In my youth I harbored a mild disdain for baseball because of the bitterness I felt from being the only boy not to be picked for my second grade intra-classroom baseball game. That incident was what spurred me into picking up basketball in earnest.
As I grew older that mild disdain faded, helped along by the interest that my grandparents showed in the Mets. 1986 all but killed my foolish bitterness when the Mets won the World Series. Lolo and Lola's enthusiasm was more than infectuous -- I became a staunch supporter of the Mets that year because of them, even braving the ire of my father and kuya who are Yankee fans. Not that I remember my dad or Kuya being Yankee fans in the 80's when the Yankees stunk -- but bandwagon jumping discussions are for another day.
Twenty years later, with Lolo and Lola already on to the next life, I continue to marvel at the impressive knowledge of the game that my grandparents displayed. I had always assumed that they both picked up the game when they came to America in the late 70's. But it turns out that baseball and my mom's parents go farther back than I realized.
Lola played softball for her school team. Just the mere fact that she was a more accomplished athlete than I knew is impressive. Lola was a volleyball player, too, and an incredible swimmer. She also had the ability to put aside her grandmotherly ways and regularly whupped my butt in table tennis. But not only did she play for her school. Lola was also the catcher -- the one position in softball and baseball that requires the most skill and intelligence.
Lolo was a baseball umpire and this is where the story gets funny. Mama Alma told me recently that she and her siblings went to watch a game in which Lolo was the home plate umpire. At one point a batter was struck out and Lolo called him out with an animated, "Yer out!", accompanied by enthusiastic hand gestures that is commonplace in American baseball games. Not knowing this, Mama Alma was embarassed. She thought her father was being "ma arte." It wasn't until years and years later, when they all had moved to America, that she realized what Lolo did was normal.
I wish I had known sooner that Lolo and Lola had more than a passing interest in baseball. It would have been really cool to see Lolo sitting straight-backed, arms folded in the bleachers, a slight smile on his face as I got up to bat; and later to hear Lola give me tips on opposing pitchers as she fed me a merienda of home made pan de sal with cheese.
Basketball will always be my sport, first and foremost, but I would have tried baseball to connect me to my family's history.
Posted by glenn at April 3, 2006 10:19 AMhi glenn, thanks for visiting my xanga site. it's been forever since u last did! anyways, i'm glad you did, because i finally came around to visiting your blog as well. =) i truly am so thankful that the Lord spared my life in that incident, and since we're finishing up our clp, i was able to share about it at one of our discussions that took place after the talks..."loving god" and "loving your neighbor". like i said, "God is Good!" and I can't stop praising him!
...anyways, I like the entry you wrote here about your grandparents. it's a very amazing story that you don't hear all too often with filipino grandparents. my grandfather used to be in boxing championships back in the day, but i never knew of it until he passed when people gave their eulogies. i think it's an inspiring thing for "the future" (the grandchildren) to know. they're good role models to look up to, no matter how many generations pass.
well, take care bro. and have a great week. pls. pray for the end of our clp this friday. salamat! God Bless.
Posted by: Stef at April 3, 2006 05:31 PM