Chance Encounter

Michele went clothes’ shopping yesterday, and I tagged along. Just for fun, I wore my Mitchell &Ness 1934 White Sox team jacket. Let me just say, to wear this article of clothing is to be transformed. The jacket is green with a logo consisting of a white S-O-X on a diagonal over a large red C, with lots of white and yellow outlining throughout. The first time I wore it, someone followed me up and down the aisles at Jewel to tell me how great it looked. Yesterday, somebody at the mall did the same. And, yes, I know, it’s the jacket, not the person wearing it. Anyway, she was arranging stock only to stop and stare as I sat waiting for Michele to come up of the dressing room. My new friend knew the jacket represented something old. One thing led to another, and she informed me, “I’m both a Cardinals’ and White Sox fan.” Well, enemy of my enemy and all that. She even saw a Cardinals-Sox game in 2014 when A.J. Pierzynski subbed behind the plate for an injured Yadier Molina. So, I asked, did you ever see a game at Sportsman’s Park, long-ago home of the Cardinals and Browns? “Oh, yes,” she answered, her whole face brightening. “My first game, we went there, but it was to see the Browns, and I couldn’t understand why.” The answer came years later when she learned her parents wanted to see Satchel Paige pitch, most likely when the ageless wonder toiled for the Browns, 1951-53. On the way out, I wished my new friend a good season for both her teams.