The morning after the Cubs won the 2016 World Series, I saw my neighbor in his front yard. I was neatening my little library and he was walking toward his car which was parked on the street. It was unusual for his car to be there. He usually parks in his driveway, which has a “Cubs Fan Only” sign in it.
“You must be in a pretty good mood today,” I said to him.
He crossed over to me and said, “I am.” He was smiling and looked joyous.
He shared with me me how he had “watched” the game with his adult daughters over the phone and how stressful and fun it was. He told me how happy they all were when the Cubs won. He was still smiling.
“I picked up a few extra copies of the paper this morning,” he said as he patted the newspaper that was tucked under his arm.
He told me he was on his way to meet his brother at their dad’s gravesite. He unfurled his newspaper. It had CUBS WIN plastered across the front page.
“I’m going to leave this for my dad,” he said. “He won’t believe it, not even in heaven.” And off he went.
I loved that moment, but I don’t watch or play sports or necessarily believe in heaven. But I love it when my friends’ and families’ teams win.
Thanks for reading. -Connie
P.S. I live in Rockford have been commuting weekly to Chicago for several years. It was fun to see the city skyline light up in different ways to support their team during the games.
Constance Kuntz 