PERSPECTIVE

As much as I hate losing to New York, the next day often brings perspective. Sometimes its a quick look at the standings, or a nice walk in the park that does the trick. Last night, mine came in the form of a phone call.

Not long after the Red Sox lost to the Yankees, my wife's phone rang. It was her mother saying her uncle is being rushed to the ER for emergency brain surgery (is there any other kid of brain surgery?). This morning we found out that the surgery was not successful and that this healthy 55 year old man with three children likely has less than 48 hours of life left.

I don't know the man my wife calls Uncle Ed very well. In truth, I've mostly seen him at family functions which recently have consisted of funerals for his parents. The one interaction that stands out for me was at the most recent of those, the funeral for my wife's grandmother. Ed remarked to me that we only seem to meet under these unfortunate circumstances. I responded by patting him on the shoulder and telling him that if that is the case I don't want to see him again for a long time.

I have no life story to share, nor moral to assign to this tragedy. Uncle Ed was just a good man with a loving family who, one week ago, was going to his job and picking up his dry cleaning like you or me.

People often need to see something tragic happen with their own eyes before they make changes. It seems to be part of the human condition. We don't fix dikes or bridges until we see with our own eyes why we should have fixed them. Similary, we often don't spend time with our families or make time for ourselves until something forces us to rethink our priorities.

This is one reason I love baseball. Watching a ball game is a respite from more important things. Its time spent with friends and loved ones, time spent at a park, enjoying a beer, enjoying the weather, or just enjoying life.

I hope everyone who comes by here to read my ramblings enjoys todays games. Do it for someone who can't anymore.