The last posting, I left you with a very lame rap. I have to apologize. I am not a good rapper and will keep my day job, 'cause the music business will have nothing to do with me. LL Cool J has not returned my calls or texts.
It's Labor Day weekend and we have a few scheduled events. I just got a call from the college student. They started to grill burgers this morning for their tailgate party in preparation for the first football game of the year. The Angel is on the balcony of the apartment grilling the burgers on the George Foreman grill that I let him use for the semester. He is wearing a suit coat, no shirt and is in his boxers (from the description that Buddy gave me). I hope that the grease does not splatter on his legs. That would hurt. Can anyone spell "skin grafting?" And so, the team has the weekend off to rest for fall ball.
Buddy is very happy 'cause he and Nemesis made an article in Baseball America. They are part of a pitching staff that has one of the lowest ERAs in the country. They were at the top of their own conference and now legends on campus.
What does this do to a 19 year old's ego? What do you think? Whereas it is true, any pitcher needs to feel that he is the 'man'. He wants the ball during the toughest situations. He has to feel that he is the best person on the team. He needs an ego the size and diameter of the sun. Buddy's ego has been incrementally increasing...from a pebble...to a rock....a boulder....a mountain...he needs it. There are moments when he is called into a tight game and the blood stops perfusing through my body. I will sit there, say my prayers for him, and keep my eye on the pitcher without blinking. When he finishes, I finally exhale and feel like I have run a marathon. As the blood rushes back to my brain and extremities, I am thanking God that he finished unscathed. Who can forget the day that he took a line drive off the face during a ball game? I don't. The catcher was hit and his teeth were rearranged as he spent the night in a Chicago hospital. Buddy's marbles in his brain were scrambled and somehow, he lives to talk about it. I feel that it is the prayers that I say for him while he pitches and when he doesn't...miraculously, he was spared from something worse than a headache.
I still have post traumatic stress and there are times when I relive the frigid moment (it was 25 degrees during that game)in which he was hit and his head flew backwards, hat flying in the air, and he landed on his beloved pitcher's mound. Since I had three coats and 4 sweaters on I had to waddle toward the field to allegedly resuscitate him. Gratefully, he bounced up and threw two wacky balls at Big Red who was his catcher during that game. He was pulled from the game after insisting that he could finish it (something that he does not remember) and I took him for an emergency CAT scan (negative...something that I have always suspected...)
Back to the ego...yes, have one...I know that I do BUT keep it in check. If a girl wants to meet you because you can throw a ball...be suspicious rather than flattered. If you are invited to a party because of the team uniform...wonder about the intentions of the invitation. Keep your head screwed on straight...live your life the way that you are comfortable, which means the way that you were raised. You have been blessed, so be grateful for the opportunities that you have been given....Be humble and realize that all of this could be over tomorrow, so enjoy the ride and tell Angel to put a shirt on...
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