Old Habits

Javier walked over to Yankee Stadium this morning because old habits are hard to break. His baseball tickets are already secured though his many neighborhood connections, but he was drawn to the ticket line that ran along River Avenue.

“I have lots of great memories from here,” Javier explained. “I always wanted to be first in line, but I never was. I did have some pretty good spots though. They were like gold in the days before the Internet.”

His friend Jose came out last night looking for a good spot and Javier was bringing him breakfast. He had a sack stuffed with chocolate donuts, egg sandwiches, coffee and a couple of bananas. When he spotted Jose near the front of the line he pulled out a banana and moved in from behind.

He jabbed the banana in Jose’s back and said:

“Stick ‘em up.”

Jose slowly raised his hands and then quickly spun to grab the banana.

“Thanks for breakfast,” he said.

Javier peeled the lid off his coffee and asked for the scoop.

“So what’s been happening?”

“What do you think has been happening?” Jose snapped. “My feet hurt and my back hurts and I’m cold.”

“But at least you’re having fun,” Javier said.

“No,” Jose said. “I’m not having fun.”

Javier shook his head.

“I just don’t understand you kids today,” he said. “I’ve stood in the snow for tickets and loved every minute. Any sissy can sit in front of a computer and buy baseball tickets. You’re out here doing it the right way.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Jose said.

“We’ll come out together next year,” Javier promised. “I’ve got this big book of baseball trivia and I’ll bring dominoes and we can play all night.”

“You really are crazy,” Jose said.

“Yeah.”