Cover Photo: A Dedication, An Advertisement & A Complete Fabrication by Chris Okum
 

A Dedication, An Advertisement & A Complete Fabrication



A DEDICATION

 This is for you. Thank you for everything you do for me and for the children. I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I didn't mean for you to find out. Please believe me. If I had known you were going to find out I never would have gone in the first place. I swear to God. I know you said I forgive you but sometimes you still seem kind of mad. I just want you to know that you have every right to still be angry at me. No one should have to put up with my shenanigans. That's what it was. A shenanigan. No one. Not you, not anyone, especially not the boys, no one deserves that. I know you and I know what you are thinking about me right now. But know what I'm thinking about. I'm thinking about you. I'm thinking about you and the boys. About us. About our situation. I know you think you made a mistake. I would think the same thing too if I were you. I would have not forgiven me. But you did. You forgave me. I should have known. Because you are a good person. You have so much compassion. Not just for me. For everyone. I just want you to know that I appreciate everything you've done for me. And for the children. I hope you know that I really think you did the right thing. So thank you for staying with me. Thank you for not taking the boys away from me. I really do love my boys. I love our boys. But you already know that. Thank you for supporting me through this whole ordeal. Thank you for being my wife. Thank you for ten great years. I think we have ten more and ten after that and after that as well. I think we're going to be fine. I'm never going to disappear like that ever again. Next time I'll tell you. Or better yet, I'll just invite you to come along. There. See. I'm learning. That's why I'm very optimistic. I want to thank you and dedicate this to you. That's all I wanted to say. And I love my boys. I would like to dedicate this to them as well. This is for them. For the boys. And this is for you. This is for all of us. 

 AN ADVERTISEMENT

 Ladies and gentleman, I give you Mr. Wizard, also known as Thee Pete Townsend. All rise for the honorable Sir Roger Daltrey. Please give a warm round of applause for The Ox, John Entwistle. And Kenney Jones. Ladies and gentleman, The Who.

 & A COMPLETE FABRICATION

 Taken from 'Dennis Lehane's The Assassination of Bill Buckner.' 

 On October 28, 1986, the morning after the New York Mets won Game 7 of the World Series, Boston Red Sox First Baseman Bill Buckner called his wife and told her he needed to spend some time alone. He told his wife he would not be coming home. He said he needed to clear his head. When his wife asked where he was going Buckner said he didn't know. But he did know. Later that night he took the red-eye to Los International Airport. From there he drove straight to San Luis Obispo. Buckner had reservations at the Madonna Inn. That's where he met with a woman he had met with on two previous occasions: June 14, 1982, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, after he made three errors against the Montreal Expos, and September 9, 1984, at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, after he struck out five times in a row against the Texas Rangers. This was the woman. He needed to see her. Everything was just all wrong. 

 AN ADVERTISEMENT

 "It's the most romantic place I've ever been!" 

"Are you feeling romantic?"

"Are you?"

"Yeah!" 

 & A COMPLETE FABRICATION

 They spent three days in the hotel room. They never left. They took a walk. One time. They took a walk down to the Bar at the Inn. No one recognized Bill. No one knew who he was or if they did they didn't mention it. No one paid any attention to him and his lady. No one cared about baseball. But still, Bill was in shock. Even though he was acting like he was having a good time he was still Bill, and he was still in shock. When he got home he told his wife to never ask him where he had been or who he had been with. She never asked. Bill told her anyway. On their wedding anniversary. He told his wife about what had happened to him after Game 7 and where he had gone. He told his wife about the Madonna Inn and the Hyatt Regency and the Mansion on Turtle Creek. Bill's wife listened and then she forgave him. She said, I don't understand why you're telling me all this right now but if it makes you feel better then I guess that's all that really matters. It sounded like forgiveness to Bill and it made him feel really good. This is what it felt like to be one of the greats. For the first time since the ball went through his legs he felt like Bill Buckner. Not Buckner and not Bill. But Bill Buckner. Old Buckner comma Bill. 

 AN ADVERTISEMENT

 The Who, live at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Saturday, July 11, 1982. Presented by Avalon Entertainment.

 

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