A Life of Words

Sharing this cool photo from the Blessed To Be An Astros’ Fan Facebook group, where over 43K fans incessantly post their devotion to the team. The poster says the shot was taken early this (Tuesday) morning, 12ish hours from first pitch in Game 6 of the World Series between the Astros and Braves, who lead the series 3-2. The Astros, back home at Minute Maid Park in Houston, are attempting to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win their second championship, a comeback that doesn’t happen often.

Obviously I want more than anything for the team I’ve loved for over 50 years to push the series to a seventh game. But on a personal level, it would be even more significant for them to win tonight’s Game 6.

That’s because my dear longtime friend Gerald, whom I met in our dorm at Texas A&M days before classes started in 1979, sent a text Monday to our other Aggie friend Bobby and me (we keep a group text going, where we chat A LOT about the Astros) saying he had extra tickets to Game 7 on Wednesday. When Bobby asked how much the tickets were, Gerald texted back, “Consider it a gift for your 40+ years of friendship. Would be epic if we could all go to a Game 7 together.”

Bobby and I were blown away by Gerald’s kindness. Bobby, who moved a few months ago with his wife from the Houston area to the Dallas area where their kids and grandchildren are, had already planned to be back in Houston on business this week. I asked my supervisor at The Dallas Morning News if I could take Wednesday off and she said yes.

It’s going to be a crazy week for me because I’m editing the latest installment of our State of the City project and am leaving for Denver on Friday to attend the Saturday morning funeral of my oldest birth family sibling Crys’s ex-wife. I won’t be returning until Monday night after spending time visiting my family, including Crys and our sister Terry, whom I haven’t seen in several years except on video chats.

But if the Astros can win Game 6 tonight, the chance to see them play for a title with two of my closest friends is something I’ll cherish forever. I’ve been to seven Astros playoff games over the years — including the historic 18-inning NLDS clincher against the Braves in 2005 with Gerald and his kids, who are now 36 and 33. But I’ve never attended a World Series game, mostly because of the exorbitant prices.

So if you’re an Astros fan, you’re already cheering your loudest for them to win the World Series. But now you have even more reason — the knowledge that if they win Game 6, I’d be able to hit the road for Houston tomorrow to see one of sports’ biggest spectacles: a Game 7 of a Fall Classic, and one involving our beloved Astros!

It’s still a giant hill to climb. But knowing the Astros have won three straight playoff games several times — including two years ago against the Nationals in the World Series, last year against the Rays in the ALCS, and against the Red Sox in this year’s ALCS — it’s clearly one they’ve shown they can scale.

In my blog post before the WS, I wrote about how worried I was about these Braves, who reminded me of the 2019 Nationals. That’s played out so far. Their pitching, especially the lefty-dominant bullpen, has done a great job silencing the Astros’ bats as I feared they might. But I’m keeping the faith that after 177 games, the Astros have two more monumental wins in them.

Let’s do this, Astros!! Win another championship for the city of Houston!! ✴🧡