It has been a rather depressing day. Kirby Puckett is dead. http://www.startribune.com/10017/story/287541.html
A hero from my youth gone much too soon. This is a man I remember watching. I remember being allowed to stay up late and watch the end of the 1987 World Series and celebrating when the Twins won! Growing up in the 80's we had a true athlete to admire. He wasn't built like a tall Adonis, he was short and stalky like my brother. He had the hustle that was admired by my grandparents. He loved, loved loved what he did and for that I loved to watch him.

The day after the Twins won the 1987 Series there was a humongous party down at the State Capitol. My mom felt it was important enough and a big enough part of history that she let us skip school and she skipped work and we went down to the celebration.
I remember going to a local stripmall by my Grandparents' house and waiting in line to get his autograph (I think it cost a buck) and we each got our picture taken with this living legend. I didn't know how momentous it was at the time, but that is an awesome memory that I had forgotten until yesterday when the news came of his passing.

It was a sad day when his career was cut short, but he stayed with the same team, which is almost unheard of these days and he didn't seem to be playing for the money. He played for the love of the game. He was so much fun to watch but he was still a part of the team. By the time he was publicly disgraced I was living in Japan and was far removed from what was going on in baseball and MN. At that time, I didn't care about baseball or Kirby Puckett but I also always talked about the MN Twins because baseball is so popular in Japan. And it seemed everybody I met had heard of the Twins... that is quite a feat halfway around the world.

But what I have learned about his divorce and subsequent personal revelations is that he was just like the rest of us, human and full of faults. He never denied his faults and he quietly separated himself from the organization he had worked for for close to 20 years. That was a graceful thing to do. I am sorry he was publicly humiliated or disgraced. But he was human and no where is that more obvious than today with the outpouring of love from around the state and the country.

Anyway, I just wanted to comment on my sadness and share some memories of a living legend.