Baseball and still learning life lessons

Last night Eva and I went to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox beat the San Diego Padres.  Despite the $8.50 Budweiser’s we had a wonderful time. The threat of rain held off and it was a perfecto summer night of baseball at Fenway.

So you would think at age 55 and having been taking advantage of numerous times that I would learn the warning signs before it happens. Well…I’m not there yet. We drove in to Boston looking to park in one of the lots around Fenway. There he was standing in front of the Howard Johnson Inn on Boylston Street, rotating his right hand like a softball pitcher and pointing into the parking lot.  There was the official sign attached to the fence which read: Parking for $45. I pulled up, rolled down my window and asked how much?  He said $40…little warning bell number one went off in the back of my head (why $5 less?). I replied $40 in an “are you kidding me voice” and he replied smoothly, yes most of the other lots will charge you $60. As I’m about to hand him the $40 I asked don’t I get a parking pass for my window? He said no, no pass needed just pull into the right. With little warning bell number two now ringing in my head I looked him square in the eye and asked “Are you legit?” He firmly replied Yes, I work for this organization pointing to Howard Johnson’s.  Minus the uniform he looked the part.  At this very moment as the warning bells in my head were getting louder I was also feeling the pressure of blocking traffic on Boylston Street with the back end of my car and pedestrians on the sidewalk with the front end. So I handed him the $40, the bells now very loud in my head, but he stops the pedestrians on the sidewalk and guides me in.  As I’m driving down to the back of the lot I’m looking at my side view mirror to see him walk across the sidewalk and disappear into the streets of Boston.  I said Damn it Eva….we just got screwed.  I was pissed at myself for not reading my gut quick enough. 

So now what? Well we parked the car in the spot I paid for and walked to the Citizens Public House for a very tasty burger before the game. After the game we walked back to the car expecting A) a boot on the wheel, B) it towed away, or C) a $200 ticket.  The car was still there so option B was dismissed. There was no boot on the wheel so option A was dismissed but there was something sticking in behind the wiper blade. It seemed like option C was going to be the answer but when we pulled out the paper from behind the blade it was only a warning notice from Howard Johnson’s saying the lot was for Authorized Guests Only and that all violators will be towed at their own expense.  The baseball gods were with us.  We didn’t get towed or ticketed and even saved $5 on the price of parking.  Another lesson learned.  Can I be done now? Let’s Go Red Sox.