Thanks Wade

I wasn't planning on going to the game last night but Breanne said she was in the mood so we took the bus downtown to try and scalp a pair of tickets. When buying from scalpers, Breanne always goes off to do something else. She isn't good with scalpers. They make her nervous, and regardless of what the scalper suggests up front, she'll look at me and say, "that sounds like a good deal." Not that she's terribly green, but I know that we look it- particularly when we're together. Suckers. So I go off on my own, try to look tough, and try my best to haggle.
The first scalper I spoke to wanted 50 bucks apiece for two 36.00 tickets, which he assured me was the best I was going to get on a Friday night with the rival Dodgers in town. I told him I wouldn't pay more than 60 for the pair and he laughed in my face, called me a goofball (seriously), and said to stop wasting his time. While I was walking away he reiterated, "Don't waste my time, goofball!"
I talked to a few more scalpers.
Then I ran into a guy selling two view box seats, he was asking 60 dollars for a pair. They would have been 52 at the box office, but impossible to get for a Friday night. I offered him 40 bucks and again, I was laughed at, so I started walking away. Before I made it three steps he called me back, and in a tone of surrender, said he'd give them to me for 40. When I pulled the cash out of my pocket he saw that I had two twenties and a few tens and he said, "how about we make it 50, you've got enough," but the deal was done. I had saved 12 dollars off the box price and landed two good seats in the view box.
When we got inside, the seats were even better than I'd anticipated. We were up above home plate and had a perfect view of the Dodgers dugout. There was a brick wall behind us that kept us from getting battered by the bay wind, and allowed us to stand up without being in any one's way. The seats were perfect. But this was just the beginning of our good luck.
When Manny came up to bat in the 1st inning, I stood up to get a photograph and Breanne gave a solo standing ovation. Like most anywhere Ramirez has gone in his brief National League tenure, he was met with a chorus of boos from the San Francisco crowd. Multiple fans in our small section jeered and hollered negative things.
After Manny lined out to end the inning, the man to my right asked me if I was a Boston fan or a Dodgers fan. He was older, probably around 60, Chinese, with a Giants cap and jacket and headphones in his ears. We started talking, mostly about Manny and Bonds and their infamy. I found out that he had been a season ticket holder for the last 6 seasons, and, since his retirement, he made it to about 60 games a year. I told him a little bit about the games I'd been to, and we chatted off and on as the game progressed. Sometime in the middle innings, he handed me a business card with his name at the top, Wade Hong, and it had his email at the bottom and . He told me that along with a few of the other season ticket holders in the section, he had started an online email group to find buyers for games they couldn't attend. They sell them cheaper than the box office, and they're posted for all the games remaining in the season. I thanked him and promised he'd hear from me soon.
Later in the game, Wade said he was getting up to go sit with some friends a few sections over. We said goodbye and thanks again. A couple innings later, a wiry man with big teeth and thick glasses came over and stuck a pair of tickets in my face.
"You won the lottery," he said. I didn't know what he was talking about. "They're from Wade," he said. I looked over to where Wade was sitting and he waved over to us.
After the last out, I walked over and thanked him and he said they were from Woody too. I don't know who Woody is, and I barely know Wade, but all and all it was a prosperous and fun night. We'll be sitting next to Wade at 6:05 tonight when Hiroki Kuroda takes the mound against the Giants.

On a side note, Manny went 0-5, reaching base only once via an error, thus ending his NL/Dodgers hit streak.