THE BLOG

Her name was Mae. She passed away recently one week shy of her 100th birthday. Much about Mae intrigued me – her longevity, clarity of mind, physical condition. Another was her fondness for technology. At age 97 she told me, “I love computers, cell phones, email, and zoom.” But what intrigued me most was what I learned from her family members as we put the final touches on her Celebration of Life Service.

January 5, 1920 the Boston Red Sox stunned the major league baseball world with the announcement that on December 26, 1919, they had “traded” George Herman “Babe” Ruth to the New York Yankees –  not for other players, but for cash. The actual amount exchanged for “The Babe” in this blockbuster “trade” differs depending on which account one reads. It appears the amount was at least $25,000 in immediate cash, with additional $25,000 payments due in 1920, 1921, and 1922 – an astounding  amount in those days. History shows that the Red Sox got the “short end of the bat” in the trade. Up to that point they had won five World Series titles. After that “trade”, the Red Sox would not win another pennant until 1946, and no other World Series title until 2004. The long drought was attributed to the “Curse of the Bambino” – coined from one of Ruth’s several nicknames. Meanwhile, with Ruth  establishing himself as the Sultan of Swat, the Yankees won four World Series titles during the 1920s.  

February 23, 2025, Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin became the first skier, male or female, to win 100 World Cup races – fourteen more than any other skier.  Her celebration of that accomplishment was dimmed by the absence of her father, Jeff, who died suddenly from a fall in 2020.  His death had left a huge hole in her life.  In an essay in 2022 she spoke openly about her experience with grief, describing it this way, “It’s not a climb up a mountain.  It’s more like a maze.”