I zoom-out the front door of our home on Maryland Ave…and there, waiting on the concrete steps in front of the house is my beloved cousin, Barbara Ann. She also has a rather large paper bag curled and wrapped in her left hand. Only, HER bag holds some cans of cold POP, and (also carefully wrapped-up) some of my Aunt Marge’s (her Mom) mouth-watering cookies for dessert.
OK! NOW WE’RE OFF!
Holding hands, we glide down the lonnng course of “city steps” leading from our homes down to the main street of Millvale. (My cousin’s house was directly across the street from mine…I think at one time, I was related to nearly EVERYBODY in that town!)
Having arrived on the corner of Lincoln Avenue, we nervously awaited the Millvale bus which would transport us to our first stop on the day’s Journey. As we anxiously watched, the bus turned the corner and proceeded to where we waited. With a hefty sound from its tires, the bus stopped right in front of us. The driver opened the door with a giant WOOSH, and we stepped up. After placing our quarters in the deposit, we asked for the “transfer slips” which we needed to board our second coach. THEN…we sat down.
WOW! The aromas emanating from our paper A&P lunch bags filled not only our nostrils, but wafted throughout the bus…probably making everybody aboard VERY hungry! BUT, we restrained ourselves…saving our repast for when we arrived at our final destination.
A brief time passed, and the bus stopped at our second venue…the north side of the 40th Street Bridge. Undaunted, we KNEW that we needed to cross the bridge on foot…climb the steep hill in Lawrenceville…and then, once at the summit, await the streetcar/trolley which would take us to our goal. Man, that hill was high! Sweat poured from both of us by the time we reached the top. SO..we plunged into Barbra Ann’s paper bag and grasped a can of Dad’s Root Beer! DELICIOUS! SO THIRST QUENCHING.
CHUG THAT POP
As we finished our shared root beer, our streetcar arrived. We climbed aboard, handed the driver our transfers, and went to a seat. The clang of the Pittsburgh streetcars still echo in my ears and memory to this day. How I wished that they ALL were still in operation.
STEP OUT
Our trolley excursion lasted approximately one half hour. We grew more and more anxious as Time passed…holding each other’s sweating child hands…squealing with unabashed delight as the streetcar screeched to the end of our Journey.
There it was..in all its fantastic glory…nestled in the Heart of the Oakland section of Pittsburgh…our GOAL…our SHRINE…FORBES FIELD!!!
THE YEAR WAS…
Eventually, we paid our entrance fee, obtained our tickets, and hastened to our seats in the “PeanutSection.”
It was 1955. It was the beginning of July. School was over. I would be turning 8 years old in two weeks. My older cousin (Barbara Ann was nearly 4 WHOLE YEARS older than myself!) and we regularly followed this same Journey throughout the Summer. This year, however, was something REALLY SPECIAL. This was the year of arrival for one of the Pittsburgh Pirates’, and ALL baseball history’s, truly wonderful players and incredible Humanitarians…ROBERTO CLEMENTE!
As the game played-on, we unwrapped our Isaly’s chipped ham sandwiches…gulped them voraciously…drank ALL the pop…and finished every one of Aunt Marge’s cookies. Of course, the game took “complete” precedence! (YEAH, RIGHT!) But, every time Clemente came to bat, we were completely enthralled.
What a GIFT he was…to baseball…to his Homeland…to America…and to ALL Creatures!
I remember KDKA and the Pittsburgh Press running stories of him nearly EVERY DAY! AND…these stories were NOT restricted to his game-playing. MOST of them told of his regular visits to Children’s Hospital, the local schools, etc.
When his Life on this Earth Journeyed onwards, the entire City, and, indeed the entire WORLD mourned the loss. Yet, the movements and causes he inspired have a lasting effect to this very day.
As the game ended, and we made our way to the sidewalk outside Forbes Field, there we saw my Dad waiting for us in his 1954 turquoise and white Chevy Bel Aire. We both climbed into the car, and pared ourselves on the rear seat. Dad asked if we had fun at the game. FUN!!!! What an UNDERSTATEMENT!
Snaking through the traffic, we arrived back home at Maryland Avenue.
Those game-sharing days are LONG GONE…as is Forbes Field. AND, Barbara Ann? Well, she too Journeyed onwards many years back. After she married and her new husband “transported” her away from the entire Family to the hills of West Virginia, she wasted away. I received the news of her passing while I was living on the East Coast.
I still feel the warmth of her hand…see the smile on her face…the glitter in her eyes…and, to this day, still search for her final resting place.
TODAY
A few weeks ago, I received the honor of an invitation. This invitation arrived as a message from a dear Friend, Dr. Armendia Dixon, the Director of a program upon which I serve: the MARTIN LUTHER KING MENTORING PROGRAM.
I had no real concept as to what the invitation represented until I arrived at the event.
The event would host the “Pittsburgh Pirates Charities Care Van.”
As the event began, 5 current members of the Pirates’ Team arrived!!! WOW!!! They took their place among the students and staff present. Their Emcee, Mr. Joe Klimchak, presented a program describing the history of the Negro Baseball League, its remarkable members, and the eventual acceptance of Afro-American Athletes into the mainstream of baseball.
Mr. Klimchak, and the team members, mesmerized each and every one present with the presentation. Naturally, a PowerPoint slide presentation accompanied the verbal presentation.
As the slides progressed, my Heart nearly burst! There, on the screen before me was the baseball Hero of my youth…ROBERTO! My mind rapidly melted into the year 1955. I was a “kid” again. My cousin sat beside me holding my hand. The tastes of the sandwich, root beer, and cookies filled mouth once again.
These 5 Pirates and their Emcee have no REAL idea about the incredible lasting effect that they had upon the student members of today’s audience. They “carry the Torch” of their predecessors…the Torch of Kindness, of Understanding, of Humanitarianism…and of the True Spirit of Brotherhood among All People of this planet.
ALSO…they have NO IDEA the effect upon - See Waiting page 15
Waiting
- from page 14
this member of the audience.
I believe that somewhere, Roberto is smiling down upon their efforts…and that Barbara Ann is watching, and BOB PRINCE is still shouting “ARRIBA!” as he “steps-up to the plate!”
Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack
I don’t care if I never get back
- STEVE GOODMAN
(“Take Me Out To The Ballgame”)
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