Turning 23

I turned twenty three last Saturday. To celebrate the occasion, I went down to Westchester to visit my family and attend Old Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium. It was a short trip, on account of the looming community college final exam for my paramedic program, but it was chock-full of activities. On Friday, my brother and I saw the just-released "Inception," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Talk about a complex movie, but it was quite an experience, especially seeing it on the big screen.

Saturday was the big day itself. New York City was experiencing a heat wave, which meant staying shielded and hydrated was extremely important. My usual modus operandi for baseball games is to forego sunblock, suffer a severe sunburn and then wish I hadn't. Older and wiser now, I instead opted for the preventative application of some SPF 50. That in conjunction with some well-placed shade made for an altogether sunburn-free day.

The Old Timers' Day festivities were a lot of fun. Many of the surviving figures in Yankees lore were in attendance, luminaries like Whitey Ford, Don Larsen and Ron Guidry. Yogi Berra had planned on coming but he had suffered a fall the night before and was recuperating at home. After the introductions were complete, there was a two-inning scrimmage between the two sides, although many of the old Old Timers were replaced by more recent veterans such as Pat Kelly and David Cone.

The Yankees-Rays game was less dramatic than the exhibition game preceding it, in large part because A.J. Burnett gave an early preview of the final result by allowing five runs in 2.1 innings. Still, we had great seats and it was fun to see my favorite players up close. Watching games on TV just isn't the same experience, for watching the players or the game. And of course the new Yankee Stadium has to be seen to be believed. It was quite a birthday!