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The family and I just returned late last night from 7 days in the scorching sun of Las Vegas. We spent the first 2 days taking in some of the sites around Las Vegas before heading to the lights of the strip for the start of the optometric conference at the Mandalay Bay convention center.
My daughter and I were having breakfast before heading out on Monday morning. An elderly gentleman, dining with his wife at the next table, pointed to my blue and orange Mets T-shirt and started the following exchange:
Old Man - "So when did you get that shirt, last week?"
Rockin' Doc - "No, I've had it for a few years. I've been a Mets fan for as long as I can remember."
OM - "Why be a Mets fan when you could be a Yankee fan?"
RD - "I like to consider it a by product of a fortunate childhood."
OM - chuckling "I like that." He then went on to regale me with stories of how he had grown up a Brooklyn Dodger fan as a youngster. Following the Dodgers exodus to California, he had become a fan of the fledgeling Mets during their initial seasons in the Polo Grounds.
RD - "Unfortunately, I can't recall the Mets days in the Polo Grounds. I don't go back quite that far."
OM - "Unfortunately, I do."
Later that day while touring Hoover Dam. A middle aged man approached me and started the following conversation:
Man - "Ya think they can win?"
RD - thinking he means the World Series, "I think they have a pretty good chance."
Man - shaking his head slowly "No way."
RD - "Well, I like their chances right now."
Man - Now pointing to the tan colored fishing hat on his head with a Phillies insignia "Ya got no chance."
RD - "Maybe you should have told that to your team last week."
Man - walked away muttering something about a wise ass.
Later that day aboard the Desert Princess Too sternwheeler on Lake Mead, a man approached my son and pointed to his weathered Mets hat.
Man - "Time for a new hat son."
RD Jr - "Nah, I already have the best one you can have."
A few days later, while looking around the gift shop at New York, New York Casino my son (still wearing the weathered Mets cap) commented to me about the plethora of Yankee souvenirs available while not a solitary Mets item was on display.
RD Jr - "Why don't they have any Mets stuff Dad? All they have is Yankees stuff."
Sales Clerk - "We only carry items for the main New York team."
RD Jr - "Then why don't you have any Mets stuff?"
Sometimes, they just make you proud.
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