The Travels of Tru – Part III

A dear friend of the RSC and frequent commenter here, “Tru” is making the trip to Japan to see both Red Sox games versus the Oakland A’s. Tru was kind enough to offer to contribute his observations on his trip, Japan, and the games.Here is the third in what will be a few installments of “The Travels of Tru”:

Tuesday March 25th, 4:30 AM…

Well, if there was such a thing as luck, and I was in line to get my share, I’m not sure I would want it.

Here’s the thing. I worked with Brenken over the phones before leaving for Japan to find and secure two seats for tonight’s game. We found them, I bought them and they were shipped to my office in New Hampshire. Okay, all is great. Brenda and I will see both games, of which they will both be a blast, but the real prize, the marquee game if you will is that of tonight’s, where Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his first start in a baseball game since becoming a Boston Red Sox. This is a big deal for the Sox marketing brain trust and that of AirBud and his greed lust minions. It’s IMHO even a bigger deal to the Japanese.

So the tickets I bought did not arrive to my office. Somewhere there was a screw up on the part of the people who shipped the tickets. But not to worry. Since my company is Japanese based, we exchange priority FedEx packages and envelopes all the time. The tickets will be waiting for me when I arrive in Japan. Okay, so I did not say anything to Brenken, because we all know how nervous she gets. As one of the famous Dolly Sisters (yeah, Cruiser is D-2, the other part of that famous tandem), I did not want to alarm her. Well the tickets showed up, and I left them on the desk in my room and opened them a little more than an hour ago.

Oh yeah, luck is with me. They’re seats for the Lester start.

So, I pad on down to the lobby, where the all night concierge is trying desperately to stay awake. I show him the tickets and ask what date they’re for. He says tomorrow night. Oh, and no, he has no access to seats for the game; it’s a sell out. So as of right now, I’m holding four seats for the game on the 26th, and in less than 8 hours, Brenda will be showing up, ready to watch a milestone event with me. I imagine that aside from her excitement to visit old friends, and attend another’s wedding, the myriad times she has changed her air reservations to come here early won’t be a big deal when she finds out the news. Her mother, a globe trotter for a lot of years in her own right might understand how these things can happen. Yes, I believe I just was a prototypical American and sidestepped responsibility for looking at the tickets and jumped on this grievous error sooner. Can you feel my quickened pulse?

Okay, so Seth over at Ticket Boat was contacted through a series of wacky phone calls. You cannot make toll free calls from Japan, so I got a hold of my office, who in turn called the toll free number for this on line broker. I also forwarded the emails to them, and explained they sent the wrong stuff. My office gets a local number for the ticket agency (they’re based in Phoenix), I call and get Seth. Seth is all apologies. He sees the mistake, and assures me a full refund. I explain this situation is sort of different. I tell him I flew from New Hampshire to watch game one of the Sox/A’s series in Japan. Did he not understand the gravity of this predicament? Did he not know that Brenken was most likely going to kick my ass? And what about Brenda? I mean, she did live here for a long time, right? For all I know, she studied Kendo and upon learning about this major screw up, she simply snaps and takes me out in the Keio Plaza Hotel lobby with the closest potted palm! Not good.

Seth says he has found better seats for tonight’s game and so tells me via email a few minutes ago. He has contacted the agency who has the tickets; they’re located in Japan. In several exchanges, Seth assures me that he will get these tickets to the hotel and the difference in cost is not a problem; his company will pay for the mix-up. But, we have to wait and hear back from the agency.

There’s something truly special about being a Red Sox fan. For the decades of loyalty in following the team, you always hoped that whatever obstacle they faced, they would somehow find a way to overcome it. To tell the truth, there have been some days where I found myself contrasting different challenges to the Sox. Would I get past this obstacle? Would I overcome this difficulty? If I can do it, then maybe the Sox can too. Today is reminiscent of that feeling, that hollow echo in the pit of your stomach. The day beginning here in Japan reminds me of game four in the 2004 ALCS. Backs to the wall, facing elimination, and simply spent from trying to put together a winning effort. Nothing is going right and the odds appear stacked against us. I can only hope that we have the same result. I hope Seth is on our team and he hits a grand slam.

By the way, the picture is of the brochure printed here in Japan for the games, and tickets for tomorrow night with Lester starting.

Oh, one last thing. If this thing really goes south, would someone call my wife and kids, tell them I love them all very much and to kindly make arrangements to have my remains shipped back home?

Tuesday, March 25th, 9:10 AM…

Crisis averted. Tickets being delivered to the hotel as I type this. This means there are two extra seats for tomorrow night’s game. Anyone want them?

See? All you ever need is a little faith and the Boston Red Sox and anything is possible. Never a doubt.

PS… Is Brenken standing behind me?