I have three Lou Brock
autographs, all gifts from my older brother, who was big into baseball
collectibles in the early 1980s. When I say big, I mean he had more than
250,000 baseball cards, including a Mickey Mantle
rookie card, and hundreds of autographed bats.
rookie card, and hundreds of autographed bats.
Gary Jo had a booth at a card show where Brock was one of the
celebrities signing autographs. He got several balls signed, and gave me one
because he was a nice guy, and we were, you know, brothers.
He gave me a framed autographed photo for Christmas.
But the bat he gave to me
purely out of guilt. We lived two houses away from each other, and went to
quite a few Cardinals games in 1982. So when he bought two tickets to each of
the four home games in the World Series against the Brewers, I was sure he
would take me to at least one. It got to be Game 7, and I was so sure he would
invite me that I called in sick to work and waited by the phone. The call never
came. My brother, my only older brother, took some guy named Dan to Game 7 of
the World Series, in St. Louis, which the Cardinals won. The party in the
streets lasted for hours afterward, and I wasn’t there. I was at work, where I
called in not sick after all, watching the game on a small black-and-white TV
that I smuggled in to the plant.
To make it up to me, Gary Jo
gave me this autographed Lou Brock edition Louisville Slugger, that Brock had
actually used in games. It is a beautiful piece of wood, blonde, sleek, perfect
for my grip and swing. A work of art. One of my favorite possessions.
But it still doesn’t make up
for Game 7.
I would have taken you to Game 7 and I was cuter than your brother.
ReplyDeleteYes, that would have been fun, and yes, you are much cuter than my brother. You would have been, what, 14 or so?
DeleteWhen I was a junior in high school, I auditioned for All-State Choir. Vocal music was my reason for getting up every morning. I was a legend in my own mind. That was the year no one from my school was chosen. My music director was incensed at what she felt was a purely political move.
ReplyDeleteI was devastated, and carried that hurt around for years (as if it really mattered in the grand scheme of things). That is, until another music teacher suggested, "Maybe you were not as good as you remember being..."
Hmmmmmm. Well, crud! That's when I knew it was time to GET OVER IT!
Wee Granny, I know how you feel, and you are exactly right. In the grand scheme of things, vocal music matters very little. But we're talking baseball here, and not just baseball, but Cardinals baseball, and not just any old baseball game, but World Series baseball, and not just World Series baseball, but Game 7, a home game in St. Louis. There haven't been many of those.
DeleteFor what it is worth, I thought you were a good singer.