{"id":696,"date":"2015-02-18T03:43:38","date_gmt":"2015-02-18T03:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/?p=696"},"modified":"2015-02-18T03:43:38","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T03:43:38","slug":"tribute-to-a-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/?p=696","title":{"rendered":"Tribute to a Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It’s been a busy month.\u00a0 And since my “not so little anymore” daughter turned 12 on Saturday, the beau and I opted for a delayed Valentines celebration on Sunday evening.\u00a0 With as crazy as our schedules have been lately, low key was the name of the game.<\/p>\n

B showed up at my house \u00a0and I had dinner ready to go.\u00a0 We ate brisket and potatoes, and a yummy (but very rich) chocolate peanut butter cheesecake that I made.\u00a0 As soon as we sat down, the old movie The Natural came on.\u00a0 I laughed because we had seen a preview for it on the Sundance channel last weekend, so I made a point to set the DVR the other night.\u00a0 And what do you know, it was on again.\u00a0 So we watched.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

B said it was like seeing it for the first time since it had been so long.\u00a0 I agreed.<\/p>\n

But there are certain lines that stood out in both of our minds.\u00a0 “Wonderboy…” and “Knock the cover off the ball!”<\/p>\n

And there is this exchange between Roy and Iris…<\/p>\n

Iris: You know, I believe we have two lives.<\/p>\n

Roy: How?\u00a0 What do you mean?<\/p>\n

Iris: The life we learn with and the life we live after that.\u00a0 With or without the records, they’ll remember you.\u00a0 Think of all those young boys you’ve influenced.<\/p>\n

There is a reason this is one of the best baseball movies ever written.\u00a0 Don’t we all have childhood heros?\u00a0 Young boys, and girls, are influenced by sports heroes. I know that growing up in my family, baseball heroes were among the very best.<\/p>\n

A couple weeks ago, baseball lost one of it’s own true heroes.\u00a0 A legend. A true class act.\u00a0 On a Friday night in January, I received a text from my cousin Ben to let me know that Ernie Banks had gone to the Friendly Confines in the sky.\u00a0 I still get a lump in my throat thinking about it.<\/p>\n

The texts began going back and forth between my brother, my mom, my uncle and my cousins. My dad’s hero, his favorite player ever, who had become lovingly embedded in our hearts and memories from the stories we had heard growing up and going to Cubs games, had joined my dad on the other side of eternity.\u00a0 I told my family, I’m sure my dad lead the standing ovation at Ernie’s arrival.<\/p>\n

We laughed about the time we had been to the Cubs convention and Ernie popped over to say a random hello to us.\u00a0 He was carrying a rubber chicken.\u00a0 I still have no idea why.\u00a0 But the memory makes me smile.<\/p>\n

My brother and I lamented the fact that we never got a letter to Ernie, even though we had the perfect opportunity.\u00a0 It’s a letter I wrote a couple years ago, with the prompting of my cousin Chuck, to let Ernie in on a little Jacobs family secret.\u00a0 One that Ernie had everything to do with. I had tried mailing the letter to Mr. Banks, but it arrived back at my house marked “Return to Sender”.\u00a0 Only a few weeks afterward, my brother was on set shooting a commercial and sent me a text saying something like, “You’re never going to guess who I’m working with today?”\u00a0 He was with Ernie’s son.\u00a0 We had a connection to get Ernie the letter, to tell him how he impacted the unfolding of a story that meant so much to us.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Ernie never got the letter.\u00a0 But I have no doubt that he knows the story now.\u00a0 And I’m sure we are not the only family that has been so touched by the life of this legend.\u00a0 So if you will indulge me in paying tribute, here is that letter to Mr. Cub…<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Banks,<\/p>\n

It is my sincere hope that telling this story doesn\u2019t get me in trouble with the powers that be at Wrigley, but there is a story that I truly believe you need to hear.<\/p>\n

My dad was born and raised a Cubs fan.\u00a0 And in turn, he passed that on to all 3 of his children.\u00a0 You were always his favorite Cub. We made a point to get to Chicago for at least one game every year.\u00a0 I know I am one of many, many thousands to say that I have so many great childhood memories there.<\/p>\n

In June of 2001, I gave my dad the last present I would ever have the privilege of giving him.\u00a0 It was the book Banks to Sandberg to Grace<\/span>.\u00a0 I gave that book to him on Father\u2019s Day and that night he called me and said, \u201cI need to read you something\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He proceeded to read the last couple paragraphs of the section that was written by you.\u00a0 I still remember the way his voice broke with emotion as he read the last sentence\u2026\u201dSo that\u2019s what I want for me.\u00a0 My ashes spread at Wrigley with the wind blowing out.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time he read that, I thought, wow, it\u2019s so cool that my dad loves his present so much.\u00a0 It was only 6 months later that those words gained a totally new meaning.\u00a0 On December 2, 2001 I got the 2 am phone call that no daughter wants.\u00a0 My dad had a very sudden heart attack and was gone.\u00a0 A couple days later, as the shock subsided and the grief set it, the sound of his voice reading your words echoed in my head.\u00a0 I said, \u201cOh my gosh! He didn\u2019t even know he was doing it, but Dad told me what he wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The past 10 \u00bd years have been full of challenges.\u00a0 Life is a rollercoaster and sometimes, you just have to hang on and get through the ride.\u00a0 But sometimes, things come together in a way you would have never expected.\u00a0 In the summer of 2010, we revisited the idea of trying to put some of dad\u2019s ashes in the ivy.\u00a0 We decided that we would pick a game in the 2011 season.\u00a0 But shortly after that, my brother\u2019s wife was suddenly taken from us and our plans got sidelined for a while.\u00a0 When the schedule came out for the 2012 season, we decided it was time.\u00a0 The Red Sox would be at Wrigley on Father\u2019s Day.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t imagine a more perfect scenario.\u00a0 So, on June 17, 2012, we took a very small box of my dad\u2019s ashes into the bleachers with us.\u00a0 We had all agreed ahead of time that we should be somewhere near right-center.\u00a0 We got inside the friendly confines a little later than we planned, so I wasn\u2019t surprised to see the bleachers already starting to fill up.\u00a0 But as I looked around, the only 4 open seats in the front row of the bleachers were exactly in right-center.\u00a0 It was like they had been saved just for us.<\/p>\n

It was a hot June afternoon that faded into a perfect evening for baseball.\u00a0 We took in batting practice, watched the sun set into the rooftops of Wrigleyville, ate Chicago style dogs, listened to the bleacher bums heckle the Red Sox players in the outfield and shared a camaraderie with the fans around us.\u00a0 Wayne Messmer and his wife sang the National Anthem, which was so appropriate, because my dad always loved it when Wayne sang.\u00a0 He would tell us, \u201cSometimes his wife sings with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

We laughed and enjoyed the game, most importantly we enjoyed the atmosphere that Wrigley provides.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing that no matter what your circumstances are in life, it is impossible to be at Wrigley and not be happy.\u00a0 Every once in a while, we would glance around, catch each other\u2019s eye and cast a knowing smile. Just before the 7th<\/sup> inning, I pulled out my dad\u2019s copy of the book Banks to Sandberg to Grace<\/span> and turned to page 48.\u00a0 My mom, brother, new sister in law and I hunched together as I read the words that my dad had read to me on Father\u2019s Day exactly 11 years before.\u00a0 Your words.\u00a0 After the third out in the top of the 7th<\/sup>, everyone rose for the best part of the Wrigley experience.\u00a0 We put our arms around each other and sang the words, \u201cTake me out to the ballgame\u2026\u201d\u00a0 As the song ended, my mom handed me the little box.\u00a0 I opened it and very discreetly leaned forward to add the contents to the ivy on the outfield wall.\u00a0 If anyone noticed, they didn\u2019t say anything.\u00a0 There were tears, of course, but there were smiles too.\u00a0 \u00a0We watched the rest of the game, hopeful that our beloved Cubbies would make a comeback in the late innings. The win flag didn\u2019t fly over Wrigley that night, but to the Jacobs family, there was something just as special that happened. \u00a0We found a sense of peace, knowing that Al Jacobs was where he wanted to be.<\/p>\n

Mr. Banks, thank you for speaking those words that my dad read to me in June of 2001. Thank you for role you played in my dad\u2019s childhood.\u00a0 Thank you for being Mr. Cub.\u00a0 Thank you for the happy memories you have provided for so many fans over the years.<\/p>\n

Warmest regards,<\/p>\n

Lindsey Jacobs<\/p>\n

\""Little<\/a>

“Little brother” and I on the evening of June 17, 2012 in the bleachers of Wrigley Field.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been a busy month.\u00a0 And since my “not so little anymore” daughter turned 12 on Saturday, the beau and I opted for a delayed Valentines celebration on Sunday evening.\u00a0 With as crazy as our schedules have been lately, low key was the name of the game. B showed up at my house \u00a0and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-randomthoughts","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eO4v-be","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":698,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696\/revisions\/698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}