Seventh Heaven
The Red Sox jury rigged an seventh-inning comeback with hits by Victor Martinez and David Ortiz and a walk by Mike Lowell. Kevin Jepsen helped Boston with the repair job by uncorking a wild pitch to J.D. Drew that plated Martinez for the tie and plunking Daniel Nava to force Ortiz over home for the winning run.
The rousing victory roused temporary elation, but it’s just a sports team winning. There are larger triumphs to pursue.
Every year during Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon time I become melancholy when I meditate upon the people my friends and I have lost to cancer. Last night I looked over pictures of my friend’s daughter’s one-year birthday celebration, an event that people in Hawai‘i observe with lū‘au or party. The little girl lost her father to colorectal cancer.
I knew I would get along with L as soon as I met him. We were huge Star Trek fans, both majored in English literature, and got all the same geeky jokes. I never had to worry if I was being too nerdy; in fact we loved to out-geek each other. All the things that we both liked, or that I think he would have enjoyed, or would have liked to talk to him about — all are tinged with sorrow because I can’t experience them with him because of cancer.
The countless memories flit through my mind and endless specters of reminiscences that will never be: Oh, he would have liked “Burn Notice”! Man, this was his favorite Next Gen episode. There he goes again crushing on Marina Sirtis.
(Although in Marina’s current state, the crush would like be over, probably supplanted by Morena Baccarin.)
So, in my friend’s honor, and for many others close to me who have been impacted by cancer, I made a donation to the Jimmy Fund. I don’t want any more daughters to lose fathers.
| Game 121: August 18, 2010 | ||
| Angels 60-61 | 5 | H: Francisco Rodriguez (2) BS, L: Kevin Jepsen (3, 2-3) |
| 2B: Reggie Willits (4), Maicer Izturis (12), Bobby Abreu (33), Hideki Matsui (17) HR: Mike Napoli (20), Alberto Callaspo (9) | ||
 Red Sox69-52 | 7 | W: John Lackey (11-7) H: Daniel Bard (26) S: Jonathan Papelbon (30) |
| 2B: Darnell McDonald (14), Victor Martinez (26), David Ortiz (26), Marco Scutaro (30) HR: Bill Hall (16), Adrian Beltre (23) | ||
