While this isn't "My Dinner with Andre" or "Tuesdays with Morrie", I did have dinner with someone on a Tuesday. During Monday's game thread our very own "scene setter" and moderator Riverbrian noted that he was in Rochester. I work in that fair city and live just over 20 miles away. I contacted Brian when he asked about bakeries, and we agreed to meet for beers and dinner while watching the middle game of the Twins-Indians series.

I really didn't know what to expect. I knew that RB was in town on business (too many people visit Rochester because they or their loved ones are sick) and I knew his approximate age. From his posts, I knew he had a wry sense of humor and quite a bit of knowledge about "our Twins".

First, the surprises (to me). RB is a real baseball fan and really knows the game, but he manages to not be dragged down much when the team loses or makes inexplicable moves. The Alfred E. Neuman moniker is fitting, in that respect. Secondly, I found out why RB didn't participate much in WAR and defensive metric discussions--because he feels those stats in particular are flawed too much to tell us anything about the players in question (I agree!).

We discussed several topics--careers, politics, religion, floods, families and on and on and I can say that I was never bored while discussing these matters. On some items I could have said the same words, on others it was nice to hear a different perspective. In general, it is nice at my age and this point in my life to meet someone new.

Of course, since we are both members of TD, I knew we had a shared obsess.....er deep interest in the same thing--Twins baseball. In conversations with the few TD posters I have met and in meeting people at Spring Training or watching the Cedar Rapids Kernels, I have to say it has been fun and interesting without a single person being boorish or arrogant. Maybe baseball fans are the best people in the world.