“They say athletes die twice, and it’s true retirement and death
can be hard to tell apart. Both elicit
tears and testimonials.” Steve Rushin
In “Meanings to An
End” Sports Illustrated columnist
Steve Rushin wrote about baseball teams sporting initials or jersey numbers of
deceased players – Yankees donning number 8 for Yogi Berra, Cardinals wearing
OT parches for Oscar Taveras, and the Cubbies with 14 on their sleeves for “Mr.
Cub,” Ernie Banks. The Astros wore MH
for announcer Milo Hamilton, who In 1980 became part of a stellar Cubs
broadcast team that included Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd, and Lou “Good Kid”
Boudreau. When Brickhouse retired the
following year, the Cubs replaced him with Harry Caray. He and Hamilton never got along, and the Cubs
fired Milo after the 1984 season.
Regarding players
who lived “deep into extra innings,” Rushin
claimed the oldest ex-major leaguer, Mike Sandlock whose his name bore a
pleasing resemblance to sandlot, is
about to turn 100. In the on-deck
circle, as Rushin put it, is 99 year-old Eddie Carnett. Rushin loves odd names such as recently
deceased former NBA players Harry “The Horse” Gallatin (sounds like gallopin’)
and Neal Walk, whose name describes the stages of a baby’s development after
crawl, i.e., kneel and walk. Learning of
32 year-old Yankee catcher Thurman Munson’s death in a plane crash in 1979 gave
12 year-old Rushin a temporary fear of flying and, in his words, “the first hint of my own mortality.”
Thurman Munson
At my reunion was a
display honoring deceased classmates, including Bill McAfee and Vickie Vroom
who died young. I thought of lovable
Molly Schade and basketball player John Magyar, whose older brother Mike a foot
shorter but who still played junior varsity ball. Next to varsity star James “Big Meek” Meekins,
Mike looked like “Mini Me” in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.” Spotting Bruce Allen’s widow at Sunday
breakfast, I told her that I frequently wear the A and T Auto cap that her
husband gave me. His sudden death last
year is still a shock.
Twice withn 24 hours
I heard the word over-served, meaning having had too much to drink. WXRT’s Terri Hemmert was referring to bar
patrons celebrating the Cubs’ series victory over the Cardinals. At Bucknell I was in that state a few times After
a summer fraternity party in Ocean City I had such a hangover I’m still wary of
drinking Budweiser. These days my tolerance
for beer is higher.
At bowling, an
opponent threw up his hands in exasperation each time he thought he was robbed
of a strike, a source of merriment for the Engineers during an otherwise
forgettable afternoon. Back from a
15-day bus trip to French Canadian provinces, Bob Robinson asked how the new IUN
building was coming along (slowly) and told me that at church septuagenarian Bob
Votaw claimed that this will be his final semester teaching Geology. Bob’s an easy mark, however, whenever IUN’s
department needs him. Years ago, Toni
tuned in his 7 a.m. TV course on rocks, which was so interesting it piqued my
interest as well.
Ice hockey season
has begun, and the Blackhawks are off to a slow start, getting shut out by the
Flyers. Robert Blaszkiewicz reported: “Our moment with the [Stanley] Cup was
fleeting. But we’ve got a great photo with Sue in the background, thanks to the
Field Museum.”
Michael Bayer, who
is supporting Bernie Sanders for President, shared a photo from John Crock. Conservatives are ridiculing the Vermont Senator’s
being an avowed democratic socialist and Hillary Clinton for moving to the left
to accommodate the Democratic Part’s progressive base.
At Abuelo’s in
Merrillville Ray and Trish Arredondo thanked me for hooking them up with with
Kim Jacobs regarding an Indiana Bicentennial documentary and thanked me for
giving Kim a copy of “Maria’s Journey.”
Ray wondered if I thought about writing about myself. Of course, I do that in my blog but told him
I’d leave that to others. Meanwhile I’m
planning a special Steel Shavings
entitled: “On Their Shoulders: Families of the Calumet Region.” It will combine my research on the parents of
important Regionites with student contributions from Steve McShane’s Indiana
History class.
Formerly President
and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northwest Indiana, Trish is disgusted with
rightwing Republican efforts to politicize making fetal tissue available to
medical researchers. She worked closely
with Catholic Services when women sought to put babies up for adoption. One desperate teenager with two kids came to
her agency after her husband got caught stealing in an effort to feed the
family. The woman told Trish that she
didn’t want another child going without proper food or clothes and preferred placing
her with someone who could care for her properly.
Jimbo and Midge Roberts in Florida, 1984
With a close
relative in an assisted living facility, Trish and Ray, like me, were extremely
pleased with the hospice care provided, including, as was the case with Midge,
friendly companions by their side throughout the day. Sympathy cards keep
arriving as folks learn about my mother’s death, the latest from Sue Leary and
Mike Olszanski, “hoping that time will
help soften your sadness, leaving only beautiful memories that will last
forever in your heart.” Nice
Lee Botts and Pat
Wisniewski invited me to a “fine cut” screening of their documentary “Shifting
Sands” next week at the National Lakeshore Visitors Center. I’m hoping IUN grad Amanda Board still works
there. The state of Indiana has
designated the film as a 2016 Bicentennial Event and the National Park Service
has designated it as a Centennial Event.
Impressive.
Phil arrived from
Michigan for Angie’s forty-fifth birthday celebration Saturday. The night before, he and I took on Dave and
Toni in bridge, and eight of us enjoyed spaghetti and hot dogs, depending on one’s
preference. When Phil noticed Becca
wearing a shirt like mine, he took a photo.
On WXRT’s show about
the year 1981 I heard “Musta Notta Gotta Lotta (Sleep)” and was convinced it
was Jerry Lee Lewis. In fact, when I
heard the name, Joe Ely, I thought the host said Jerry Lee. Ely, a 68 year-old country rocker from
Lubbock, Texas, released the introspective album “Panhandler Rambler” earlier
this year.
My 48 year-old niece
Lisa suffered a heart attack after a blood clot reached her heart. Miraculously, four days later she, Fritz, and
Oliver, in town for daughter Grace’s band competition at Chesterton High
school, met us at Applebee’s for Angie’s birthday and Tamiya’s going away
party. The East Chicago Central grad is
starting army basic training in November.
Angie’s 65 year-old dad John told Tamiya he went through basic training
at age 17. Fritz, a career naval
officer, added that the secret of surviving is being a team player because a
unit is only as strong as its weakest link.
Dave and I turned
off the Michigan-Michigan State game when the Spartans failed to convert a
fourth down play with less than two minutes remaining. Ten minutes later, we learned about a miracle
play where with ten seconds left Wolverine punter Blake O’Neill bobbled the
snap and then lost fumbled the ball right into the hands of MSU’s Jalen
Watts-Jackson, who rambled 38 yards for a TD as time expired. Unbelievable.
Watts-Jackson fractured his hip on the play and Australian-born O’Neill
has received death threats. Michigan
State grad Alissa was watching the game in a room full of Michigan fans who sat
in stunned silence while she celebrated.
On Saturday Night Live Tracy Morgan hosted
16 months after an auto accident left him near death. In his monologue he joked: “People were wondering: Can he speak? Does he have 100 percent mental capacity? But the truth is, I never did.” Larry David did a spot-on imitation of
Bernie Sanders, using his George Steinbrenner voice that he first employ on Seinfeld. Bernie approved and joked that “We’ll use
Larry David at our next event.” Michael
Bayer, a Sanders supporter, shared a photo from John Crock. Conservatives are ridiculing the Vermont
Senator’s being an avowed democratic socialist and Hillary Clinton for moving
to the left to accommodate the Democratic Party’s progressive base.
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