Go, Cubs!

As I may have mentioned before, my grandfather was quite a Cubs fan.

I remember him sitting in his recliner on warm summer evenings, dressed in work pants and a sleeveless undershirt. He had the Cubs game on TV (live from WGN in Chicago — there was no cable TV back then). Jack Brickhouse was doing the play-byplay and Ernie Banks was playing first base. As I recall, that was long before Ron Santo took over the third base position.

One day, my father said he was taking me to a baseball game in Chicago. I was thrilled! I just knew we were going to Wrigley Field, so named for the chewing gum company that then owned the Cubs.

I was slightly disappointed that we went to see the White Sox, instead, even though they were the better of the Chicago baseball teams. We got in Dad’s 1957 VW Beetle he re-painted red from the original gray and drove to Chicago.

Fast forward to the 1980s. My own son was 5 years old. I took him to see the Cubbies in action. We were going to settle for outfield seats until a man, who identified himself as a member of the FBI, offered to see us tickets on the first base line.

It seems he was being transferred to Washington, D.C., from Chicago and a couple buddies were going to take in one last Cubs game with him. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make it, so I bought their tickets.

The game was scoreless, pretty much three-up and three-down until the 7th inning.

“Dad, can we go now?” Terry Jr. asked.

After a little prodding, I agreed.

I carried a radio with me so we could hear the play-by-play as we watched the game.

No sooner did we exit the stadium than it became a slug fest! One home run after another by both teams!

My son has his own baby boy now. Do you believe it — I have never teased him about dragging me out of the Cubs game just before it became exciting! Yeah, right. I dig him about it every once in a while.

It’s been a long time since the Cubs won the World Series.

I don’t open e-mail attachments any more, because I have had to re-format and re-install Windows twice in the past few years. Those darn viruses and parasites create havoc with a PC!

But I got this e-mail from an old acquaintance and friend, Steve Gentry, the mayor of Crawfordsville, Ind., and I just had to share it with you:

Just in case we from Chicago need to remember how bad it can be, here are
20 major events that have occurred since the Chicago Cubs last laid claim
to a World Series championship:
 1.  Radio was invented;  Cubs fans got to hear their team lose.
 2.  TV was invented;  Cubs fans got to see their team lose.
 3.  Baseball added 14 teams;  Cubs fans got to see and hear their team
lose to more clubs.
 4.  George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th,
70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.
 5,  Haley's comet passed the Earth ... twice.
 6.  Harry Caray was born ... and died.
 7.  The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won
championships in each league.
 8.  Man landed on the moon, as have several home runs given up by Cubs
pitchers.
 9.  Sixteen US presidents were elected.
10.  There were 11 amendments added to the Constitution.
11.  Prohibition was created and repealed.
12.  The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered and became the
subject of major motion pictures, the latter giving Cubs fans hope that
something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.
13.  Wrigley Field was built, and becomes the oldest park in the National
League.
14.  Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the
team's future World Series pennants.  Those flag poles have since rusted
and been taken down.
15.  A combination of 40 summer and winter Olympics have been held.
16.  Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown; several
thanked Cubs pitchers.
17.  Bell-bottoms came in style, went out of style, and came back in.
18.  The Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks and the
Florida Marlins have all won the World Series.
19.  The Cubs have played  14,153  regular season games,and have lost the
majority of them.
20.  Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii entered the Union.