As I sit here and reflect on how much I treasure my relationship with my Uncle Charlie, I keep thinking about some really good times that we’ve had together.
One of those days took place back in the summer of ’02. August 10th, to be exact (more on why I remember the date, momentarily). There are two things that you need to know about Uncle Charlie --- he loves being out on his boat, and he loves sports. This day had both.
That Saturday afternoon started out fantastic. The sun was shining, we had tickets to the Sox, and we were going to start the day by cruising around the ocean in his motorboat. At the time, I was living in Gloucester, right across the street from the fisherman's statue. We put in at the ramp by the high school, and headed towards the island lighthouse made famous at the beginning of “The Perfect Storm”. Things were going great. We hung out on the water for about an hour (smoking cigars and drinking cold beers, of course), then decided to head in to get ready for the game --- and that’s when the engine died. Now admittedly, I was mostly panicking because I did not want to miss the game … but the thought that we might drift off to Ireland did cross my mind. Luckily, after about 20 minutes or so of bobbing around the water, the harbormaster came by in his boat and towed us back in. We were back on track.
After quickly locking up the boat, we headed into town. We had no idea who was pitching that day, but we figured it out soon enough. As we got closer to the park, all we could see were people carrying around “K”s--- a sure sign that we had stumbled onto a PEDRO MARTINEZ GAME (capital letters are essential when referring to the Pedro of that era). To give you a sense of how dominating he was that year, he went 20-4 with a 2.26 ERA … and finished 2nd in both the Cy Young and MVP races. Most importantly, he did not disappoint on that day. The Sox won 2-0, and Pedro pitched 8 innings allowing only 4 hits, and striking out 8 batters. Just another day at the office. We had a blast, and I still use my Nomar souvenir cup --- which is perfect for iced coffee, or other assorted beverages.
While watching Pedro dominate, we kept smiling and talking about how lucky we were to be able to enjoy the type of day we were having. That’s one of the gifts that my uncle has given me --- the presence of mind to reflect on the good things, while they’re happening.
As good as the events of that day were, the best part was the company. Uncle Charlie is coming to the end of a valiant battle against cancer. I saw him earlier today, and was able to tell him how much he’s meant to me over the years. How much I loved spending time with him, and how much I learned from him … including a love of the game of tennis, despite the fact that I was only able to beat him once over the course of 10 years. I don’t know if he was able to understand everything I said, but every now and then I could see that spark behind his eyes --- the one that would show up each time Pedro rung someone up on that hot August afternoon.
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