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FOR JESTER'S GRANDFATHER
May 12, 2008
When I was growing up in Massachusetts, my grandfather was my Hero. He was like John Wayne. Everyone called him "Big Jim". He was larger than life. He knew what it meant to command respect. He didnt really talk about doing things, he did things. He was a Naval Officer in WWII...He was Selectman of Stoneham, MA for nearly 18 consecutive years....His efforts opened up Spot Pond to the public after generations of being private. He taught me about Respect. He taught me almost everything I know. He taught me how its much better to cheer on your team than to BOOO or heckle. He was always like that. He lived life to the fullest. He loved the Red Sox. He told me so.
He taught me all about the Red Sox. But he didnt teach me by telling me stories either (which he did quite frequently and in very animated fashion)...he didnt teach me by giving me lectures or yelling at me for being myself...He did it the best way he knew....He brought me along.....He saw me as an equal...He taught me dignity...He taught me pride....He taught me loyalty....He taught me whats it like to give 100%, do have done your absolute best, and still fail...Well, the Red Sox taught me that...He merely facilitated the discussion.....It was He who introduced me to Fenway Park.
He used to pick me up from school before daygames . Sometimes I knew in advance, but most of times he just showed up , and I always used to jump out of my seat with the ecstatic glee of youth when I heard over the loudspeakers at school "David McDonough, please report to the office." ..because I knew when I saw my Gramps at the office WE WERE GOING TO FENWAY....We would both have our RED SOX hats on..the years were like 1976 through 1981 mostly.....We would arrive early and stroll down Yawkey Way...He told me about Williams, Lonborg, Tony C, that fateful game, he told me about Yaz' rookie season, the Impossible Heartbreak , i mean Dream of 1967...He told me about lots but the most important thing he ever told me was we are defined by our actions not our words...
Each and everytime we went to Fenway was special, magical and wondrous. looking back, it seems like we went hundreds of times, when in actuality it was more like 15 or so....but even writing about it 30 years later sends shivers down my spine. Some things are unforgettable. Some moments never subside in your memory no matter how much space time indifferently puts between you and that moment. These days with my grandfather transcend time. They are the stuff history is made of. Most of the time we went the Red Sox lost. I have the scorebooks to prove it. They are at my Dad's house or I would cut and paste all night. It was a time when the lineup looked awesome day in day out...Remy, Burleson, Lynn, Rice, Yaz, Fisk, Evans, Hobson, Bailey, Montgomery, Scott, Carbo...yet, championship glory eluded us. The names to me now are legendary..like hearing about American History....but then , at the age of 10, I knew very little...I knew Yaz...I worshipped Freddy Lynn..always had to have #19 in Little League....but my Gramps taught me about each player as they came to the plate...he knew something about each and every player and as they would hit through the order we'd mark up the scorebook like studious professors....He taught how to keep score in the back of the program. .."GET YA PROGRAAHHMS...PROGRAAAHMMSSS...GET YA PROGRAHMS HEAH"...LIKE IT WAS F*&KING YESTERDAY...the smells of Fenway..the Fenway Franks...the peanuts...the cigarette smoke.....THIS WAS WHERE I LEARNED ABOUT LIFE.....it always seemed we lost more than we won, but when we won, boy, did We Win!!!
One particular time...it must have been May or Early June...Dennis Eckersley got the start.....we won!! it was great...I wish I had the program in front of me...I remember it like it was yesterday...we got to our seats behind the first base dugout that day and my heart was in my throat. When I could actually see the expressions on Yastrzemskis face and Carlton Fisk nods his head at me, my life (granted , I was only ten years old) was complete...We waited after the game for the players to leave but this particular time we didnt seek any autographs, we just watched them leave. My grandfather said it was like staying until the movie ends before leaving a theatre. We drove around Boston that day and I listened and hung on his every word. He wove a great tale. I couldnt help it. He was my hero.
He said that since the Sox won we were going to celebrate. .AMRHEINS I believe was the name of the bar we ended up at..on West Broadway by Dorchester Ave..i think its still there...my grandfather walked in and 5 or 6 different guys got up and came over to say Hello....He introduced me to all of them. He ordered just one beer and drank it down and put the mug upside down on the bar and winked at me..He later told me that was a signal of challenging anyone there to a fistfight. I wondered why the place had gone silent for a spell shortly before we left. He was magnanimous. He was larger than life.
The Mighty James McDonough died in April 2004. ( My cousin Sean McDonough had also died in June of 2003 when his 300-ton crane crushed him to death in Revere, MA in a Big Dig Construction tragedy. He was just 28 years old. Big Jim took this hard ) These 2 men were two of the biggest Red Sox Diehards I have ever had the honor of knowing. They were the angels in the outfield when our Beloved BoSOX did the impossible and reversed the curse. My Family was there looking down. With tears in my eyes as we won that sh*&t in 2004, I looked up to the sky and gave respect back to the man who helped me become a man. I felt both their presences as we raised our glasses in victorious celebration.
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS IT SURE FEELS GREAT TO BE WORLD CHAMPIONS.......IT SURE FEELS GREAT TO BE A FAN OF THE BEST TEAM IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS........THANKS FOR LISTENING......RED SOX GLORY FOREVER!!! UNITED WE STAND!!!! FAMILY IS FOREVER!!!! never forget what it took to get here...RIP.....MY HERO...LETS GO RED SOX!!!
" and until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of His hand"
-THE RED SOX MAFIA.™
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