Second Thoughts – No Wins and Five Losses

Greetings Dear Reader,

Sometimes I will end the day with thoughts that are important to get out.  Usually I just write them and put them in my journal folder.  I have chosen that on occasion I will share them with you Dear Reader.

Today baseball has had a full week of games.  The spectrum of wins and losses already stretches out across a line of teams all with the same summer dream.  They all wish to be still playing in October.  They all want to win the very last game of this baseball season.

At the head of this line today are the Baltimore Oriels.  They are currently the only undefeated team in baseball with five wins and no losses.  In the grand scheme of things this means very little.  The will eventually lose a game.  The probability of a team going undefeated through an entire season is statistically unlikely. I am sure that Oriel fans secretly hope.

I am the other end of that same spectrum.  My beloved Atlanta Braves are sitting at zero wins and five losses.  We all know that the team is young and that this is a rebuilding year.  They will eventually win a game and in a few years they will be formidable again.  For now though the relationship will be one of heartache and waiting.  It will be one of unrealized dreams and mournful hope.

Then again, is that not what baseball is?  It is not a constant renewing of hope?  I am loyal to my Braves and intend to always be so.  I will cherish every win and feel a little sad at every loss.  I will not malign them or lose faith. 

I only hope that I can adopt the same when I see others trying to rebuild their careers, marriages, and lives.  I must maintain the same hope and belief in those around me no matter how long their losing streak continues.  As each person struggles to do better I need to be there cheering him or her on to success; especially after a long string of losses.

It is in this they I can find the courage to keep going when I fail.  It is in this that I can see the potential in every moment.  If I can be loyal to a team whose work is only entertainment then I can find it that the example I need to be loyal to lives that matter for all eternity. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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A Voice from my Childhood Silent

Greetings Dear Reader,

I learned yesterday that Milo Hamilton, voice of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 – 1975 passed away.  He and Ernie Johnson were the voices that issued from my red Sinclair transistor radio.   In the evenings of my childhood summers he was my comfort as I drifted off to sleep.

I would sleep out on the porch of our non-air-conditioned Victorian house listen to him call the Braves games from his booth in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.  Win or lose he was always upbeat and informative.  My Grandfather had great respect for him.  

His passing triggered the memories of other losses during that time in my life.  I was listening to Milo when I learned I would never see my Grandfather again.  He was still alive but I was forbidden to see him.  I listened to Milo the night my Grandfather reached the clearing at the end of the path.  I listened to him for years as a reminder of my connection to my Grandfather.

Every man’s death diminishes me.   The baseball world is smaller today.  This man loved baseball and spent his life telling us about it.  As I grow older more and more of my favorable childhood voices grow silent.  This loss echoes loudly in things I loved and love.

It is a salient reminder that so much of what we love is temporary and fleeting.  I must cherish every moment with those I love.  I must hope that they learn this lesson as well.  I must pray that we all do so.  I will ponder it out of love and respect for those who have given so much to that boy so long ago.  I will learn to live it out of love for my family. 

I must journey on until I join them after the final inning.  

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)