Live the year with thankfulness, gratitude, respect, patience, charity, and kindness; don’t forget to laugh and smile often, as they are infectious.
Growing up in SW Philly, in a time and place where the grade school I attended, MBS (Most Blessed Sacrament), was the most populous in the country, with over 3,700 kids from K through 8th. I was on a PAL ( Police Athletic League) team early in my baseball career that won several Championships. The only problem was that, despite getting a trophy, I didn’t get to play very much. Needless to say, those first three years playing for the Bisons, coached by Mr. Dowdell and Asst. Coach, Mr. Faust, was lean playing years but quite a learning experience. Hey! The team was loaded with better and older talent.
However, during the summer between 5th and 6th grade, I played for the Falcons, coached by a neighborhood baseball High School legend, Frank Pappa. I remember we beat the Lancers pretty handily that year for the championship. I was MVP with 23 home runs that year, and needless to say, it was my first taste of having a significant impact on a winning team. That year was a banner year, as we also won the JV football championship. Something we repeated the following year, beating, I believe, Good Shepherd and St. Barnabas respectively. Looking back, these were truly the “Wonder Years”.
We moved from Southwest Philadelphia to Drexel Hill the following year. Over the years, partially due to moving or, possibly, a fall from the shelf, those mementos of that special time in my life are gone, along with my UDHS letter jacket. However, I believe my wife might still have my high school ring squirreled away somewhere. Out of it all, though, I can honestly say the bigger accomplishment was the day she said, “I Do!” We will have been married for 50 years in a few weeks. Now that’s something I’m still incredibly attached to.
Leave a comment