STAN, THE MAN

      Though I may sound like a total cynic, in my opinion, there are people today who are called 'celebrities' whose claim to fame is that they are 'famous' ,without ever having contributed a whit to the betterment of humankind.  And, a huge category of those 'celebrities' ... Sports figures.  Beyond the inflated 'compensated packages' these folks receive (didn't say 'earn'), there are the constant exposures of 'feet of clay'.  Examples?:  For the first time in many years, no one was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame this year, a once-venerated cyclist has 'come clean' about how he won so many races.  I know...some could point to the so-called "Black Sox Scandal" when the Chicago White Sox were bribed to lose the World Series in 1919 (?).  And the poor kid who approached his hero, 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson and plaintively begged, "Say it aint so, Joe !"
      Stan Musial died a few days ago.  By all accounts, I have ever heard or read, he was an outstanding athlete...and, more importantly, an exemplary human.  "Google" his name today and you will find eloquent tributes to him for his athletic prowess, of course, and more eloquent ones for his 'humanity'.  When President  Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, he called Musial the kind of person that one would want one's children to emulate.
    Well, my dad's sons did !  Dad was a huge St. Louis Cardinal's baseball fan.  When Musial came to town in 1975 for a Hot Stove League dinner, I had the pleasure of watching dad shake hands with his 'hero' who had also been my sports hero for decades.  How many of today's players could hit five (!) home runs in a single afternoon (even if double-headers were still played.)?  He did it back in the early 1950's.  Certainly made an impression of my adolescent ambition.
    ( Now, it would be very easy to seque into a fitting tribute to my father and his encouragement in my high school athleticism, but I'll save that for another post.)
     'Reality' intervened with my own sports career and I acknowledge (what you have likely surmised if you have read this far) that I seldom give much attention to athletics today. [However, if anyone asks me if I have a favorite 'professional' baseball team, I reply, 'No, I'm a Red Sox fan, though it would be difficult for me to name anyone on the roster.] Some have said that baseball is a kind of metaphor for life.  Well, let's ponder that at another time. 
    For now, RIP # 6.

          Satchel