Baseball season has been underway for about a month - we're finishing up our third homestand, with a dismal record and disappointing performance.

Behind the scenes things have been uneventful. Not sure if that's good news or bad news, since it makes most hours at work smooth and easy going, but leads to a scarce supply of things to write about!

But last night came a first, a brief, poignant glimpse into a sad moment in the life of a stranger, along with an unusual phone conversation.

The woman's voice was tentative and subdued. She asked to speak to a supervisor, but since at least a dozen areas of the stadium - from ushers to scoreboard electronics to food service to janitors - have supervisors on duty, I asked her for a little more information to help me direct her call. She hesitated - "my uncle died recently. Would it be possible to scatter his ashes at the stadium?"

I was momentarily taken aback; but briefly explained that the administrative staff of the stadium operations was not there in the evening and I would connect her with the appropriate voice mailbox. I had a chance a little later in the evening to ask one of the managers in the stadium ops office. I was surprised, although I shouldn't have been, to learn that they have received requests like this before and are not able to comply with the request.

I wonder if surprises of one sort or another will ever stop arising in this job?