Checksum Arcanius

Sometime earlier this week, Dan suggested that we get tickets to Friday’s Mariners game, since he predicted that Ichiro would break the record that day. So I agreed, and when Ichiro didn’t break the record the game before, Dan went ahead and purchased the best tickets available: 300 level, 25h row, seats 9 and 10. And yes, the 25th row IS the last row. Seats 9 and 10 also happen to be the hardest to get to in the row. And we were late, because the will call line people don’t understand last name eltter frequency. So, after hustling up the many stairs to the 300 level, Texas having finished batting, we went into the wrong section just to make sure we would see the hit if it happened.

And, of course, it did happen. Hit number 257 was a classic Ichiro, chopped just over the third baseman’s head. Fireworks went off and the crowd roared. We retreated and made our way to the proper section. Unfortunately, the usher didn’t direct us correectly, and we ended up in the wrong seats again. We watched the next inning like that, then the real seatholders came, so we had to go find our real seats again.

And we didn’t have to wait long. When Ichiro came up to bat, the crowd stood. He sliced off his obligatory fouls, then put the ball straight down the middle. Everyone knew what had just happened. Nobody sat down for at least five miutes. The Mariners emerged from the dugout to greet Ichiro. We clapped. And cheered. And clapped some more. Fireworks, rare at Safeco, were in abundance. Nifty preprepared graphics lit the outfield screens. And for all the melodrama, the best part was Ichiro’s mild, unassuming acceptance of the praise for a job well done, and then he got back to business, helping the Mariners go on to get the win.

But most impressive of all, to me, was the realization that I had when it happened; a realization which has come to me only rarely throughout my life: that these moments are the ones that make the human condition worthwhile. The pain and suffering, bad politics and worse policies, high taxes to pay for stadiums and to waste on social programs – all of these things don’t really matter in the long run. Overcoming them together – as an amazing player and his fanatics did on Friday – makes it all seem ok for the time being.

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