Field of Dreams Come True

I was at work this past Wednesday morning when the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and it said 'Kent Hrbek.' My heart just about leaped out of my chest. Before I go any further, I love baseball. I have loved baseball since I was old enough to know how to speak. Growing up in Minnesota, it is all about the Minnesota Twins. Kent Hrbek played his whole entire baseball career in Minnesota and has been my ALL TIME favorite baseball player, ever. So, seeing this name appear on the caller ID at work, you can now somewhat imagine what I was feeling.

I picked up the phone and started carrying on a conversation with the man on the other end of the line. I have met Kent before, and from what I could remember, it sounded exactly like him, so it just had to be him. He started asking me all types of typical questions related to the business and what we do. All questions of which I would normally have no trouble answering, but just knowing that I was speaking with him, my idol, made me fluster and fumble every word out of my mouth.

Long story short, I set up an estimate for him. I asked if he would like to meet with someone at his home, or if we should just walk around and leave the estimate for him. He kind of let on that he would like to meet with someone, so I told Kent that the owner of the company would call him when he was on his way out to his house the next day.

After I hung up the phone I told the owner of the company who it was that just called. I almost begged to go with to do the estimate with him! The owner knows what a baseball nut I am, so he gladly allowed me to go along!

The next day, we drove out to Kent's house. I didn't have a lot of expectations, because I knew there was a good chance that he might not even be there. At first he wasn't there, but then we called him and he drove up within just a few minutes. We were able to sit and chat with him for a good hour AND went inside of the house!!! Seriously, made my day...well I suppose we could maybe even say made my year! Think about someone who you have idolized or have been a huge fan of your whole life and it is pretty much the equivalent.

His house was gorgeous, and he was so nice and funny! I had to hold my tongue several times because I wanted to tell him that I have loved him since I was 2 years old and that I was his biggest fan! But, I remained professional. I kind of had the impression that he didn't think we knew who he was. At least until the very end when my boss made a comment about how he likes to fish. None-the-less, it was a great experience and it was just another one of the really cool perks of my job!

 

One of my favorite pictures ever from 2007.

Until we meet again.