One of the benefits of singing for the teams in the Cubs’ organization is that I get to meet fascinating people who work for these teams.
Whenever I sing at a new ballpark, I usually leave my seat around the third inning to explore the stadium.
A student of architecture and city planning while at Notre Dame, I enjoy comparing the layouts and amenities at each of the ball parks.
As I turned the corner by the concessions stands under the main grandstand, I came upon the Cub House, a shop where you can buy all kinds of apparel and gifts from the Daytona Cubs. Since I always buy a ball cap from the local Cubs team, I eyed the caps on the left wall.
“Are those fitted caps?” I asked the lady with the nice smile. “They are,” she said in a voice that seemed common in both New York City and a few areas of Florida.
“Let me try a seven and a half,” I suggested. “Okay,” she responded, “but its going to be too small. I consider myself to be a sizeologist when it comes to caps. I can pretty much tell what size people need just by looking at them.”
She handed me blue cap with a youthful bear cub face wearing sunglasses and a cap on backwards.
I put it on my head but it was too tight. She was right.
“Yep,” she said, “try on this 7 and 5/8s.”
This cap slid on smoothly with a little extra room. As I fiddled with the cap, moving it easily atop my noggin, she read my mind. “You know, those caps will shrink a little over time.” I looked inside the cap at the tag: 100% Polyester. Okay, so what; the sizeologist said this is the best size for me, so that’s that.
I was not about to argue with Annette Bismarck. Besides, there was a 20% off End of Season Sale going on that evening.
Annette has worked for the Daytona Cubs for four years, first in ticket sales and the last two in the Cub House. She enjoys talking to the fans and helping them pick out the right merchandise. She was born in the borough of Queens in New York City but moved to Daytona Beach more than ten years ago.
With the playoffs approaching and the season winding down for the Cubs, Annette is not too sad. After the home games are over, she will enjoy lots more time with her new grand baby.
I wonder what size cap he wears.
CF
Note: On September 16, the Chicago Cubs announced that they are moving their A-Advanced affiliate from Daytona to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, signing a new player development contract with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Daytona will now be an A-Advanced affiliate in the Cincinnati Reds organization.
I’m looking forward to singing for the Pelicans!
