Phillies take root

The other day I was lucky enough to make it to my first Phillies game of the season, and daaaayum was it good--one of the best I've ever seen. There were big hits for the Phils, a temporary comeback from the other guys (just enough to get your heart racing), and lots of good friends and beer.

The game got me thinking back to 2008, to when the Phils won the World Series, and the whole city charged Broad Street. It's one of my favorite nights I've ever had in this city; there's not much I would change about it. That said, one thing has left me with a funky aftertaste for two years now. In the fury of the win, people were grabbing at anything they could, climbing, shaking and pulling--including the little trees in planter boxes along the road. I remember thinking that there's a difference between fun and destruction, but I guess with enough excitement (and beer?) that line gets blurred.

Anyway, that made me curious about the state of those trees. I know that some got ripped out, but what about the rest? So I marched my tooshie up to Broad and checked it out. Not surprisingly, things are in good standing. There are trees in each planter on the south side of City Hall, and they all seem to be about the same age, so all's well that ends well, right?

Hopefully, this year *when* the Phillies bring it all home again, it'll just be the light poles that fans hop up.