Athletic Glory

So here I am...3:15 am...lying in bed with an ice pack on my eye. Wow...is all i can say. How did i get here? Oh...let me guess u have ideas i was in a bar fight or a something cool like that. Nope...here is my story...

Playing SS has always been my favorite position on a diamond. Since I was a kid, I emulated Ozzie Guillen and wanted to play the position more than anything. I am probably a better outfielder, with a weaker arm, but SS is a calling. The 'captains' spot. There I am, ready to back hand a ball. Makes the throw easier, and keeps my bitch ass away from the ball. The ball decides to jump and it grazes my glove and clips me right under my right eye brow. First thought in my head was, 'fuck, where is the ball?' Second of course...'ur a pussy for not getting in front of that'. Third...'is my eye getting puffy?' Yeah...my train of thought.....

Quick Segue I
I have huge eyes. Got them from my mom who is affectionately called 'ojitos' by my dad, which means 'lil eyes'. She does not have little eyes..neither do I. Are they bug eyes..no...but they are big orbitals.

So, I start thinking, can I play through this? I have two homers in the bank for the game, and my team needs me. I am not conceited, but I know what i bring to the team. Comedy! This is now my second injury and I know people are wondering if I am snake bit. I am quite confident if there were snakes around I would have gotten bit! So I stay in a while...check the bump...nothing major. Wipe the sweat off my brow....nothing major......wait...that isn't only sweat. I have a little blood. I pull myself and check it further. I can see just fine, and isn't bleeding like crazy. Shadez tells me I might need a stitch or two, but he is a wuss. Won't play tackle, avoids contact in the paint, and has tried to basket catch every ball hit to him. Mostly, I am just mad I am even having this conversation with Shadez...snake bitten i tell you! Ain't his fault for telling me the truth. Fuck it, I put the cap back on, and play. Leading off I smack a single and play.

Quick Segue II
My dad is a beast. All 5'7" of him is beast like. When I was little, I watched him get hit in the stomach with fastball and keep playing the game. I am fully convinced he could wrestle a bear and win, then have dinner with it and be the best of friends. That's the type of cat he is, and there was no way I was letting that legacy down.

So I keep playing, score a run on a close play at home and not once did I think about my eye. Not once did I consider anything but playing. I should have been thinking about my son they say. Why? He is not losing his dad over this. Plus, he has to know heart matters more than talent. Play through acceptable pain, because it builds character. In life, you will get kicked in the teeth and you have to know it is ok to hurt, but you keep going.

So unofficially we win, but because of a scoring mistake we don't mark the run. I am just happy we played hard, and that i helped. Then another team needs me to play...and i do. Playing is ok with me and my eye so far is fine...then after three horrendously cowardly matadors on a ball, I realize...What the fuck am I doing?

Why am I risking playing with this crap ass team? Being tough is one thing...being a dumb ass is another. Even my dad would be questioning me right now. That and asking me why I didn't get in front of that ball.

Quick Segue III
Me being a dumb ass is not out of the question. Spraining an ankle and continuing to play..no problem. I have done that a few times. Not the best idea...but I ain't no quitter!

I packed it up after thinking about it. I wanted to see my son and get ice on this thing before I looked like the guy who lost the fight. By the time I got to my car, my eye had swollen a little more. What was worse was the cut staring back at me in the mirror. Shadez was right, it did look like i needed stitches. Damn...well he still wont play tackle..so he weak.

Quick Segue IV
Shadez wont play tackle because he doesn't want to get hurt. Really...is this how u go through life. Worrying about pain that isn't there? Then again, his eye is fine, and I look like the boxer who lost.

Time to go to the hospital. Fuck, as a kid I swear I should have gotten frequent visitor points. Hell, earlier this year i dislocated my shoulder and spent three hours as my shoulder hung at an off angle before i got help. NOT THIS TIME I SAID! This time I am taking my mom's advice. I am going to MY hospital where my doctor is. I hear I will get faster service that way. Sure enough I see the triage nurse right away and I am checked in quick. "how long is the wait?"
"about an hour we are tracking"
That is cool...I can do an hour (time of arrival 10:35pm)
Time before i started questioning my mom's advice 12:45am.
Time they got me back to a doctor: 1:45am
Time it took the doctor to tell me my cut is an abrasion and not a deep cut, and I don't need stitches, but rather some medical crazy glue: 5 min
Application time: 3 min
Time I left the ER: 2:25am
So between 1:45am and 2:25am...my doc was walking around looking for glue.

Yes medical crazy glue. oh and tape. Yeah...box tape so that the glue wouldn't glue my eye closed. This was Northwestern Memorial Hospital...not Lopez Family Basement Memorial. Sorry Ed, no butterfly band aid. Me and my lil bro debated whether all of this would have ended with one of those.

Quick Segue V
My little bro came with me to hospital. One of the funnier aspects of my lil bro is that he is living out the show 'it's always sunny in philadelphia'. Another is that he is extremely loud...at all times. I mean whispering is not an option for this cat. So in the hospital, he is on the cell phone with his friends talking about whatever this group can think of in the loudest voice. A lady in a wheel chair was moved away, and another one was ready to punch him. All 5 feet and 90 pounds of her. Know what though...he came with me and stayed the whole ride....so that 5 footer would have been in a world of trouble had she tried!

So now I am headed home after mad hours, my eye half closed and pissed off. Going to sleep, I just think back on it. Mostly, how my kid is going to love it or go run screaming. Quick shower, ice pack, and bed and here we are.

Post Mortem
My eye closed up over night and I am continually icing it. I get to wear cool shades at work and people are now wondering if I got in a fight. Would I change anything? Yeah, I would have gone home I think and put a band aid on it until the next day. Who am I kidding...I wouldn't have changed a thing. Life is built on experiences...good and bad. It's how you recognize the difference and learn to appreciate it. I hope I turn out to be as cool as I think I am. I hope my legacy is that I will play through pain, and not just a dumb ass who doesn't know when to quit. I really hope my son doesn't freak out when he sees my eye, or tries to poke it just to stake his claim to my throne.

as always...see u in yay...well maybe a little longer obviously!
-iz3y!