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| Don Allen, his Grandson Jack and I |
With that being said, that Monday I got an e-mail from Don. He told me he wanted to take his 18 year old grandson Jack to some sporting events during the week because he came up from Northern Virginia to visit and he wants to spend some quality time with him.
Peter had told him about the King and I. He said these guys see more sporting events live than anybody he knows. They can guide you along the best.
With that being said, I replied back to Don's initial e-mail he sent me and we got the ball rolling towards making this dream a reality. I gave Don a number of options to choose from. Mind you Don isn't a sports fan so he didn't know exactly what I was talking about. I asked him what teams his grandson Jack liked. He told me he likes the Islanders, the Knicks, the Nets and the Mets.
With that being said, I went to work to figure out a way to accomodate Jack's needs and wants since his grandpa Don was willing to go for the ride and have a great time regardless of where they wound up going to.
I told him tickets shouldn't be hard to find to see these teams play except for the Knicks. Luckily I had a few extra Knick tickets available so I told Don we'll work out a fair deal so you can spend Easter Sunday at Madison Square Garden with your grandson Jack when the Knicks play the Chicago Bulls in the afternoon.
In addition, he said he wanted to go to see the Nets and Mets play since I told him they were home too. We wrote each other back and forth so we could arrange to meet up since I was going to the Net game that Friday night at the Prudential Center after work.
Since it was Good Friday, I got out of work early at 3PM. I told Don I want to go home fast after work and then I could meet him near the Prudential Center for the Net game. He wrote back to me and said unless you have a prior commitment I want to treat you for dinner. I was beside myself to say the least. I gathered myself and I gave him a few options. He said how about we meet up at the Edison Ale House which is right next to the Prudential Center at 5:30PM. I said you got a deal. I'll see you there then. Being such a precise planner, I managed to arrive there right at 5:30PM. I got to meet and greet Don and Jack who were already seated at a table. Before we ordered our food, Don and I conversed. He said he looked at my blog. I was speechless for a moment. He said just from reading it I know you're a sensitive person. I agreed with him. I told him I am especially when it comes to different people's needs and wants. I have a marketing degree and I practice what I preach. I'm an upfront and honest person. That's who I am. He continued to praise me based on my writing ability. I felt so proud.
Meanwhile his grandson Jack was sitting there taking this in. He unfortunately didn't have much to say. I knew he had a problem which made me even that much more willing to bend over backwards to do whatever I needed to in order to make him happy.
After we enjoyed a delicious meal together, we walked out to look for a few tickets for Don and Jack so they could get into the building to see the Nets play the Washington Wizards. After a few minutes, I saw a familiar face, my friend Bob aka Doc as we know him was there. He tried to help me get them tickets. Moments later a security guard by the door said he had some extra tickets. He was so kind to give them to us. I already had one. So now we were all set. Don was totally beside himself watching me in action.
We all went inside. Jack said he wanted to sit downstairs. With Doc's assistance, Jack's request was fulfilled. We wound up sitting 13 rows up from the Net bench in section 10. A royal upgrade indeed.
As for the game we saw, the Nets found a team they could beat as they ran past the Wizards, 110-98.
After the game, I took the Path train back to Lower Manhattan where Don lives part time since he's semi retired he said, he has three different places to call home. One here in Battery Park, another near his daughter, Jack's mom in Northern Virginia and another place in Italy. He was a very interesting gentleman to say the least.
We parted ways for the night but we arranged to meet at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon so Jack could see the Mets play.
Stay tuned for the other special posts I'm going to do about the continuation of that plus the rest of the amazing holiday weekend I enjoyed.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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