Epiphany was on January 6, 2018, the Breaking Forth of Light—
Today, even though three days later, I had a personal epiphany.
Went like this in a telephone conversation with a trusted friend. The response was to the latest blog sharing about Jason’s brain surgery to remove the hematoma and his current very perilous condition in ICU.
The friend and I visited…the sharing was the dearest…support and concern for Diane, Jason and me. I then lapsed, or maybe plunged ahead without thinking, traipsing through the dreaded “What If?” game. Had to do with what will happen in our world of scary medical conditions, what will happen to our grandsons, what will…what will…what will.
The friend’s middle name is hyphenated PATIENCE-WISDOM. The inquiry came: “Mark, think about when you were a baseball pitcher. What was important?”
I didn’t hesitate, “The batter…get him out.”
The question followed, “What about the next batter?”
“I only pitch to one batter at a time.”
BAM!
BULLS-EYE.
The rest of this day, Tuesday, January 9, I relived my baseball life…at the age of 7 getting my first glove, the 4 years at Jefferson High School pitching, the 4 years at Stanford with a baseball scholarship, the 5 summers of playing semi-professional baseball in Portland. I had forgotten [truth!] that as a high school senior, much to my surprise [honestly] I ended up with the highest Portland High School League batting average. Didn’t forget my last game, circa 1962, pitching in Battle Creek, Michigan for the Archer Blower [Portland] semi-professional team, the semi-final game of the Amateur Baseball World Series. Wow, we won and then the next night Cecil Ira [God rest his soul] pitched us to a Championship Victory.
I thought of my pitches…only had 4. The fast ball, the curve ball, the change-up and the slider. My slider was my go-to-pitch. Certainly wasn’t the best pitcher in Portland high school…Mickey Lolich was from another high school…won 3 games in the World Series for the Detroit Tigers. Nor was the best in college…Jim Lonborg was—pitched the Red Sox to a World Series triumph.
But, I knew in my heart of hearts and left arm, that I was my best. I knew that.
So.
So what?
The So What is today and tomorrow and the 3rd dawning day and beyond that I’m a pitcher. And there’s only one batter. No other. Now that batter is Jason’s Illness. I’ll join Diane and the medical staff and all our family and friends in beating the illness. That’s my pitch now.
The next batter? I don’t have a clue. But I do know. I’ll be ready. I will.
