"THE GLOVE"

Italian-Argentine is the majority ethnicity in Argentina. More than 63% of the Argentina?population has some degree of Italian ancestry. Italians immigrated to Argentina during the late 1800’s due to a phylloxera epidemic destroying the Italian vineyards and wine industry. Following the plant lice epidemic, Italy suffered a major cholera epidemic. No jobs and unsafe water caused Italians to migrate to the Americas, South America then eventually North America.

Xavi Xavier Ross was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a descendant of Italian grandparents who had migrated to Argentina then eventually settled in the US.

Xavi learned life has monumental occurrences which act as time stopping snapshots. The kind of events where you remember exactly where you were when they occurred. Xavi’s grandfather spoke with reverence the day JFK was shot while his mother spoke similarly of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. For Xavi it would be the day he stopped playing baseball.

Xavi was ten years old when he got his first “real” glove.?It was a big league leather glove and he loved it from the start.?It was enormous, at least for a ten-year-old, and his dad had stuck a big red bow right in the pocket.?Xavi couldn’t move fast enough to get his new glove on.

“Well, 2X, what do you think?" his Dad asked smiling. "Is it too big??Should I take it back?”?

Xavi’s Dad always called him “2X” being named Xavi Xavier after the first names of his two grandfathers.??

“Not on your life, Dad!” Xavi turned away and clutched his new prized possession to his chest.?“Perfect fit.?It’s the best glove ever.”??

“Go get my glove from out of the closet and we’ll have a quick catch before dinner.”?Before the last words were out of his mouth Xavi was in a sprint to get his Dad’s glove.?The glove was old and worn; his granddad had given it to his dad when he was about the same age as Xavi.?His Dad had used the glove all through high school and college and even for a few years as a minor league pitcher.

That night they had their first game of catch, the first of many.?Xavi’s Dad worked long hours but he always found time to play catch with him and taught him how to pitch.?Make no mistake, pitching is a skill you can learn, but to be good you have to have a natural gift.?Xavi’s Dad had it and if he hadn’t hurt his arm he might have played major league ball.?Xavi’s Dad was probably biased but he knew his gift to pitch had been passed down to his son.??

By Xavi’s sophomore year in high school, he had become a starting pitcher on the varsity team and had already received more than 20 scholarship offers, including one from Oklahoma State University, his Dad’s alma mater. Xavi knew then he would to go to college in Stillwater, OK to pitch for the Cowboys.??

Then it happened. His Kennedy assassination; His space shuttle Challenger.

It was a beautiful day in May. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and Xavi was scheduled to start the last game of his high school senior season.?His Dad had to work that morning but he had arranged to get off early and to be at the game by first pitch.?The day was also important because Xavi was going to announce his decision to go to OSU and there were going to be local news outlets there to cover his decision.?

When Xavi got ready to head onto the field with the rest of the team, he looked down at his glove and remembered the first game of catch his Dad and he had, almost eight years earlier. It was a connection with his childhood, and his Dad, and his future and in many ways, it was his most important possession.?Xavi loved that glove.

As Xavi ran out onto the field he looked in the stands to see his family in their usual spot but his Mom was alone.?He tilted his head a little to the side as his face wrinkled in confusion.?He held his arms out as if to say “Where is Dad?” but his Mom just shrugged.?

Most times we worry for nothing.?The person who seems to be missing, overslept or ran out of gas.?It’s seldom the worst, almost never Xavi kept telling myself that as he threw warm-up pitches and started the game.?The first inning he retired all three batters in order and once back in the dugout sent a team trainer to ask his Mom where Dad was.?When he came back with the message that she didn’t know and that he wasn’t answering his phone Xavi started to worry.?

At a time when Xavi should have been concentrating, his mind was focused on his Dad's absence. He was pitching in a anxiety induced fog, trying to end each inning as quickly as possible so he could, once again, send the trainer for an update. To Xavi’s dismay he would return with the same answer.??

Baseball is not a timed sport.?It’s one of the few games that can go on forever, but that day Xavi wanted nothing more than for the game to end.?Maybe it was his Dad’s absence or maybe it was just being on autopilot but when he went out to pitch the ninth inning he hadn’t allowed a single runner to reach base.?Xavi was pitching a perfect game with only three outs to go.?Even knowing this was his last inning he was still less concerned about the game than he was about his Dad. However, eight pitches and three outs later Xavi was being mobbed by his teammates for completing baseball's rarest feat.?

For a moment Xavi embraced the celebration and allowed himself to forget about his Dad, just for a moment -- but regained focus and looked back to the stands and Mom was no longer alone.?Two police officers were with her and she was crying hysterically.??

Xavi’s Dad had been rushing to see him pitch when a pickup truck ran a red light and plowed right into his Dad’s car.?He was killed instantly, as was Xavi’s desire to play baseball.?He packed his glove away with the bow that had adorned it the day his Dad gave it to him. Xavi decided he was never going to pick it up again.

None of us like to think about dying. Will Rogers summed it up best; “When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.” But, if we have an IQ higher than room temperature, we not only need to think about our death but plan for it. Yes, plan for it. God’s Good Book plainly tells us to “keep our shirts on, keep the lights burning, waiting for the Master to return.” (Luke 12:35-38)

If we are honest, none of us want to think about our dirt nap. But, fact of the matter is Almighty God wants us to think about it. Not only does He want us to think about it but make arrangements for it as evidenced by more than one hundred and twenty verses on the subject. God doesn’t want us to take a “I guess we might as well since we can’t dance, can’t sing and it’s too wet to plow” attitude but to entrust his blessings to the future.

We have to remember Christianity 101: God loves us so much He gives us blessings to enjoy and to be a blessing to others. This also includes our material blessings. We can’t take our wealth and “stuff” with us so God tells us to leave it to our children and/or to the poor. (Proverbs 13:22, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 28:27). Think of it this way in that God blessed us so the least we can do is insure we pass these material blessings to others. Besides, just think about entering the Pearly Gates and the first thing God asks is “what did you do with all I blessed you with?”.

I, for one, want to have a better answer when I first meet God eye to eye than Gail Posner who left her three dogs $11 million and a Gold Cadillac Escalade to ride to the pet spa everyday.

God blessed us so while I am certain God loves pets, He would rather we leave those blessings with family or pay it forward to people who need help.

Heavenly Father, grant us the wisdom and insight to leave this mean ‘ol world prepared. Prepared for death by having our final arrangements planned and paid. Prepared to get admittance past the Pearly Gates by saying “My Jesus” booked a reservation for me!

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