Gotta Love Those Phillies!

Here’s what living in Center City affords you.  Mrs. CCC and I went to the ball game on Tuesday night.  We had the tickets well in advance, so it wasn’t hard to plan our night.  It was a great game and great weather, so we really enjoyed ourselves. 

We had been talking about seeing the new-look Pirates this weekend, but with no tickets and little prospect of getting any, we had resigned ourselves to watching the games on TV.  But at 2 PM on Friday, I made one last check on-line and some decent, affordable tickets were available.  I called Mrs. CCC and she cleared our appointment calendar and we were ready to go.  I could have closed up shop at that point because all I thought about was the game and the post-game fireworks.  So I got home changed and off we went.  The new-look Pirates looked a lot like the old Pirates and the Phils won 10-3 going away with Roy Halladay pitching 7 shutout innings.  Afterwards, the fireworks show was dazzling, the best in the city.  A quick train ride and we were back on Green St, in no time flat.  A great evening made better by the convenience of living in Center City. 

A New England wedding

Your Center City Correspondent and Mrs. CCC took a sojourn to Salem, Massachusetts this past weekend to attend the wedding of my buddy’s daughter, my goddaughter.  She is a gem of a young lady, smart, pretty and respectful all at once.  The real trifecta.  Originally from Philadelphia, they moved to MA a number of years ago.  She married a very nice guy, who unfortunately is a Boston fan, and he has turned her to the dark side of the Red Sox nation.  I’m sure their home will be filled with pictures of Smoky Joe Wood and Ted Williams, and (ugh) Manny Ramirez.    When she was a little girl, her father and I would sit around and talk about the kind of guy he would allow his daughter to date.  We both agreed that in order to get his foot in the door (or to first base) the suitor would have to be a baseball fan.  Now that would seem to be a very low hurdle for any young man, but if you know any true fan, there are two things that typify a fan, namely loyalty and commitment.  Loyal to your team and committed to following them every day through thick and thin.  And these are two great qualities for a new husband to possess, loyalty to his wife and committed to his marriage.  So the next time you see a single guy rooting for his hometown team, chances are he’d make a good husband too.  For those of you who dislike sentimentality, skip the next paragraph.

One of the stories we like to tell about the young lady is when she was just old enough to walk, her father and I would send her to the kitchen to fetch us some beers.  Her mother and Mrs. CCC would berate us for doing this, but when she returned with them, her little face was full of joy.  I saw that same look on her face on her wedding day.  But as much joy as she may feel herself, it’s the amount of joy she brings to others that is her true nature.  By the warmth of her hug, or the twinkle in her eye, or a hundred other things, she makes everyone she knows feel like they are special.  And what more could you ask for from another human being.  Thanks for letting the CCC’s be part of your special day and your lives.

So I wish the happy couple congratulations and best of luck on their new life together.  With loyalty, commitment and joy (and the Sox) on their side, I’d say that they’ll live together to a happy old age.  

Your CCC wraps himself in the flag

People ask your CCC where he likes to go for the 4^th of July holiday.  Now that has to be one of the silliest questions ever posed.  Why would I want to go anywhere?  People come from all over the world to come to Center City to celebrate America’s independence.  For me, it’s just a short bus ride or walk to be part of all the activities.  Besides, your CCC is a sucker for fireworks, and what better place to see them than right here in Center City Philadelphia.  Once content to see the display at the Art Museum, the CCC’s have started journeying around the city to view them.  They shoot them off over Penn’s Landing a couple of times during the 4^th of July festivities, the Phillies always put on a good show, but the best of them is right here in my neighborhood, over the Art Museum, on the 4^th of July after the concert on the Parkway.  It’s the longest show around, going on for 20 minutes with a beautiful backdrop of the museum.  If you ever come to see the show, leave your car at home and take a bus or the train.  There is a ton of traffic in the area; locals argue which is more fun - sitting on their steps and watching the traffic before or after the event.  I prefer afterwards, drinking a few cold ones, or eating an ice cream cone and watching the outlanders try to navigate the tiny, traffic-choked streets as they attempt to find the quickest way home.  Like I tell them, if you lived in Fairmount you’d be home already.  So get out and enjoy the fireworks in your neighborhood, it’s uplifting and patriotic all at once.