My father was a huge baseball fan.  When we lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, he taught me to love the Reds.  I was nine when we moved to Pittsburgh, and it took me a while to stop loving the Reds and start loving the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Today, I could (but won’t) name the players on the Pirates team in the 1950’s.

Of course, I became a Red Sox fan when I moved to Boston, and my loyalty is still strong.  But I had not been to a game at Fenway Park in more than a decade. Until July 4^th.

The park has changed.  There are more bright signs and a new clock that makes sure the pitcher or batter doesn’t waste any time.  The fans still do the “wave” and sing Sweet Caroline at the top of their lungs, me included.  And the big screen captured the surprise proposal of a fan to his now fiancée.

It didn’t matter that the Sox lost.