The Temple of Swat
Barry is a baseball guy, just the type of guy to get a square dance club out to the Nats brand-new ballpark. Wow, what a Palace to the National Pasttime! This place is beautiful, even if I'm philosophically opposed to tax dollars going for sports arenas, not to mention the complete decimation of gay businesses in the neighborhood. On the other hand, if you're going to do something grand for baseball, this is the place. I could almost get into the habit of going to baseball games.
Here's a lot of the rowdy crew from DC Lambda Squares. There's nothing like going to a baseball game with friends, eating chilidogs, drinking beer, and watching the guys about 1/2 mile away hitting at the ball. Our hopes were up early on. The Nats were ahead in the 3rd inning, but totally lost it in the 8th. But I think you could go to the ballgame, and never worry about the score, as long as you eat Ben's Chili Bowl half smokes. You really won't think too much about RBIs, errors, or the speed of the pitched ball (in miles per hour).
Tim and I walked around the concourses before the game. The game was delayed because of the weather. There are some fantastic views of Washington from the stadium. You can see the Capitol, the National Cathedral, the Anacostia, and rainbows. We looked at the field from several different places in the stands and along the concourses. You'd really have to search hard to find a bad seat in this park. It's beautiful and intimate.
When we left for the game, the weather was rainy with even a few bolts of lightening. Tim and I prudently took our umbrellas. Of course, the game was delayed, so we went walking around the concourses only to see a stunning double rainbow across the sky. Now that's Gay Day for you - even God can be flamboyant when you give the old gal a chance. I like to think it was a special gift to the rest of us. Just a gentle cosmic wink, not quite as spectacular as Sodom and Gomorrah or the walls of Jericho, but just as biblical.
And just as God keeps score (or does she?), the Nats also keep score, with a scoreboard that Angels would envy (Los Angeles Angels from Anaheim!!!). This technical marvel sits like a crown above the field. It's high-def, and I think I want something like this in my living room. That's the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington singing the Star-Spangled Banner. I get a little sentimental while singing it with several thousand other people. We lost the ballgame, but the ballpark is a winner.
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