. I will have to call him later and find out to make sure she wants me, not Mark or Kathy or someone else, to attend.
Blossom! I had told her to call me if she was coming to NY, but that was before I knew our relationship was over. Should I wait for her to call me again? Or call her tomorrow?
Opening the door to my apartment, I grab the flashlight so that I can see. The heat and hot water problems persist, and I no longer have electricity. The rent strike continued as my tiny abode was not cold but dark.
After almost 48 years, I recently lost my wife, Jan Lilien. Like The Little Prince, Jan and I believed that “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.” This blog is a collection of my random thoughts on love, grief, life, and all things considered.
