The Franchise
It’s hard when your childhood heroes are leveled by life.
I don’t know why, but for some reason the heroes of our childhood remain vibrant, young and strong in our mind’s eye.
We remember their primes and often don’t “age” them in our memories.
So when I think of Tom Seaver, I still see a powerful young pitcher rearing back and dragging his knee on the mound firing fastball after fastball past the best hitters of his era.
But those days are long gone.
Today, “Tom Terrific” is 74 and last week his family announced his retreat from public life as a result of dementia.
For those of us of a certain age and a certain geography, Tom Seaver is an icon. He’s the best New York Met ever. A legend and one of the best pitchers ever.
I saw him pitch once at the old Shea Stadium and watched many other times on WOR Channel 9. When he pitched it was an event and even when we watched we looked the next day at the box score in Newsday because seeing his pitching “line” was also a thing of beauty.
He was that great.
Truth is, I hadn’t thought of Tom Seaver in quite some time but I was still floored by the news.
Dementia?
Seaver was always an analytical pitcher, who despite his physical gifts was cerebral on the mound. He mentored younger pitchers and they hung on his every word.
74?
That doesn’t seem right. And then I realized that all of us kids who followed him are eligible to receive AARP magazine every month.
The decades have flown by.
I read a lot about Tom Seaver over the past week. By all accounts, he lives a peaceful and happy life tending to his family’s vineyard in California.
While he will fade from public view, I’m confident he will never fade from our memories.
The truly great ones never do. Their accomplishments live on. They change the world in their own distinct way and they change us too.
Tom Seaver brought a generation of fans tremendous joy.
He gave us lasting memories of endless summers watching baseball with our friends. Only the summers weren’t endless. They fade into fall and then winter. If we remember that, we will cherish the seasons all the more.
iPic Opens
A quick note about last week’s grand opening of iPic Delray.
In a word, it was amazing. A great party, a great night and most important the new theater and office complex is terrific. Truly, a new level.
IPic CEO Hamid Hashemi and his development team are to be commended for their vision and execution. They should be thanked for their belief in Delray and their willingness to make a colossal investment and create 250 jobs.
During the needlessly brutal approval process, the iPic team were called amateurs by a former elected official. It was a nasty comment and unbecoming of Delray. It’s possible to oppose a project without belittling those seeking to invest in your city.
Take a trip to the new Ipic and you’ll see firsthand that Mr. Hashemi and his company are far from amateurs. They are innovators and we are lucky to have iPic’s corporate headquarters in our city.
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