For some people, warm weather and the sight of green grass are the first signs of spring. For others, it’s changing the clocks in March. And for the rest of us—the best of us, I like to think—it’s Truck Day. If that’s the case for you, then congratulations. You’ve made it through another winter.
Photo by Tim Healey/@timbhealey
Today at approximately 12:01 p.m., the Jet Blue-sponsored tractor-trailer took off down Van Ness Street to make its annual trek to Fort Myers, FL, the first sign that Opening Day is rapidly approaching.
When I arrived around 10 a.m., there was group of only 10 fans there—and just as many members of the media—but the crowd certainly got bigger as noon grew closer and closer. All kinds of die-hards showed up; there was a couple that made the trip from New Hampshire, a man who said his father took him to Fenway in the 1960 to see Ted Williams, and even a father who took his two kids out of school for the day.
Those intricate details lead me to another great part of Truck Day (and events at Fenway in general): The mood is always high and people love to talk. It was cold, lots of people lost feelings in their limbs after a while and a classic New England wintery mix was falling, but everyone was pumped to be there. Everyone wanted to chat up the person next to them, talk about where they were from, discuss whether it was their first Truck Day or not.
Everyone in attendance all “ooh’ed” and “aah’ed” as they loaded various things into the truck—especially when we saw a model of Fenway Park made out of legos—and couldn’t help but wonder when a baby car seat and a tricycle were among the items. When all was said in done, the truck was filled to the brim, not even able to fit another flat screen TV (luckily for the Red Sox, those made it into the truck before it was filled). Truck driver Al Hartz started the ignition, much to the delight of the crowd, a flatbed with Sox employees and Wally led the pseudo-parade and the journey began. Really, the side of the trailer said it all: “First stop: Fort Myers. Next stop: The Series.”
All we can do is hope. Happy baseball season, everyone!
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