A Father’s Day Gift to Remember
Father’s Day is upon us. The cliché is that on Father’s Day dads usually receive a new tie as a Father’s Day present. I do recall buying my dad a few ties over the years but since I’ve been a father I don’t recall ever receiving a Father’s Day tie.
I do recall receiving some fairly neat Father’s Day gifts. One year my wife and daughter gave me a trip to Chicago to see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field. The three of us went to the airport in Atlanta and flew out the morning of the game.
We landed in Chicago and checked into our hotel. After a quick cab ride we found ourselves at the corner of Addison and Clark where Wrigley Field sits. I’m a life long Braves fan and I do enjoy an occasional trip to Atlanta to watch them play and were they to face the Cubs I would root for the Braves as hard as could. That said the atmosphere at Turner Field pales in comparison to an afternoon at Wrigley.
The streets surrounding Wrigley were clogged with Cubs fans going to the game. It was a very festive atmosphere to say the least. At the time the Cubs were in first place in their division and many were wondering if this could be the year the Cubs finally would win the World Series.
We made our way inside and found our seats. My wife had done a great job in selecting our seats in the lower level down the first base line under the overhang of the upper deck. The weather was a little cooler than it is in the summer of Middle Georgia with a slight breeze blowing in.
I saw the famous ivy growing on the outfield walls. I saw the bleachers packed with the famous Wrigley Field “bleacher bum” crowd. I noticed the folks sitting on the roof tops of nearby apartments watching the game.
The Houston Astros were the opponents for the Cubs that day. It was a very good baseball game and when the middle of the seventh inning came we stood with the rest of the crowd and sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the rousing way it is done in Chicago.
The Cubs rallied late in the game to take the lead. I stood and cheered with the Cubs fans as Kerry Wood came from the bullpen to shut Houston down in the ninth inning and get the save as the Cubs defeated the Astros. The crowd erupted into a song called “Go Cubs Go” when the game was over. A simple white banner with a giant blue “W” was hoisted in center field to let any who passed by know that the Cubs had emerged victorious.
The game was over but I was reluctant to leave what is known as the “Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field.” We made our way out of the historic old ballpark and caught a cab back to our hotel. Around the corner from our hotel was a restaurant named “Harry Carry’s Steakhouse” which was originally owned by the late Harry Carry the legendary Cub’s announcer and father of the late Skip Carry and grandfather of Chip Carry who both broadcast for the Braves. We had dinner at Harry Carry’s. I had a steak. It was a dang fine steak.
I suppose there are many ways one can say I love you. Sometimes it is done by simply saying the words “I love you.” Other times it might be spoken with handful of flowers. Sometimes it is spoken with the purchase of jewelry. Sometimes it is even said in the purchase of a tie. Jesus said to say I love is to “lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
On a summer day in an old baseball park on the north side of Chicago I heard the words “I love you” in a way that I will always remember. My prayer is that I will always be worthy of that love.