See this cute guy? This is Big Lug.
picture courtesy of Lansing Lugnuts
I fell in love with the guy who followed him around.
I grew up loving baseball. When I needed a summer job in 2000, I worked in various customer service roles for the Lansing Lugnuts minor league baseball team. I LOVED it!! I got to work outside and watch baseball games and got paid for it! Sah-weet!!!
In my 3rd season, I got the prestigious assignment of Elevator Attendant and yes, it was as exciting as it sounds. Basically, my job was to make sure that you did not go upstairs to the suite level unless you had a Suite ticket. I know, it still sounds lame but I liked it. I got to work with more of the front office staff, meet some of the Corporate sponsors and its ultimately how I met my husband.
One day I was guarding the Suite level with my life (or standing in the elevator bay desperate for someone to come through and save me from boredom), when in comes Big Lug to do his mascot appearances in the Suite Level. But who was the cutie blonde guy behind him?
That’s when the season got much more interesting. I looked forward to Big Lug’s trips down to the field – he & his attendant, Mr. Cutie Pie, had to come through my elevator bay to get there. They had to cross my path to get up the Suite level or the Front Office. I kept an eye for when they would walk along the concourse and passed my door. Mr. Cutie Pie and I had exchanged hellos & smiles but had yet to have an actual conversation.
Until Mr. Cutie Pie had the misfortune of getting an eye infection which required him to wear his glasses to work that day. I finally had an in to start a conversation! Granted it was a lame conversation about glasses and eye infections but it was a conversation!!
From that point on, we were pretty inseparable. We would flirt whenever we crossed paths. Back then, the staff would all go back to “Bumpers”, where groups would hold parties, and have a drink or two. Mr. Cutie Pie and I would usually find ourselves sitting together and he would walk me to my car. He even persevered when the first two times he asked me out, I had prior commitments and had to say no. (Thank you, Honey, for asking that third time!)
Believe me, if you had told me that 9 years later, I would have married that mascot attendant (who by the way, had a fair share of stints in the mascot costume himself!), moved to Houston and have an adorable daughter with him, I don’t think I would have believed you. But sometimes, love comes to you in the form a big purple dinosaur. Just not THAT purple dinosaur!
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