Story: The Amazing Fall of '69

October 1969, New York City

Patrick stood there stunned, not moving a muscle. He was still breathing as well as he could tell. He wasn’t dead, he was sure of that—or else heaven looked a lot like his favorite bar on 53rd & Lex. He grabbed an arm hair and gave it a yank, he wasn’t dreaming either. No, it had to of happened. The Mets had won the series. 

Patrick loved baseball and started following the team in ‘62. After averaging over a hundred losses per year since he hadn’t entered the summer with high hopes. Each night he’d meet Bill, Stu, and Bruce at his favorite pub on 53rd to have a few beers and watch the game. The Mets usually resembled the Three Stooges more than a professional baseball team. 

“How,” Patrick had said, “could they be this bad?” 

“It’s like they do this stuff on purpose,” Stu said, “every night for the past six years. They ain’t never had a winning season.” 

“Yeah and it looks like, they won’t have one this year either.” Bill now chiming in, “I’ll have another beer Tommy, maybe it’ll help me forget all about this team.” 

“Remind me.” Bruce said, “Why we watch these guys instead of the Yankees? The Yanks at least win.” 

“Didn’t they win,” Patrick asked, “back to back titles back a few years back?” 

“In ‘61 & ‘62 yeah,” Stu replied, “but, they ain’t our team. You don’t go jumping from team to team, they got a name for fans like that you know.” 

“Uh huh, but this team stinks.” Bruce said, “I mean really stinks. They don’t have a shot at ever winning a title.”  

“Maybe, but they're at least close to .500 this year.” Tommy the bartender jumping in, “Better than last year.” 

Patrick and the guys had gone back and forth all summer. One thing they had all been sure of, was that the Mets weren’t ever going to win the series. How could they? The Mets had exactly zero winning seasons, since arriving in Queens. Most of the way through the summer it didn’t look like this year would be any different. Forty-one games into the season, the team was hovering around .500 with an 18-23 record. 

“Go, go, go!,” Patrick said, “They're waiving him around third. He’s gonna score, he’s gonna score. The throw. The slide. YES, YES, SAFE!” 

“Ahhh! I can’t believe it.” Stu said, “I simply can’t believe it.” 

Everyone else in the bar was going as crazy. The Mets had managed to pull off what seemed impossible two weeks earlier, they’d started winning. In the intervening weeks between that late night and the bar and this one, they’d won eleven in a row. 

“It’ll never last.” Bruce said, “They’ll find someway to ruin it, always do.” 

“Oh, shut up Bruce,” Stu said, “You don’t have to be such a downer. Enjoy the damn streak like the rest of us.”

“Just watch,” Bruce replied, “Wait and see.” 

“I for one,” Patrick said, “Don’t care if they lose the rest of the way. I’m going to enjoy this one. It’s the most remarkable turn around I think I’ve ever seen.”        

The guys would continue to argue back and forth over the several weeks. That’s what men do in bars. It’s crazy what a little winning will do though. They had a new pep in their step, and something positive to look forward to each night at the bar.

Tall Tales, Spinning Yarns & Telling Stories

Writing is nothing more than thinking another’s thoughts after them. Perhaps it's for the second time, but more often than not, it’s for the hundredth time. Writers rarely get it right the first time. They plod, meander and sometimes even stagger from time to time. It’s hard stuff. They agonize over word choices, sentence structure, and every detail of how they’re communicating. They wrestled their scattered thoughts into submission and trapped them on paper and you’re now getting to come along for the ride.

Isn’t it fun to set off without a destination in sight and nothing to guide but the moonlight above? You get to hop in the car and drive fast, for the thrill of it all. You don’t have to worry about the road, pack a lunch or pay for gas. You simply have to hang on tight as you turn page after page. One moment you’re cruising down the 101, beach on your left taking in the beauty of another sunset, and the next you’re soaring through the clouds on a jet bound for a far off destination.

Have you paused to think about how magical it all is? Somewhere on this scattered mess of a planet, another human sat down to put ink on page to create the very thing in your hand that’s transporting you all over the universe without your ever having moved. To top it all off, it’s putting ideas in your head. Silently, and unnoticed it’s at work causing thoughts, emotions and all manner of things to come bubbling to the surface. Perhaps you’ll dream about some adventure you joined because of a good piece of writing.  

Imagination is one of the greatest gifts the good Lord has given us, and good writing uses it to perfection. Amidst all the hustle and all the busyness of life, imagination comes riding in on a blue horse to save us. Its tales and adventures pick us up when we’re down, encourage us to try new things, and push us to dare greatly into the unknown.   

The world would be a much more dreary place without it. Stories and books put color and zest into a world often considered gray. What would the world be without the wackiness of Alice in Wonderland, the adventures of Curious George or the triumphs of Sherlock Holmes? What would we understand about the deeper struggles of mankind without Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby or Of Mice & Men. Or of man’s inhumanity to man if not for Anne Frank’s Diary, George Orwell’s Animal Farm or Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird? These take truth, wrap it in language and then etch it into our hearts.    

Storytelling—it’s mankind’s longest running tradition. Man has been gathering to listen and share tales as long as he’s had breath in his lungs. Whether it’s around a fire, transistor radio or farmhouse dinner table, it’s what we do. We recall episodes long past, spin yarns about the victories we’ve won and put lipstick on the underside of life.

Telling a good story takes more than interesting prose or vivid imagery; it requires timing, emotion and rhythm just like your favorite tune. It builds and builds towards the payoff—be that a laugh, outrage, or a tear. As Hank Williams asks the Drifter in “The Ride” by David Allan Coe:  

"Drifter can ya make folks cry when you play and sing?

Have you paid your dues, can you moan the blues? Can you bend them, guitar strings?"
He said, "Boy can you make folks feel what you feel inside?

Anyone trying to entertain and regale you with a good ol’ fashion story is engaged in one of mankind’s grandest ideals. Go along for the ride.

“Stories,” Stephen King said, “are found things, like fossils in the ground.” So grab your shovel and get to digging. There’s no telling the whopper of a tale we’re likely to find.

I'm going to try several new things on the blog this year.  Some of them will work and some of them won't, but we're going to give it a go anyway. Each month, I will share some variety of short fiction with you here. Be it a short story, a scene I'm working on or some rambling prose I found enjoyable to write. Regardless of the shape it takes, or its quality I hope you come along for the ride.   

My 6 Favorite Books From 2016

We find ourselves nearing the end of yet another year. One in which I failed at two of my most ambitious goals, reading & writing. As the calendar turned from 2015 to 2016, I wanted to increase my intake and output of words. If you’ve been a reader of this blog for long, you’ll have noticed a definite drop in output. What you may not have noticed, unless you’re my wife, is that I have also failed to reach my reading goal for 2016. Perhaps I was a tad ambitious in putting together this year’s list by taking on several large volumes. Whatever the reason, I completed roughly half of my intention. 

Within the 25-30 books I did complete however, were several gems I’d like to share with you. If you’re still looking for that perfect gift to place under the tree for the avid reader you know, perhaps this list will help you find it. 

Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan - Classic works of literature can be boring, meandering messes. As I’ve sought to read all the books the collective “they” says I should, I’ve been bogged down by author’s use of language or pace. Not so with Bunyan’s masterpiece. Intermingled in this beautiful story of Christian’s journey are biblical truths that instruct the mind and comfort the soul. As Christian makes his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City his trials and temptations show us a familiar picture and point us to the Way. Wonderful in it’s use of language, and stunning in it’s simplicity this classic is one I plan to revisit often. 

On Writing Well by William Zinsser - This book now sits within arms reach of my desk. I often pull it down, flip through its pages and in so doing find exactly the help I need to finish my task. It serves as both an inspiration and a resource regardless of the project. If you have an interest in writing on any level, this book will guide you through rough seas and stormy gales until you’re safely home having created the best form of writing you can.      

On Writing by Stephen King - This is the only Stephen King book I’ll probably ever read, but I’m beyond glad I did. King is both immensely practical and wildly entertaining as he brings you along for the ride of how he became the writer we all know. His memoir style approach to the subject of writing is as insightful as any other book on the craft and is a joy to read, even if you have no interest in writing at all. 

Tactics by Greg Koukl - How often have you been in situations or conversations in which you felt the need to say something but weren’t sure what? In Tactics, Koukl gives you a game plan for discussing your Christian convictions with that often difficult cocktail of grace and truth. In this book you’ll learn how to frame a discussion gracefully and confidently. One of my favorite aspects of Koukl’s approach is that you can employ it from day one. There is no need to wait until you’ve finished the book to get in the game. He helps you turn any conversation into a discussion of significance, without being weird or strange.   

Do More Better by Tim Challies - There are so many resources and books out there on the topic of productivity. In a culture obsessed with getting things done, we are always on the hunt for the next nugget or hack that is going to fix everything. In this crowded space, a work has to be especially great to stand out. It was a breath of fresh air then, to download a copy of Tim Challies’ Do More Better. In this short, but powerful book Challies helps us step back and see productivity rightly and build a system to steward your gifts, talents, time, energy and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God. 

Church History In Plain Language by Bruce Shelley - It’s easy to fall into the trap of focusing so much on the present and future that we forget to look at the past. What a mistake we make when we fail to consider our story and how we got here. While I haven’t quite finished reading this one, it has proven itself to be a great help already. Like most stories, this one starts with the beginning—the early church. After a very brief retelling of the life and ministry of Christ, Shelley picks up the trail of the rag tag group entrusted with carrying forth the good news of the gospel to the whole world.

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