A Note from Robert Kurkela

October 20, 2004:

October is writing time for me. Changes in nature and Yankee baseball tend to occupy my thoughts for the duration of October and my mind goes into overdrive. This October I find myself contemplating not only stranded base runners and colorful vistas, but also a Presidential election and the death of a friend.

For the second straight year, I attended Game 6 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium. Again, Boston and the Yankees. Again, the Yankees lost. A rivalry only people from New York and Boston can understand. We supposedly hate each other because we have passion for our teams. But the term hate is too strong. We are all just rooting for our team to win. Obscene chants erupt from both Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium directed at players and opposing fans alike. It’s a part of the fun of experiencing the drama, the theatre that unfolds in front of our eyes.

Last night the fans took it to a new level. A justifiable reversed call by the umpires led to throwing of objects including full beers from the stands onto the field. Interestingly, I did not see anything thrown from the bleachers where I was sitting, the home of the most fervent of Yankee fans. Just goes to show that you can’t judge a whole crowd by a spiteful few.

A young child was seated two rows behind me last night with her parents. I thought that had she been sitting in the stands that a full beer could have landed on her from the upper deck. What an injury that would have been. Then, the riot police invade the bleachers and the field itself as if we’re 56,000 out of control insurgents in a war zone. How sad it had to come to this. I spoke openly with Boston fans around me and we were in agreement that this was unnecessary. In addition to this overreaction, I think now about the FDNY trucks parked outside the stadium. My best friend is in the FDNY and he told me they are there in case of a terrorist attack. The firemen’s job would be to spray the people coming out of the stadium to help decontaminate them. Yankee games ain’t what they used to be.

During the game, I wore a pair of beads that my friend Simon had made for me on a past trip to the New Orleans Jazz Fest. I brought them for good luck. They didn’t bring any for my team, but I don’t care about the team as much as I do my friend Simon. You see, he died a couple of weeks ago. He was in need of a kidney transplant but couldn’t get one in time because his system wasn’t strong enough to accept one. A fund was even established and he was able to return to his native Lebanon to try to obtain a kidney, even if he had to get it on the black market. But there his system wasn’t up to the challenge.

I recall an e-mail conversation I had with Simon while he was in Lebanon and how he couldn’t wait to get back to the United States. He said that we have no idea how free we are compared to a country like Lebanon and its political system and instability. He could have stayed in Lebanon to wait for that kidney and maybe his system would have revived itself for a transfer, but he chose to come back to the home he loved, good old Albany, NY, USA. I lost a friend, but not before he had the opportunity to hold my baby daughter Rachel one last time in August. She took a bottle in his arms and then she napped. I have pictures from that day that I will cherish forever. I somehow knew that this would be the last time I’d ever see him.

In the midst of all this excitement and depression, I have also been heavily involved with on-line chats on the Presidential election. The candidates remind me of over paid baseball players. The difference is that the outcome of this election is far greater than the outcome of Game 7 tonight in Yankee Stadium. Our country is divided. I’ve posted spiteful comments and I’ve been attacked likewise on-line. Not much different than chanting: “Boston sucks.” My political dilemma seems to focus on one issue entirely: the safety of my family and my country. Who is best for America? Who will lead our country forward with courage and grace in a world forever changed by events three years ago?

Thinking of Simon, he’s right. There is no better place to live. Now we are faced with a dead heat in the election and a 3-3 series with the winner taking all tonight. I will cheer for my home team, but I know all the superstitious rituals I perform in my house will not affect the outcome of the game. There will be a final score and I’ll live with it. It’s trivial considering I’m able to watch the excitement while a friend is not here to share it with his friends.

Our country may be polarized, but we are all citizens of a democracy. We may be Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, whatever…but that is a reflection of the melting pot of our ancestors and their ideologies and the ideas passed down to us through generations. This is what makes our country so fascinating. We argue, but we are always there for our brothers and sisters in times of need, even if they don’t necessarily agree with our views on various topics. A Yankee fan started berating a Sox fan last night and I told him to let go of it, he was a great guy that flew in from Canada for the game. That to me is dedication to a team. And he wasn’t even an American! It may reflect on the dedication of the man to other causes as well.

So, as I prepare for the Yankees tonight, I will build a fire and cuddle up with my two daughters and wife. I’ll wear Simon’s beads and hope that he’s out of pain now. His life ended short, but his spirit will live on with his friends and family forever. I’ll also think of the election and how I’ll probably sit in front of my television on election night much like I will be tonight, watching history unfold in front of me. The best thing I can do to honor Simon is to simply vote. It is our greatest right as a United States citizen. I can also cheer my team on. In several weeks I’ll know who will be World Champions and who will be President of the United States.

However, in the grand scheme of things, nothing is more sacred than life itself. Simon lived his fully right up until his last day. When I find myself losing sight of what’s really important, I’ll simply return my thoughts to him and how he has made the journey that we all will take someday. Root for your team. Root for your candidate. Root for life. Live it fully yet live it wise. Live it selflessly, not selfishly. If you do, surely love will emanate from you and it will be contagious, passed on from one person to another. Do your part to leave this place better than it was before you were born unto it. This is my wish for all of you. My friend Simon accomplished this task in 38 short years. May all your lives be as blessed as his and may you come to understand your purpose on this planet.

With Love,
Robert W. Kurkela
Author of Lilies on the Moon