If you worked at the ball park, what would you do?
Would you sell beer and pretzels like Al and Vernon? You can find them at Ashburn Alley, named after Phillies Hall of Fame center fielder Richie Ashburn, who played for the team from 1948 to 1959 and was a Phillies broadcaster from 1963 until his death in 1997.Al worked at the Vet for 30 years, then made the transition to Citizens Bank Park when the first ball was pitched on April 12, 2004. He is the kind of guy you would love to sit and talk with for hours, knowing that he has great stories to tell. Of course, having chatted for awhile, I had to buy a pretzel from them which, I admit, was much tastier than the ones I had bought outside the ballpark .
Or would you like to whisk the paper cone into the cotton candy machine, spinning the pink giant bouffant of sugar fluff?
Could you imagine yourself as the artist in front of your easels ready to draw those exaggerated cartoon portraits?
How heavy are those cases?
Beer is a big seller. (duh) Some bottles are sold at stands around the park, but the hardest job at the park is carrying around cases of beer. When I asked to take the picture of the seller to the left, he immediately put down his load to stand up proudly with all his buttons on display. I did see him later hauling his case on top of his head while clamoring up and down the 400 level steps. With a South Philly carnival hawkers voice, loud, boisterous, he seemed happy to be working.
And finally, when the game is over we pass the ever present saxophone player, the New Orleans style brass band, and entrepreneurs with coolers full of gaterade and water, and then there is that woman selling CDs (3 hours of content, ???? she explains),We approach the SEPTA subway station greeted by the chant:
Pretzels, water for a buck, T-shirts for five.
