stirred deeply with joy
enthralled with the spirit
we return to Elysian fields
to live autumnal reveries

we prance once more
onto blue sky diamonds
with hometown heroes
to pitch perfect games
knock long grand slams
to honor and embrace
the semblance of siblings,
parents, lovers and friends

life's teammates
our dearest playmates
passed and still here
sustaining our spirit
filling the void of
riven hearts
with nothing more than
a smiling presence,
compliant ear
a warm embrace

keeping a
season of sunshine
alive for one more
golden day

in a resplendent moment
Measy’s youngest son
stood before me
as if it were him
five decades ago

his impish smile,
mischievous eye
and olive skin
wrinkled when
he grinned

your Old Man
was a hell
of a ball player
a great hitter
he always swung down
at the pitch, hitting
nasty line drives

I remember that
summer afternoon
when we first met on
the Washington School
Merry-Go-Round...
Measy just up
from Carolina
he spoke with
a slow Tar Heel drawl
we didn't know what
to make of him
so we made him
our friend

Sifford's Esso, B&D;
and Bulldog teammates
I marveled at his athleticism
but the thing I remember
most was the soft joviality of...

“ ah hoot,
ah hoot.
ah hoot”

his laugh would send
a soft almost *******
shudder through his body

Measy lives in me,
forever in my heart
I embraced young Roy
touched his cheek
a transcendent moment
that spans a half century

At first base
Gail “Peppermint Patty” Q
was scooping up grounders
and not letting anyone past her
without giving them a smile or a hug….
asking each player if their shirt fit right…

the way Gail played
she could start for
the Lady Gaels today...

on the mound
Moons was wearing
a Schmeds shirt
lobbing lollipops to the hitters…..
making sure everyone got on base…

at short Screwball
covering half the ground
he once did..
(never a ss but a classic junk baller,
never threw a pitch that you could hit)
but on this day his heart was filled
overflowing with the karma
of good works and his love for
Rutherford and its favorite
sons and daughters
who have gone on before….

other stars abounded on the field and off…
Noons cracked everyone up
with an endless stand-up routine
Skip walloped a few dingers
BL looked sharp in his Foster Grants
and Andy was looking good
destined for the next cover of GQ….

Coach Way gave a resounding pep talk…
the need to grow up and show up
with an attitude of gratitude will
always make one a winner
regardless of the score

in the stands I heard a hundred stories
about the prowess and foibles of departed friends…

Bay Bay’s HR smash that put Flash Cleaners
into the World Series

A cool Moose bringing the ball across
half court, driving and dumping one off to Head
for the go ahead points against Queen of Peace

Minnow ruling a territory that included Morse Ave,
Wood Street up to Chopper’s House and
half of the Washington School playground

Fic being the smallest Bulldog with the largest heart
ran over linebackers and tackled fullbacks twice his size

Weehawken Joe draining a jumper
from the top of the key to keep it close
at the Union Hill pit…

as the list of the departed was read by Gail, Pat, John and Jimmy
the depth of our loss was only exceeded by the magnitude of love
a caring community extends to one another….
Rutherford is indeed a very special place….

so many caring friends
so many good thoughts
the blessing of friendship
the grace of presence

as I turned to leave
I thought I saw
Nick and Joe
hanging with
Sweet Lou
the hog was
humming
his red bandanna
was flapping
in a rising breeze

Aaron Copland:
Our Town

Righteous Brothers
Unchained Melody

Whitney Houston:
I Will Always Love You

Oakland
Dia De Muertos
2015


Thank you Pat Francke, Jimmy Noonan, Gail Wilhelm Quinn and John Mooney for putting this beautiful event together….

My apologies for not mentioning all the beloved souls so honored at this game…..Know that all are deeply loved and equally missed…..

If anyone has a memory they would like included please add in comments section and it will be incorporated in future versions…..

Also if anyone has a list of the names would like to add that to this….

God Bless

do not kiss me
unless you will miss me
you better cry every night
and cry every morning
when i am not around
i want it to hurt
in your chest
in your veins
that i am not around
do not kiss me
unless you will miss me
because once i have you
the tears will roll like waves
the pain will blitz like linebackers
once i have you

Turning the pages of Sunday’s paper,
eyes spilling tears upon reading
of the ambush killing of a local cop,
and  elsewhere, cops as killers,
the horror of the murders
of twenty angels and their guardians
at a small-town school,
people just having a holiday party,
going to a movie,
people attending church, for god’s sake.
I make my way to the sports section,
that fantasy-land of touchdowns,
home runs and slam dunks,
only to find stories of drunken outfielders
and homicidal/suicidal linebackers
wielding pistols
followed by a half-page ad
for the Guns and Gear store,
urging me to get in on the deals—
an assault rifle, only $649.99,
semi-automatic pistols from $319 to $549,
all the ammo a person could need
to shoot up a school, a theater, a mall, a business,
a synagogue or mosque or church,
even an army base.
My sorrow vinegars to frustration and anger,
that my letters to so-called representatives
must be written on thousand dollar bills
to even get a reading,
answered by a staffer’s reply that says nothing,
and, in the end, dear god,
I’m left with prayer and poetry,
the children of necessity, drowning in futility.

When our histories have finally been written, many, if not most, of the important things to have happened will not have been purposed or planned for — but will have happened in lieu of those things.

That College or University that you went to may have been in lieu of the one you initially thought you wanted to attend but couldn’t get into.

The woman you married may have been the best friend,
or roommate, of the girl you initially tried to date. But because of time or circumstance you ended up taking her out instead.

Like Reggie Jackson being traded from the Orioles to the Yankees, some of our best accomplishments are the result of finding ourselves in one situation in lieu of another.  My family physician, when I was a kid, only went to medical school because he was refused entrance into the university engineering program which had been his first choice.

How many of these alternate, and in lieu of, situations have impacted your life and maybe shaped the important events that went on to make all the difference?

Many times, life is calling out to us from places that we refuse to hear.  The universe has a plan, and the secret is to get in lockstep with that plan and value the options we are presented and the new choices it gives us.

I’m sure the doctors, scientists, farmers, and businessmen (all patriots), that became our Founding Fathers never intended to lead a new and emerging country to freedom and independence.

They were being called to something bigger than their original and proprietary decisions had mapped out, and history will forever record the importance of their answering that call.

The best parts of all of us are often those undiscovered.
They are sometimes most evident to others while being blind to ourselves.  As we recognize without help or assistance the talents of our children, we are often in the dark when it comes to seeing those same things in our own nature.

Every parent starts T-Ball or Pop Warner Football wanting their kid to be either a pitcher or quarterback. If that were allowed to happen, where would the great third baseman and linebackers come from?  We very often need the help of others to determine the right and correct roads for us to walk down.

Kris Kristofferson and Louis Armstrong did not have the greatest singing voices in the music industry.  They did however, go on to write —and sing — some of the greatest songs in popular music during the last 100 years.  We often need to go against the grain and swim up-stream to achieve our greatest levels of success.  The rain that falls on the highest peak in the Rocky Mountain range does eventually find its way to the ocean.  The route it takes is determined by something beyond its ability to control.  

The next time someone says to you: “You have a great voice; you ought to sing professionally,” or, “I think that’s a great idea; you should send it to a magazine,” maybe you should listen.  More than just that one person is reaching out to you …  

                               The Universe Is Speaking!

Lost in the big ribble rabble of hoopla
amongst the slick linebackers, spinners, and hungry hogs and sows.
Outside licking a neck, and after scraping my back, peeled apart
I showed a sort of myself that only spilled when I'm all ripped up.