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By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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Coors Field Nugget Seven - Goofy Questions
I've had my gig at the stadium for four years now, and over that period of time I've had my share of oddball questions. For some reason, most of the strangest inquiries come via phone call. I recall one or two in person visitors who have had me struggling to keep a straight face, but not many. So for your enjoyment, here is a sampling of phone calls. All these calls really happened, I am not making anything up!
"What time will tomorrow's game be over?" Most sporting events, because of time outs, overtime rules, etc, end after varying amounts of time have elapsed. A baseball game (the "average" game is about three hours) will be affected by weather, by the pitching skill, by runs scored, brouhahas on the field, and so on. It's hard enough to give an estimate when today's game is in progress, but tomorrow's game? I was stumped.
"Is Gonzo busy?" This in response to my opening greeting "Colorado Rockies, may I help you?" At the moment, I had no idea who "Gonzo" was, although I've since learned who he is and where he works, and I can connect a call for him. What puzzled me about this call was that (1) the stadium is a big place, with several hundred phone extensions; and (2) the person answering the phone needs a little more information than just a nickname to connect the caller; and (3) why wouldn't the caller, any caller, understand that?
"I watch the games on my satellite dish in Cortez, and I have no signal today. Why?" Cortez is in the far southwest corner of the state. Explaining that the best source of help was the satellite provider and their tech support line was NOT what the caller wanted to hear. We've got the Rockies on the field up here in Denver, we're obviously in complete command of who gets to watch them, where and how.
"Who is pitching today? No, not for the Rockies, for the visiting team. Who pitches for them tomorrow? And Sunday? and what about Monday?" By Monday, today's visiting team is playing somewhere else, and my Denver newspaper doesn't tell me one iota about their pitching rotation. I find the 800 number for THAT team's ticket line, and recommend the caller try to reach that team directly. He gets irritated with me that I am not a treasure trove of baseball minutia, especially current pitching rotations for other National League teams. He reluctantly hangs up with "well, I guess the only thing I can do is call them, then." Since it's a toll free call - why is that a problem? I still don't understand.
And my favorite, which came to me on Saturday while we waited out an hour and 20 minute rain delay: "How long is it going to rain?" I struggled with the urge to respond that God had neglected to invite me to the meeting. As it happened, I had just heard an announcement on the stadium 2 way radio that the stadium staff expected the rain to last about another 20 minutes, so I told the caller that. He chided me with "It wasn't supposed to rain at all today." What's the sensible response to that? I repeated the most recent radio briefing I had received and thanked him for calling. He responded with one or two brief grumpy remarks and hung up.
I really do like my job, like it quite a bit. I think I'm fortunate that I regard calls like the ones I've described as humorous. If they irritated me, I would go nuts!
"What time will tomorrow's game be over?" Most sporting events, because of time outs, overtime rules, etc, end after varying amounts of time have elapsed. A baseball game (the "average" game is about three hours) will be affected by weather, by the pitching skill, by runs scored, brouhahas on the field, and so on. It's hard enough to give an estimate when today's game is in progress, but tomorrow's game? I was stumped.
"Is Gonzo busy?" This in response to my opening greeting "Colorado Rockies, may I help you?" At the moment, I had no idea who "Gonzo" was, although I've since learned who he is and where he works, and I can connect a call for him. What puzzled me about this call was that (1) the stadium is a big place, with several hundred phone extensions; and (2) the person answering the phone needs a little more information than just a nickname to connect the caller; and (3) why wouldn't the caller, any caller, understand that?
"I watch the games on my satellite dish in Cortez, and I have no signal today. Why?" Cortez is in the far southwest corner of the state. Explaining that the best source of help was the satellite provider and their tech support line was NOT what the caller wanted to hear. We've got the Rockies on the field up here in Denver, we're obviously in complete command of who gets to watch them, where and how.
"Who is pitching today? No, not for the Rockies, for the visiting team. Who pitches for them tomorrow? And Sunday? and what about Monday?" By Monday, today's visiting team is playing somewhere else, and my Denver newspaper doesn't tell me one iota about their pitching rotation. I find the 800 number for THAT team's ticket line, and recommend the caller try to reach that team directly. He gets irritated with me that I am not a treasure trove of baseball minutia, especially current pitching rotations for other National League teams. He reluctantly hangs up with "well, I guess the only thing I can do is call them, then." Since it's a toll free call - why is that a problem? I still don't understand.
And my favorite, which came to me on Saturday while we waited out an hour and 20 minute rain delay: "How long is it going to rain?" I struggled with the urge to respond that God had neglected to invite me to the meeting. As it happened, I had just heard an announcement on the stadium 2 way radio that the stadium staff expected the rain to last about another 20 minutes, so I told the caller that. He chided me with "It wasn't supposed to rain at all today." What's the sensible response to that? I repeated the most recent radio briefing I had received and thanked him for calling. He responded with one or two brief grumpy remarks and hung up.
I really do like my job, like it quite a bit. I think I'm fortunate that I regard calls like the ones I've described as humorous. If they irritated me, I would go nuts!
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