Today is my birthday, and I've always enjoyed sharing my day with the celebrations of St. Pat. However, as I've gotten older I've become much more interested in the man behind the day. There is lots of folk-lore about him banishing snakes and burning stuff, but he's really a very interesting guy who had much more up his sleave.
Saint Patick wasn't Irish born, he was actually British. Through some turmoil in his country he was kidnapped by the Irish and held as a prisoner for six years. He was made to slave away in their fields farming and hearding sheep, having little to no food or human contact. Well, this pissed him off because one day he decided to escape! 200miles on foot later he was a free man, and a devout Christian. Now most people wouldn't step foot into a country that had so betrayed them and basically ruined their life. Not Saint Pat, he.... went back.
He (in a way) took pity on the Irish and felt they needed a little guidence. Most Irish were pagans at the time and he wanted to go spread the "good word" to them. So he did, and in that time he invented the Celtic Cross, NEATO! He did this by adding the image of the sun (often worshiped by the Irish pagans) and added it to the cross. He thought this would make wearing and using the symbol more appealing to them, smart cookie. Now the entire nation of Ireland, and world, credits him with bringing Christianity to the country.
Now can you see why I find him so interesting? What if everyone went back to the people in life who scorned them, saw their struggles, and tried to help them? What a different world we would have! I also find the fact that his day of honor is marked on his death interesting. How great to know that on a day when so many were made sad, they were given a free pass to celebrate his life instead.
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
Until we meet again my friend,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand
Irish Proverb
So Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you and may we all take a little page out of his book.
Not that I don't love a good, cold, green beer.......
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
El Bravos
As the weather warms and we catch little hints of spring, I can think of one thing: BRAVES BASEBALL!!! I could sit here and talk to you about our newest additions to the team, or some of our vets who I'm excited to see take the field once again. I'm not going to do that. You see, this year is the last year that the Brave of all Braves, "The Skipper", Bobby Cox will be singing his swan song. I've been going to see the Braves since before I can remember, so this blog will not be about stats & records, it's going to be a "brain dump" of all of my Braves memories.
It started when I was little, my Papaw used to take us to games all the time. We'd arrive at Fulton Co Stadium for batting practice and stay until the last out was thrown. All the while enjoying snacks from Papaw's bowling ball bag (that's right, no cooler, bowling ball bag). I could shell peanuts at 4 years old faster than most adults, and I sang take me out to the ball game at the top of my little lungs. These were the highlights of these games since the Braves were terrible at the time.
My next memories of the Braves come from my elementary school years. Sitting on the screen porch with my dad, listening to Skip Caray call the game on the radio, the smell of a cigar lingering in the air, and crickets in the background. This was an exciting time in Braves franchise history because this team just could not miss. We were on fire and the feeling in the Stadium is one I'll never forget. I remember one game was "Braves beach towel night" by the end of the game the whole stadium was holding them up and chanting the Tomahawk Chop. When I was 10 I chased down the great Dale Murphy on the Berkley Hills Country Club golf course in our neighborhood. He was playing a charity tournement, and I wanted and autograph. I still have the ball and picture I took with him. He's giant.
Then there's 1995...... when all the majic happened. My parents and I went to a friends house to watch the game and it's one of the first times I remember seeing adults have "more than enough" to drink. People were setting off fireworks, and we got to stay up WAY past our bedtime. That world series win will live in infamy for me. I can't wait for the day we get another one of those!!
A few years ago Ernie and I went to a game with a couple of friends an sat on the 3rd base side in foul territory, past the dugout. Andruw Jones came up to bat and tipped the ball off the end. It landed in the stands about 10 rows up from us and bounced high back up in the air. There I was, sitting, beer in hand, chicken fingers in my lap. Ernie and my friend Corey (also over 6 ft. tall) both stood up over me going for the ball. As they went up, I simply stuck my hand straight out. CATCH!!! Needless to say, the boys were in disbelief!
Spring training trips, Friday night fireworks, birthday parties, big beers, Hebrew National hotdogs, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Apache homerun dance, people watching, a little bit of heckling, lots of cheering, hometown heros, international super stars, still hating the Twins, always hating the Yankees, farm system all stars, date nights, family outings, and a million more memories that will never leave me. Bobby Cox is the only person who has been at EVERY game I've been to (except when he'd been ejected). I'm so sad to see him go but he will always be a baseball legend and a big part of my life story. GO BRAVES!
It started when I was little, my Papaw used to take us to games all the time. We'd arrive at Fulton Co Stadium for batting practice and stay until the last out was thrown. All the while enjoying snacks from Papaw's bowling ball bag (that's right, no cooler, bowling ball bag). I could shell peanuts at 4 years old faster than most adults, and I sang take me out to the ball game at the top of my little lungs. These were the highlights of these games since the Braves were terrible at the time.
My next memories of the Braves come from my elementary school years. Sitting on the screen porch with my dad, listening to Skip Caray call the game on the radio, the smell of a cigar lingering in the air, and crickets in the background. This was an exciting time in Braves franchise history because this team just could not miss. We were on fire and the feeling in the Stadium is one I'll never forget. I remember one game was "Braves beach towel night" by the end of the game the whole stadium was holding them up and chanting the Tomahawk Chop. When I was 10 I chased down the great Dale Murphy on the Berkley Hills Country Club golf course in our neighborhood. He was playing a charity tournement, and I wanted and autograph. I still have the ball and picture I took with him. He's giant.
Then there's 1995...... when all the majic happened. My parents and I went to a friends house to watch the game and it's one of the first times I remember seeing adults have "more than enough" to drink. People were setting off fireworks, and we got to stay up WAY past our bedtime. That world series win will live in infamy for me. I can't wait for the day we get another one of those!!
A few years ago Ernie and I went to a game with a couple of friends an sat on the 3rd base side in foul territory, past the dugout. Andruw Jones came up to bat and tipped the ball off the end. It landed in the stands about 10 rows up from us and bounced high back up in the air. There I was, sitting, beer in hand, chicken fingers in my lap. Ernie and my friend Corey (also over 6 ft. tall) both stood up over me going for the ball. As they went up, I simply stuck my hand straight out. CATCH!!! Needless to say, the boys were in disbelief!
Spring training trips, Friday night fireworks, birthday parties, big beers, Hebrew National hotdogs, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Apache homerun dance, people watching, a little bit of heckling, lots of cheering, hometown heros, international super stars, still hating the Twins, always hating the Yankees, farm system all stars, date nights, family outings, and a million more memories that will never leave me. Bobby Cox is the only person who has been at EVERY game I've been to (except when he'd been ejected). I'm so sad to see him go but he will always be a baseball legend and a big part of my life story. GO BRAVES!
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