YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN!
by Paul Hammersten
" That will never do kid, " Dom assured me while I was twirling several
strands of spaghetti
on the fork I jabbed into the mound of steaming hot
pasta and sauce
piled high on my plate.
Taking a puff on
his cigarette then resting it in the ash tray, Dom picked up
both a fork and
a large spoon.
" This is how Mama
taught my brothers and me to eat spaghetti! "
On returning home
to Wellesley, MA from the curling bonspiels we
competed in throughout
New England when I was in high school, Dom
DiMaggio, our chaperone,
would take us out to eat at Ken's Steakhouse
{ of Ken's salad
dressing fame } in Framingham. Once we were all seated
around his corner
table, Dom relaxed and enjoyed watching us eat while he
sipped a drink,
puffed on Lucky Strike's, and shared tales of his playing
days with the Boston
Red Sox in Fenway Park.
Listening to his
stories, I regretted never seeing Dom play, but I don't
regret that at
my first game at Fenway, a grade school graduation gift,
I was able to watch
the memorable Pumpsie Green play ball.
Elijah Jerry "
Pumpsie " Green got his nickname because he always
pumped his glove
with his fist like catchers do.
Twelve years after
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947,
Pumpsie joined
Boston. He was the first African-American player in Red
Sox history. The
Boston Red Sox was the last Major League team to
include Black players
on its roster. Ted Williams paved Pumpsie's way by
choosing to warm
up with him before each game.
I have heard it
said that no game can compare to one's first at Fenway.
For me, this saying
is untrue. All I have loved about the game of baseball I
will be taking
with me to Fenway Park this summer. Along with my
memories of Pumpsie
I will also be taking someone special out to the ball
park for her first
Major League ball game - my bride!
And I have also
heard it said that you can't go home again. This saying is
equally untrue
for me. All I have loved about living in Wellesley and my
school boy days
I will be taking with me to the Wellesley High School
Reunion this Fall.
Along with these memories of people and places I will be
bringing my bride
to Wellesley for the first time!
