3 years ago
292
What bash you get your dada for his 90th birthday?
I’ve been pondering that question for the past fewer weeks. I kept striking out.
Then, arsenic I perused the web, I came crossed a chill T-shirt. Cardinal red, the garment displays the representation of Stan Musial, leaning connected a shot bat. The publication simply reads: The MAN.
How galore sports-related T-shirts, sweatshirts and books person I fixed my dada implicit the years? I’ve mislaid track. It doesn’t matter. My dad’s going to emotion his “Stan the Man” T-shirt.
A begetter and lad bonding implicit sports is not unique, but it is antithetic for each begetter and son.
Walter Patrick “Dusty” Saunders was calved connected Sept. 24, 1931, successful Denver. He was a lonely kid. His begetter died erstwhile helium was 9 years old, and his ma died erstwhile helium was 10.
In the 1940s, my dad’s companions were the radio, books and sports. He became a St. Louis Cardinals instrumentality due to the fact that helium could prime up the beardown awesome from KMOX vigor successful St. Louis. Musial was his favourite player.
In 2006, my archetypal afloat twelvemonth connected the Rockies beat, I took my dada to St. Louis for Father’s Day to ticker the Rockies play the Cardinals successful the archetypal twelvemonth of the caller Busch Stadium. He chatted with Clint Hurdle and Todd Helton. After the game, my dad, MLB.com Rockies bushed writer Thomas Harding and I had meal astatine erstwhile Cardinal Mike Shannon’s restaurant. Thomas and I inactive speech astir that day.
My dad, arsenic immoderate of you mightiness know, wrote for the Rocky Mountain News for much than 54 years. Someone erstwhile calculated that helium wrote much stories and columns for “The Rocky” than anyone successful that now-defunct paper’s agelong and storied history.
What you mightiness not cognize is that my dada was a skinny 6-foot-3 halfway with a wicked hook shot. He was a prima astatine Holy Family High School, and during his elder year, a Denver Post sportswriter wrote that my dada “was the champion hooker successful Denver’s precocious schools.” Interesting description, don’t you think?
Fifty years later, erstwhile I would spell connected the vigor to speech Broncos oregon Rockies with the late, large Irv Brown, helium would inevitably pb disconnected with, “Patrick, how’s your dad? Tell you what, Dusty had a heck of a hook shot. He could level bash it.”
What you besides don’t cognize is that my dada was the adjunct manager of my Arvada younker hoops squad erstwhile I was eight. We were sponsored by Shoe Corral and we won the championship. I inactive person the tiny trophy displayed successful my location office.
My dada bought play tickets to the Broncos successful 1962, successful the team’s 2nd twelvemonth of existence. We had those tickets successful the household for astir 50 years.
On Jan. 11, 1987, erstwhile John Elway led “The Drive” successful Cleveland, my dada was connected duty successful Southern California. He watched the game, alone, successful his edifice room. When the Broncos bushed the Browns to spell to the Super Bowl, my dada got truthful excited that helium picked up a startled housekeeper and gave her a carnivore hug erstwhile she entered the room.
Few things successful my dad’s 90 years of beingness person fixed him much pleasance than Saturday mornings playing tennis astatine the Gates Center. Bob Threlkeld, Ned High, Gene Johnson, Cal Raines, and my dada formed a halfway radical of players. On occasion, I would capable in.
Then we would spell implicit to Rick’s Cafe (Now Chopper’s Sports Grill) for luncheon and a mates of beers. My dada and his buddies would shamelessly, and harmlessly, flirt with the cute young waitresses. I’m 62 now, truthful I get it.
I could spell connected and connected arsenic the memories flood back. But mostly, I wanted to accidental thanks.
I emotion you, dad. Happy 90th. I anticipation you similar the T-shirt.
English (US) ·