This is my first column that I call "The Marks Post." It is a play on my last name and also a tribute, if you will, to Night Court actress Markie Post. In these columns I will offer my insights on current events, pop culture, among a variety of other topics. I might even throw in an advice column or two.
Before I get too ahead of myself, I want to say how honored I am to become associate editor of The Gazette. I started writing for the paper as a sports reporter two-and-a-half years ago. Looking back my writing was choppy back then. For instance I had an article saying the OC Vikings were worthy of Valhala and an article that led off with a physics lesson.
Raymond Partsch was then brought in a year later as managing editor and used what he calls "teaching moments" to mold me into the writer I am today. I want to thank him and the rest of the staff for supporting me along the way and for making me sports editor of the Oakdale Journal.
I also want to thank Randy Deshotel for supporting me in these writing endeavors as I'm still employed at the clerk's office.
Now that the obligatories are out of the way, I can get into what I want to talk about in my first column. I got back last Sunday from my sixth retreat at Our Lady of the Oaks in Grand Coteau. I could write column upon column on Ignatian spirituality, the Spiritual Exercises, and the bread pudding, but I want to share an experience from a couple retreats ago because it's a good segue to the rest of this column.
The retreats end with a talk or talks (depending on the spiritual director) on the Fourth Week of the Spiritual Exercises dealing with the Resurrection, and Fr. Paul Patin, SJ, closed out the retreat in 2014 with a talk that focused on four words mentioned in each of the Synoptic Gospels... "He has been raised."
I meditated on those words on the way back home that Sunday and came to the following conclusion. When the Cubs lose more games than they win, instead of kicking, screaming, amd wanting to pull my hair out I need to use what I learned at the retreat and hope in the Resurrection because "He has been raised."
Whether you have been knowing me for a day or a decade, you know that I'm an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs. That season in 2014 was the only one with Ricky Renteria as manager, and they did in fact lose more games than they won. They hired Joe Madden away from Tampa Bay in the offseason and went on the beat arch-rival St. Louis Cardinals in the divisional series to reach the 2015 NLCS. They then got swept by the Mets, but then something happened a season later that hasn't happened since 1908.
The Cubs won the World Series beating the Cleveland Indians four games to three, but I'll admit they should not have won. Indian Rajai Davis hit a two-run homer in the Bottom of the Eighth to tie the game. The curse appeared to rear its ugly head once again. It was like the black cat running on the field again in 1969 and like Steve Bartman making the catch in 2003, just to name a couple times the curse came to haunt the team.
But then after the heavens opened causing a rain delay before the Top of the Tenth, eventual World Series MVP Ben Zobrist doubled in Miguel Montero for the lead and jumped high in the air over the second base bag. Kris Bryant fielded a ground ball and threw it over to Rizzo at first to retire the side in the bottom of the inning.
After they won the game and the Series, I jumped as high as Zobrist did the half-inning before, or at least I thought I did. I then ran around the snack bar and picked up Guy Perrodin in celebration. After I left Guy's, I went home and started watching post game coverage. I had to force myself to go to bed at 1:00 AM because I had to go to work in the morning. I don't think I was too effective that day at work, but it was well worth it.
The club this season returns a roster littered with much of its young nucleus in tact from last year. Returning to the corner of Clark and Addison are Zobrist, Rizzo, and Bryant. Also returning are names such as Addison Russell and Javier Baez. The most important name returning is utility player Kyle Schwarber, who got hurt in the opening series last year in Cincinnati. He missed the entire season but rejoined the team in Cleveland for Game 1 of The Fall Classic.
They look poised for another World Series run this season even though they are starting off 0-1 after losing on the road against the Cardinals on Opening Night last Sunday. But it was only one game out of 162, and according to Ernest Lawrence Thayer, "A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast."
No comments:
Post a Comment