This was the walkway in the back of the general admission area under the centerfield scoreboard at Candlestick Park. It provided some shade on sunny days. I took these pictures with my 35mm Canon film camera. I shot with 35mm Kodak Kodachrome film. This was back in the days when I had to ration out my picture taking as I only had about 37 exposures on one roll of film. I wish I had my current digital camera while photographing at Candlestick Park in the late 1980’s.  I would have taken a lot more pictures.

Many sports fans who enjoyed Candlestick Park remember the section they sat in. People remember the places where they had fun with family and friends. Enjoying the games and discussing sports strategy build relationships. Many fans spent quality time at Candlestick Park. Everyone needs social interaction to grow and learn. Candlestick Park was a place we all could gather together and interact.

During this Pandemic, our social interaction has drastically changed. We do Zoom to see our family, relatives and friends. Our live social interactions have been limited to a handful of people for this last year. Good relationships help individuals become better. Despite the hardships of this past year, we’ve learned new things from each other.

Just as we see the dark shade versus the bright sun shining over the stadium seats, good relationships can bring light to individuals who could be in the dark. We all face darkness in our trials, temptations and hardships. Facing challenges can be confusing and difficult to choose the correct path out of the confusing darkness.

A few years ago, a few of us went on a cruise vacation. We had a blast together. One friend decided to try the acupuncturist on the ship due to a bad foot problem. She found the treatments wonderful in providing relief for her problem. She suggested my wife and I try this specialist for physical problems. My wife was not too keen to try. The experience definitely brought light and improvement for my wife. She still practices what the acupuncturist told her to do. If it were not for our relationships to encourage us to try something new, we would not have gained the valuable lessons.

We all need relationships to help us get out of the dark and see new light. It’s no fun falling down and hurting ourselves as we stumble in the dark.

Photos reveal dark and light!

This Candlestick Park concession vendor #289 was either in the General Admissions or the bleacher section. These were the cheap and affordable seats at $2.50, since they were far from home plate. We were restricted to stay in this area and not allowed to other parts of the stadium.

It is always fun to buy the snacks and food at the ballpark. This guy was selling peanuts at 75 cents and soft drinks at $1.25 a cup. It is hard to believe those prices existed once upon a time. I wonder how much profit these vendors received from all their hard work.

Candlestick Park was full, since the SF Giants were playing the Dodgers. Most fans enjoyed eating and drinking during a baseball game. It was part of the fun.

We watched Super Bowl LV. Normally we would go to someone’s house for a Super Bowl party. There are a lots of great food selections at this football potluck. It was fun being with our friends. Unfortunately, there was no fun party to attend with our friends. We had our private party at home with our homemade pizza, dumplings and swordfish. We did enjoy eating and watching the game by ourselves.

Part of the fun we had at Candlestick Park was enjoying the game while eating with our friends. It was so nice how tickets and food were affordable, so everyone could go. I could attend any game, if my schedule was free. I did not hesitate about buying food at the Stick, since prices were reasonable.

Who knows when we will be at Oracle Park again to watch the SF Giants live? Will Opening Day be available to the public? Not only do we not know if fans can go due to this pandemic, but what will prices be like. Unfortunately, Oracle Park and the SF Giants have lost lots of money due to the pandemic. Businesses are challenged how to operate with our current challenges.

Many of us enjoy the old memories at Candlestick Park where availability of tickets, food and fun were easy and affordable. These old pictures show the younger generation what it was like to attend a baseball game at Candlestick Park, and how the atmosphere was different. There were no barriers to stop people from going as there are today. Of course in 30 years in the future, our current day scenario will look good.

The lesson learned is to appreciate today’s circumstances. We cannot go back in time, but we can appreciate the good old fun experiences. We should not be overly worried about tomorrow on circumstances we cannot control. We should just make the most of each day and be thankful for today.

Photos tell old stories!

I took this picture many years ago with my 35mm Canon film camera. The San Diego Padres were the SF Giants opponent and were taking batting practice and were doing pre-game stretching exercises before a night game. The picture sums up Candlestick Park during a summer night game being windy, cold, and kind of dreary during many occasions.

This photograph is a good reminder we all need to stretch. As I get older, aches and pains are starting to happen. There are back and neck issues which sometimes bother me. I may not be a professional baseball player who stress their bodies in playing. But I still experience stress in my body.

During this pandemic, my goal is to improve my health and build up our immunity to reduce risk in catching this unpredictable virus. I already had a Fitbit and was walking. I increased my step to close to 20,000 per day.  I was able to reduce my weight by 10 pounds. The Fitbit inspires me to walk my quota of steps each hour. I do not go out to walk but walk all over my home. I keep moving and watch my count during the day. The Fitbit encourages me to keep walking.

Another tool I recently acquired is the Chirp Wheel. We happened to find a little cheaper deal and remembered seeing this product on Shark Tank. 

This is the link to see this Shark Tank clip.

I just started trying to stretch on this wheel. My wife accidentally fell off the wheel when it was uneven on her exercise mat. So I do need to be careful while stretching on it. It did feel good on my back. My wife is trying to stretch her back to help her sciatica.

It is important to find things to inspire us to fix and improve when faced with a problem. It is easy to get discouraged when in pain. There is some physical pain where there is no easy solution. But when possible, stretching has improved how we feel. Walking has helped me emotionally and physically. Walking does calm me down especially during this pandemic period.

Try something new to improve our physical being. If we can improve how we feel physically, this helps our emotional and spiritual being.

Photos Inspire! Go Giants!