I bet Dick Gephardt doesn't talk to people that way!

Today we had yet another Spring Training game in our facility. By this point in Spring Training, its all become pretty much the same routine on a gameday with the only difference being the crowd size on a particular day which has a direct correlation with two things: (1) weather and (2) opposing team. Well today's weather was beautiful and the St. Louis Cardinals were in town, which meant that we would have a an above average (size wise) crowd in attendance today. There was however one thing that was a little different than normal, there were a few minor celebrities in attendance. We get celebrities from time to time but normally, somebody's agent or secretary will call and inform a member of our staff that so-and-so is planning on attending today's game and ask if we could arrange for a luxury suite or special parking privleges.

Today was different, there were two minor celebrities in attendance and neither had anybody call ahead to inform us. One was former politician Dick Gephardt who just sauntered in and sat down in a box seat, enjoyed a beer or two and then left without ever being bothered or noticed. The second celebrity was John Goodman. John was not nearly as lucky as Mr. Gephardt because, as we all know, a whole lot more people have seen King Ralph than the number of people who could even name there own representatives and senators, much less one from Missouri. Well, needless to say, Goodman was quickly noticed and after fighting off autograph hounds and well wishers for the better part of seven innings decided it best if he vacated the premises shortly after the seventh inning stretch. Our staff generally hands out pocket schedules to people exiting the stadium during the final two innings and happened to already be manning the gates in the bottom half of the seventh. As Mr. Goodman was on his way out, he strode through the exit and past my colleague Calvin who says to John, "Hey Walter, tell the Dude I said hi." Without missing a beat a clearly annoyed John Goodman blurts out, "Blow me!". Well, Calvin and fellow staff member Joe both hear this and erupt into laughter as John Goodman walks away feeling just a little bit better about himself. What an awesome dude.