The Old Ball Game

After the fiasco that was The Welder, my future-sister-in-law scoured her Facebook friends to find me some potentials.

She sent me a list of names and I took a look at each fella. Only one really struck my fancy.

He's 40 years old, owns his own home, works for a charity by day, and is a comedian/radio host/local Niagara TV personality in his spare time.

It doesn't surprise me that I naturally gravitated towards the one guy who is involved with the entertainment industry.

FSIL sent him a message asking if he is still single and if he'd be interested in meeting me. The answer was yes on both counts. :)

Shortly thereafter, he sent me a FB friend request which I happily accepted. We exchanged a few messages and made arrangements to meet for drinks on Saturday afternoon as I was going to be in Niagara for the weekend.

We met up at a Boston Pizza in St. Catharines. We each had a beer and talked. I found out he lived in Los Angeles for three years. He had saved up money and then packed up his car and drove out there with his brother to try to "make it". I also learned he has a dog named Tucker, has only flown one time in his life and is friends with Pauly Shore (who apparently is certifiable).

There were only a few moments of awkward silence. But for the most part the conversation flowed well.

As we were leaving, he told me he'd like to see me again. He got all shy and awkwardly told me that he's tried online dating but has met a lot of "strange women". I laughed and told him I'd had a similar experience.

I mentioned that a bunch of us were going over to Buffalo the next day to catch a baseball game. If he had a passport, he was more than welcome to join us. He told me he'd let me know.

A few hours later I got a text from him saying he was in for the game! Yay!

He arrived at my Dad's about 15 minutes before my brother and FSIL did. We were all going in one vehicle, and FSIL graciously offered hers. It was a bit awkward standing at the end of the driveway waiting, but there was no way I was going to invite him in with my Dad being home. And I mistakenly told my Dad about The Comedian coming to the game and my Dad's face lit up like a kid at Christmas. Seriously, you'd think I told him I'd gotten engaged instead of going on a second date. (But it was nice to see my Dad so happy.)

In total, there were 7 of us going to the game. We met up with the others at the ticket gate. We ended up all sitting in a single row together in seats that were very close to the field. But also directly in the blazing sun. After about half an hour, I'd had enough and asked The Comedian if he'd like to find seats a little further back in the shade.

We talked through most of the game. He bought me some Crackerjacks. We made a running commentary on the strangers walking past us. It was nice hanging out, enjoying the shaded sunshine and riffing on people.

At the bottom of the eighth inning, I made the executive decision to rejoin the rest of the gang in our original seats. By this time, clouds had moved in and the sun wasn't as intense as before.

We settled into our seats with gang to enjoy the final inning of the game. Just before the top of the ninth, they put up the "Kiss Cam" on the Jumbotron. It was sponsored by a local dentist and basically it was expected the couples shown on screen would kiss.

Do I even need to say what happened next? I'm sure you've figured it out because it's basically straight out of a movie.

I'm sitting there enjoying the love fest that is the Jumbotron when all of a sudden I think, "Hey, that girl is wearing the same shirt as me!" Um yeah. The reason is because that girl was ME! And coupled in the shot with me was The Comedian who was quickly turning the same colour as the eventual sunburn on my knees. (Yes, my knees were the sole victims in yesterday's outing.)

I put my face into my hands and then peeked through my fingers. We were still on camera.

At this point, everyone we were with started HOWLING their heads off and screaming "KISS HER!" The Comedian turned another shade of crimson. I looked up and started waving NO with my hands. The camera guy was STILL on us.

It felt like 10 minutes before they finally gave up and moved onto the next couple eager to exchange spit in a public forum.

For the entire ninth inning, my focus was squarely on the game. (In case any of you care, the Bisons won 2-1.)

We went for pizza & wings at The Anchor Bar afterwards and FSIL brought up the Kiss Cam again. Oh I'm gonna get her back when she and my bro finally tie the knot and I'm making the proud sister speech. :P

We made it back across the border and The Comedian gave me a hug before he headed home. He asked me when I'd be back down in the area. I told him I'd check my schedule and check back in with him later in the week.

So far, he doesn't scare me. My gut isn't screaming "run away" the way it did with The Welder. I'm happy about that. I get a very strong sense of calm from The Comedian. However I am concerned that he may not have enough of a backbone for me. When I sense weakness in a man, I tend to want to crush him. It's horrible I know, but that's my first instinct.

I guess I'd better learn to play nice if I want this to go somewhere. I just hope it doesn't go to Crazytown the way it went with The Welder.