A pair of season pass holders couldn’t make it to opening day because they had an opening day of their own. It was the grand opening of their small business in La Mesa, but they made sure to fill their seats with life-long Padres fans.
Angela Thomasson is the co-owner of Thoughtful Creations in La Mesa and a Padres' superfan who made a bit of a scheduling error with her business partner.
"I said, 'So I have a little problem. Our grand opening is opening day for the Padres,'" Thomasson said.
After months of preparation, she says there was no turning back. She made the tough decision to give up her and her husbands tickets.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
"I felt it in my heart that we needed to give the tickets away," Thomasson said. "A lot of people reached out to us."
But it was one Logan Heights family who touched their heart.
"The people out there who gave us the tickets, it shows you that there are still people out there who have kind hearts," said Davian Ruiz, who was gifted the opening day tickets.
California
News from across California
A family member shared their story with the Thomassons. The Ruiz family was hit hard by COVID-19.
"I ended up being in the hospital for 37 days and during that time I lost my dad and a couple of other family members," Ruiz told NBC 7.
Ruiz lost family who were supposed to celebrate opening day together last year. And while those loved ones were missing this time, Ruiz says he's grateful for their memory and the ones by his side today.
"I'm just grateful that I'm able to walk around and enjoy our city and be with my wife and my family. You take things for granted and COVID-19 is real. Anyone who thinks it's not..it is. Take it seriously," he said.
"There's been a lot of loss a lot of hurt in this community, so it feels good that we can do something nice for somebody who needed a nice day," Thomasson said.
Although Ruiz has been out of the hospital nearly three months, he is still dealing with lingering COVID-19 symptoms.
As for the Thomasson's, they'll be at the Padres game on Friday, hoping for another win.
