Monday, March 18, 2019

A Stranger to the Stands








My step-father Harry was a sweet man, an older bachelor adjusting to his new life with a wife and two children.  During World War II he was a Captain doing research in the Air Force.

One of the men on his team had been the trainer for the Detroit Tigers.  Grateful for not being in combat, he said to Harry: “When this mess is over, I want you to be my guest at a game.  I’ll roll out the red carpet for you.”

When Harry found out that I was a huge Tigers fan, he made it happen.  We had great seats behind the dugout.  I got to shake hands with some of the players.  They autographed my ball.  I was busy explaining the action to Harry as he drifted off to sleep.

Many years later when I was working for the American Medical Association, I looked up Harry in their archives.  I found out about his distinguished career and that he had been one of the inventors of the fetal heart monitor.

Harry had great stats.  He is a member of my personal Hall of Fame.

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