This is in response to how one change in plans can change your life
forever. Today outside is a major lightning storm. It may end my post.
As a young airmen going through basic there was allot of marching. Not
something I enjoyed. We were to March downtown San Antonio. I was one of
two rear road guards. Tall and lean then, the drill instructor said he
wanted only one rear guard to make things look better. I was free to go
but to be back at end of parade. My friend was also released. He was Puerto
Rican, nothing to do with the story other than one of the new players
coming from South America and in the Air Force to get his citizenship faster.
He had come to the United States to play baseball. He was good. So good
that the Pittsburgh Pirates called him up to the Majors. I would daily pitch
batting practice to him.
I well skip over some of this just to say that my friend arranged for me
a tryout and we were going to Pensacola for spring training. We were all excited.
Ron Santo of the Cubs and a Hall of fame player was also in training. All were
dreaming the same dream. I grew up with Ron lived his dream. My friend wanted
me to meet his new girlfriend. She lived in Sequin, Texas. We borrowed the car.
I was about to enter when my CEO yelled that I was on call for ambulance duty.
Hours later we received a call. There had been a bad accident on the highway.
An Airman was involved and I was ambulanced to the scene. It was a fatality.
all we could do was take the body back to the Hospital.
Later someone came up and broke the news to me not knowing we were friends,
saying, "Did you hear about Perez?" I had no idea it was my friend we brought back.
Speeding to get back before the parade ended. I live daily in the thought
how many things changed in that one second we were about to leave in that car.
Spring training dreams ended with his death a future major league Hall of Famer died.
Had I been with him would I have died or would I have gotten him back earlier? All
changes in the twilight zone of living. Was he good enough to make the majors?
He batted .323 in "AAA" and in that day shortstops only played good defense. They did
not have Tommy Johns surgery then. They were impressed with how hard I threw but
could I throw any other pitch. First time I threw a curve ball would I have been done?
We would never know from one minute of time.
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