October 6, 2024: Citizens Bank Park

The crowd of 45,000 was restless and agitated as the Phillies were down 3-0 late in the game. Just as the game seemed hopeless, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos slugged home runs to knot up the game. The crowd erupted, and soon after, a Mets couple was about to hear it from the sea of red. The pair had been rooting for their team the entire game, and it was time for revenge. Insults and names rained down from everyone in the nosebleeds; one fan even punched the husband in the chest. Security rushed over, and the Mets fan pleaded for them to do something, but it was an ill-fated attempt because every fan in the section gaslit in unison, claiming he did no such thing. Stories got twisted, and the Mets fan was the one escorted by security. Welcome to the city of Brotherly Love and Red October.

September 26, 2024: 11 Trolley Westbound

The 11 was delayed today, so I had time to study my fellow impatient trolley riders. One was an off-the-clock businessman who had just stripped his work clothes off, leaving him with a white tee, black dress pants, grey headphones, and a blinding circle chain necklace. The other waiting passenger was a woman around his age all by herself. As soon as he saw her, the headphones came off, and he got to talking. I did not hear a word he said, and I am sure she didn’t either. His blinged-out chain with a picture of his mother was so massive and eye-drawing that it drowned any opportunity to listen to anything he was saying. They got off at different stops, and he did not get her number. It seems his late mother cock-blocked him from the grave … or maybe he just had no game.

September 24, 2024: Citizens Bank Park

Whenever the Phillies are getting blown out, I resort to people-watching to pass the time. I was stationed on the suite-level bridge, so the number of people to watch was minimal. But one man caught my attention as he was suspiciously walking with his phone at chest level.

Approaching his direction, a woman in short shorts and her coworker were lost in conversation. Just as they passed, he decided this was his moment—aimed his phone at her legs, and off went his flash.

I watched in pure secondhand embarrassment as his face turned from slick confidence to lustful shame. The woman and her coworker whipped their heads around with a look of disgust, and I got a front-row seat.