Rosy Glow – Baseball

By
Andrew DeMarco

With the beginning of the new baseball season I was reminded of an event that happened a while ago. Two years ago I learned something about my wife that needed to be remedied. I found out that she had never been to a professional baseball game. I learned about this when someone at her office offered her two tickets to a Yankee game and she wanted to go. I found this strange since I went to my first game at the tender age of five.

I thought it was about time that she experienced the thrill of our national pastime, so I agreed to meet her that Friday night after work and help her scratch another item off her bucket list.

It should be noted that at one time I would have jumped at the opportunity to go to a game, whether baseball, football, or hockey, you name it I was there. However I found that as I get older going to a game is more of a chore than enjoyment. I am not good with huge crowds anymore and although a diehard Yankee fan I do not like the new stadium, to me it is a monument to one man’s ego where the old stadium was a monument to the team, however I went nonetheless.

After having a bite to eat we found our seats which I felt were overpriced but decent enough, especially for a first game. My wife was taking in all the sights and sounds before the game and we both realized that it was one of those hot and humid summer nights. Right after the National Anthem the public address announcer made the following announcement. “The New York Yankees would like to announce that at the outset of tonight’s game it is the hottest game time starting temperature in the history of the Yankees 102 degrees!” I am thinking it is 7:00pm and 102, I really don’t need this. So the game commences and to make matters worse the Yankees and A’s score 14 runs between them in just the first 3 innings. We have been here about 2 hours and the game is just a third over.

So now I am longing for home and my Lazy Boy in the air conditioning with “cold beer” and not paying outrageous prices for warm beer. Then I notice the kids in front of us who are oblivious to the heat and humidity and at the edge of their seats hanging on every pitch. I look at my wife and she is really enjoying all this, she is like the little kids in front of us rooting on the Yankees, and becoming the head cheerleader for the kids. My wife is also making friends with everyone sitting around us and they are all getting a kick out of her enthusiasm.

Suddenly the heat and humidity got the best of me and my mind became foggy, and things changed, I was not longer in the bazaar that is the New Yankee Stadium, but I was across 161ST Street in the original Stadium, with its columns and façade. I was with my father and at my first ball game in 1960. I am seeing the Tigers playing the Yankees in one of those Sunday doubleheaders which were the norm. The first game ended in the bottom of the 10th inning when Bill “Moose” Skowron hit a three run homer. I was with my father the following year for my first night game, against the Indians. I was there with my father, Uncle Cappy and Cousin Louis for an old timer’s game and seeing Joe D, Don Larson, and Johnny Mize to name a few.

Next stop was in the updated Stadium at the” Pine Tar” game sitting in the “good seats” (three rows back at the first base end of the Yankee dugout) with George Brett running out of the Royals dugout and right at me and my buddies Dean and Rich. I was remembering all the games we use to go to and the premier parking thanks to some old friends and high school buddies who were now New York’s Finest. I remember when I was older reversing the roles by taking my father to a game on Father’s Day, and telling him not to eat too many hog dogs or drink too much beer because if he gets sick my mother would yell at me.

The next thing I know it was an hour later and I am back in the Bazaar and it is just the sixth inning. It was at this point that my wife told me she had experienced enough, I guess the kid in her was getting tired and she wanted to go. It should be noted that the little guys in front of us were still going strong, although I could not say the same for their parents. So we make our way to the train and settle in for our ride home. My wife is going on about how she enjoyed the game, and the crowd, sounds and excitement of the game. So even though the heat and humidity had provided an uncomfortable feeling, watching my wife and those kids along with my heat induced flashback provided me with what Cousin Bob would call that Rosy Glow.

 

 

Rosy Glow – Longevity

By

Bob La Torre

 

My good friend the minister recently returned from a trip to Africa and reported that, although only in his early 50s, he was considered an old man by his hosts. What startled his African friends even more was his report that both of his parents still lived. Their reaction was that must be astoundingly old.

Longevity is one of those things we tend to take for granted in America today. In our county alone, which is a popular retirement locale, there are more than 100,000 retired people – about one-third of the population. What is more many of them came here after retirement (age 65), more than 20 years ago.

I love it when I speak at one of the retirement clubs and they announce birthdays. They begin with the 90 year-old celebrants and com up to the bids of 60 years of age or less. Living long is a way of life for us. Many people spend most of their time working for 25 years, while planning for all of the things they will do in retirement.

A look at our obituary pages shows that few people under 60 years of age die in our area. None of this is true in most places outside of the United States. So it is no wonder that the African host of my friend were so impressed with his age. We do live longer and what is more we live more rewarding and productive lives in old age that ever in the history of the human race.

In the natural state man was lucky to have a lifespan much past40 years of age. Men and women who lived until the age of 50 were considered ancient. What confuses us about age is that when we see photographs of “old people” in other cultures, they look much older than they really are.

A combination of good diet, good medical care, and a better lifestyle has allowed us to not only live longer, but look younger.

As a grandparent, I am sometimes amused by commercials that attempt to depict a grandchild with a grandparent. The people, costumes, and lifestyles are more like those of my grandparents and certainly not like ours.

One of the reasons for this inconsistency is that grandma is far more likely to be found today on the tennis court than in the kitchen.

Those who long for the good old days either have short memories or are very young. All but one of my grandparents were dead before I was born. And that was more the norm at the time.

The Lesson for those of us who are reaching old age is that instead of complaining about a little bit of arthritis or lack of stamina, we should be tickled that we will be around to have these “old age” complaints. After 50 years, these are no natural warranties on our bodies. Each year of the good life is more a product of science and technology than of nature.

As far as the condition of these old skin and bones, well that really is up to the individual I have observed men and women in their 60s who are in excellent physical shape, but that too dies not happen naturally. It takes a lot of hard work, but we that option –an option not open to very many people on the planet.

Next time you find yourself complaining about some aches and pains when you first wake up, remember what George Burns said when he was asked how it felt to wake up at 90: “Considering the alternative, it feels quite good.”

That of course is the key to optimism…. No matter how bad things may seem…..considering the alternative…..this is better. At any age just waking up should start our day with that feeling-you know the one. I like to call it…a rosy glow.