My dad couldn't wait to get this shout-out pic up on his facebook.
We decided to eat the sandwiches in the car, and to see if we could get the sign in through a different entrance. So we went back to the parking garage to eat. Now, the handicapped parking is on the lower level of the "Garden Garage," and to park there you either have to be handicapped, or have some sort of special VIP parking pass. Most of the cars down there are pretty fancy, since this is apparently where very important people park. There were some Bentleys, Mercedes, oh, and our 1994 Ford Aerostar with manual locks and windows. People gave some pretty weird looks, but they just don't understand the magic of the Aerostar.(like when me and a couple of buddies drove it down to San Francisco, and the "Check Engine" light was on the whole time but it still miraculously survived)
After finishing our pre-game meal, we went back into the Rose Garden and this time no one said anything about my sign. The temperature in
there is pretty cool, which is perfect for my Dad
. He has MS and is pretty sensitive to any kind of heat. It was a little too loud for him though, so he decided to go with some ear plugs, thus rendering any kind of verbal communication totally useless. We narrowed our in-game communication down to three basic things:
1. The slow side-to-side head shake. This is used to express disappointment or disgust, usually when something goes wrong.
2. The slow up-and-down head nod. This is used to tell the other person that what just happened was really awesome.
3. The fist pump. Usually reserved for late-in-the-game moments, the fist pump says that you approve of your team's play.
1. The slow side-to-side head shake. This is used to express disappointment or disgust, usually when something goes wrong.
2. The slow up-and-down head nod. This is used to tell the other person that what just happened was really awesome.
3. The fist pump. Usually reserved for late-in-the-game moments, the fist pump says that you approve of your team's play.
Not only did I get my sign through security, I got it on television. Take that, Rose Garden Security squad.
At halftime I bought a bottle of water for my Dad (3.75, easily 3 dollars more than the going rate for a bottle of water this size) and a diet coke for myself (7.50--yes, you read that correctly). I would have had to take out another student loan to pay for a whole meal.
After a disappointing loss (disappointing even though I got on the jumbo-tron twice, and TV with my awesome sign) we headed home. Eventually my Dad took out his ear plugs (he wore them all the way out to the car, I was starting to wonder if he'd had enough of listening to me). We talked about the game on our way home. My Dad and I could always find something to argue about--politics, religion, whether or not he should wear his dirty old work jeans to a Blazer game, etc. But basketball will always bring us together and give us a common ground to stand on. It sounds like a silly thing, but it means a lot to me.
After a disappointing loss (disappointing even though I got on the jumbo-tron twice, and TV with my awesome sign) we headed home. Eventually my Dad took out his ear plugs (he wore them all the way out to the car, I was starting to wonder if he'd had enough of listening to me). We talked about the game on our way home. My Dad and I could always find something to argue about--politics, religion, whether or not he should wear his dirty old work jeans to a Blazer game, etc. But basketball will always bring us together and give us a common ground to stand on. It sounds like a silly thing, but it means a lot to me.
