My Life, 5 Year Snapshots (1985 thru 1989) 2/2
FAMILY
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| Aubree |
I started teaching my girls how to play softball at a very
early age. I taught them how to catch, how to throw and the proper mechanics in
their swinging of the bat. Sports had meant so much to me growing up that I
wanted to share that passion with them.
Living in the LA area, the Los Angeles Dodgers played on TV
almost every night during the baseball season. Starting at about age 4, Tara
would share my recliner with me as we both watched these games and she would
ask question after question about what she was watching and I was happy to
explain it to her. She tucked away that knowledge and it would become an
amazing resource as she grew up playing ball.
In 1988, I signed Maelynne and Tara up to play softball at
Artesia Park. Mae was 5 and Tara was 4. Their team was called the “Bears,” (and
No! They were not of the “Bad News Bears” variety). I had worked with them
enough that when they became players on their first team, they were a bit more
advanced than most.
One of the core memories I have of that first season was
that Tara had several unassisted triple plays. With a couple players on base,
Tara would catch a pop fly, a rare feat in and of itself at that age, and then
would run and tag each base that the runners had vacated upon contact. Most of
the players from both teams would be dumbfounded, having no clue what just took
place. But Tara knew and her coach, Christina, would just smile and shake her
head.
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| Tara, wearing her MVP shirt |
The league didn’t keep records but Christina (and many parents) did… and the Bears ended up undefeated. Coach Christina had championship shirts made up for the players and passed them out to the girls at their post-season party. Tara’s shirt was a little different in that Christina had “MVP” airbrushed onto the front of it. That was cool.
SOFTBALL
For me, playing softball was in full gear during these
years. It was my passion and I would have played every night if I could. I was
lucky that my marriage stayed intact with my 2 to 3 nights a week and every
other weekend game and tournament schedule.
I got a call from a buddy in the fall of 1988. His softball
team was playing in a tournament in Orange County that weekend and he was short
a player. Needed a catcher. He asked if I could fill in. Sure! Why not? My
tournament team wasn’t playing that weekend. I mean, I was a shortstop by trade
but anyone can catch in a slow pitch softball game.
Saturday morning… very first game of that tourney. A right
handed batter from the opposing team hits a line drive right down the right
field line. Fair ball. After the ball hits in fair territory, it kicks sharply
to the right and goes out of play. Dead ball… ground rule double. The umpire
yells it… but apparently, didn’t yell it loud enough because the batter is now
rounding second with a full head of steam.
So, I thought I’d help the umpire out. I walked out onto the
infield about halfway between home plate and the pitcher’s mound, with my hand
out, signifying for the runner to stop as I shouted, “Hold up! It’s a dead
ball! Ground rule double! Stop!” Should have minded my own business.
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| My Tournament Team - The Saints |
As the runner rounded third, I continued my efforts to be a
benevolent opposing player and inform the runner of the situation. And then…
suddenly… everything went black. I was later told that our second basement,
attempting to throw the runner out at home from about 30 feet away, threw a
laser that hit me right in the face… hitting my right eye and my nose. I’m told
it sounded like a small caliber handgun when it hit.
The odd thing was that I didn’t go down. I was still
standing… however, I couldn’t see anything and I had no clue as to what
happened. My good friend, Lanney Mayer, had to explain it to me as he drove me
to the ER.
Vision out of my left eye was blurry but all I could see out
of my right eye was a solid, green haze. I grabbed Lanney’s rearview mirror and
twisted it toward me so that I could assess the damage. Wonderful! My nose is laying
on my left cheek. This was gonna be fun!
As we pulled up into the ER, my
head ached, I could barely see, I was dizzy, my brain felt foggy and I was
violently sick to my stomach… all signs of a significant concussion… which only
added to my list of maladies.
Lanney sprinted to the nurse’s
station and asked them for a bed pan which he delivered to me just in time. I
vomited until I had nothing left to throw up and about a half hour of dry
heaves ensued. I was a mess. Over the next several hours, Lanney acted as my
advocate with the doctor and nurses… trying to get answers and trying to make
me comfortable. I will never forget his efforts on my behalf and I love him to
this day.
My right eye was the doctors’
primary concern and they contacted the hospital’s head ophthalmologist and
had him come in to review my case. If I remember correctly… he said something
to the effect that my retina was “hanging by a thread,” and that was the
primary medical concern. They could see that my nose was also broken but they
wouldn’t attempt to reset my nose until my eye issue was resolved. Their
concern was that any work done on my nose may cause my retina to totally
detach.
After several days, my eyesight
began to slowly come back. A follow-up visit with the ophthalmologist yielded
optimism that my eye would fully recover but it would take time. He told me
that any sort of blow to my head in the next year may cause a detachment of my
retina and render me blind in that eye.
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| Notice my goggles? |
Oh… 3 weeks after this incident,
they dealt with my broken nose. My nose had basically healed as it lay on the
left cheek, which means they re-broke it, put straighteners up my nostrils and
sealed it all with a cast. Yes, a cast on my nose. I have never seen anyone
with a cast on their nose except me. I have
pictures.
MINISTRY
My work in the youth ministry was
such a passion when I first began in 1978 at Mid-Cities Baptist Temple in
Downey, CA. When my brother, Bill, took over the ministry at Faithway Baptist Church
in North Long Beach, CA in 1983, I followed and became his youth pastor.
It didn’t take long to realize
that something was off. I couldn’t put my finger on it but the vibe was
different and what was once such a driving force of joy… turned into a
seemingly thankless, unfulfilling job. But I pushed on for several more years of going
through the motions.
Eventually, I came to a breaking
point and there were three individuals who played a part in my decision to step
away from this position at Faithway. There were two of the older girls in the
group who were consistently disrespectful. They were the daughters of two
prominent families in the church. They would sit in the back of class and talk
the whole time that I was trying to teach. They did it openly, defiantly and
arrogantly. They thought every idea I had for youth activities was dumb and
boring… and would only attend because their parents made them. Yes… I tried
many times and employed many approaches to rectify the issue but to no avail.
The other individual that became a
burr in my saddle was the father of one of the young men in the group. He
questioned everything I taught, everything I planned and the entire direction
of the youth ministry. There was zero evidence that he was attempting to aid
the ministry. He seemingly felt that his stamp of approval was necessary and if
I disagreed, then I must be in the wrong. I felt dread every time I saw him
walk into the church building.
So, I stepped down. Was I wrong?
Did I not fight hard enough to work through the issues? Was I selfishly blaming
others for my own discontent? I’ll let you decide the answer to that. As for
me, I never felt a twinge of regret over my decision… then or now.
Thus, we conclude our adventures
1985 through 1989. Early in 1990, we would get some more big news but that will
wait until I write and publish 1990 through 1994. Stay tuned.
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