Beyond mere serendipity - mighty forces were at work, inspiring me last night to write this a.m. about Mim, me & baseball. It wasn't until I googled Yankee Stadium that I learned the Yankees played the Blue Jays yesterday. Perfect! (Although not for NY).
Perhaps because the first four children - Peter, Mike, Mim & Ian - were such different personality types, it was pretty entrenched in the family by the time I came along that if one person was good at something, it was held as unique to him or her.
Oh, it was okay for both Peter & Mike to be into sports - they were guys. And I can see why no one would think I'd be interested in sports, being without a shred of athletic talent myself. Which would explain why Dad only took me to one Phillies game - and it was rained out.
But as big a failure as I was at sports in general, I absolutely love watching a live baseball game. Whether it was watching Mim coaching a pick-up game on the "Top Lawn" or my brothers & cousins play on our high school team, it gave me tremendous joy. Which no one noticed. Again, I understand - why would such a flub at sports have any interest in one?
Mim knew. On the subway ride out to the New York World's Fair in Queens, Mim noticed how I went joyfully bonkers zipping past the newly opened Shea Stadium, home of the hapless fledgling Mets. (No one would have believed what amazin' things five years would bring!)
And it was Mim, living at the time in tony Bronxville, who determined her baby sister would see a ball game in iconic Yankee Stadium.
She invited me up for the weekend - by then, I was in my late 20s, driving my own car. What a surprise to learn she had tickets for an afternoon game!
And the Yankees were playing the Blue Jays! That was no mere happenstance. Mim picked that team because - are you ready for this? - she knew I adored the Canadian national anthem & would get a special thrill hearing it in Yankee Stadium. She was totally spot on!
No memory of how the game went, who won, but will always remember walking into that great stadium, seating in the bleachers, watching the teams take to the field, experiencing the graceful pitching batting fielding ~ and the heart-grabbing moments of hearing our national anthem & O, Canada.
My parents & brothers might not have realized I truly madly deeply love baseball, but my sister did & gave me a priceless moment, basking - wallowing - in the glory of America's pastime.
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