Sorry for another sad blog guys, but yesterday I gave my own speech at my father's New York mass service.These services are for the living, to remember, to grieve, to recover. I just wanted to share the video with you, as well as list the speech below. I will blog about other things tomorrow as my enthusiasm for the game has never been stronger. Today I consider myself the luckiest blogger on the face of this earth. Thank you Readers (sorry for the 2 videos Caley cried and inteupted my camera woman)
Written version of my speech
“The days are cold livin’ without you
The nights are long, I’m growing older
I miss the days of old, thinking’ about you
You may be gone, but you’re never over”
The nights are long, I’m growing older
I miss the days of old, thinking’ about you
You may be gone, but you’re never over”
Quote “You’re Never Over” Song from Eminem
Recovery Album
And it is Never over,
as my father may have died but he still lives in me and my brothers and I’m
here today not to mourn his death, but rather celebrate his life.
The best way to do that is to find a way to channel all this
energy inside me and fight through this grieving process, as trying to process the
significance of this loss just makes me nauseous, but something inside me Is determined not to let this
depression take me hostage, and
freedom for me is ask all of you to
excuse me as I bypass a traditional eulogy and instead go with my corny
affinity with writing Top Ten. And remember him that way. so without further ado Pop, this Top Ten is dedicated to you
Top Ten Things I wanted to remember about Samuel Ronda
10. New York – I’m glad this ceremony took place in NY as
he called NY “UNFORGETTABLE”. He loved this city. The people. The diversity.
The Action. He was a true neighborhood above 96th street guy
9. Kind & Generous - He was very popular in the neighborhood
and kids especially loved him as always bugged out with them, gave out candy, and
lent money. He got along with people from all different races and domination's.
He even tried to learn their languages like Russian and Hebrew. He sounded
funny but didn’t care.
8. Old School – He
was true old school as he hated almost all new shows and movies except maybe
the Sopranos. He didn’t know who Wolverine, Obi Won Kenobi, or Captain Kirk was;
instead his heroes were John Wayne, Tarzan, and the Lone Ranger. As for technology
I will never forget him justifying that he didn’t want to learn how to use a remote
control b/c it was lazy and getting up and changing the TV was good exercise.
Anytime I see a transistor radio I think of him as that’s how he listened to
baseball games that weren’t on TV,
7. Football –
My Father never touched or played football in his life except he fancied
himself an expert and felt that every play regardless of the situation should
be a passing playing. Running was a waste of time to him. All he wanted was
PASS PASS PASS. Dan Marino and his receivers back in the 80s were his
favorites. That drove me crazy as I
hasn’t a Miami fan.
6. Entrepreneur and Salesman – My brother Sam said our
father was the best natural salesman he ever met; he could sell ice to an
Eskimo in the winter if he had to. He had numerous grocery stores – some went
well others didn’t. Regardless he always found a way to earn and get me through
13 years of Catholic school plus college.
5/4. Softball & Baseball– 1st time I ever
remember anything about softball was when he and my uncles used to play. My dad
always found a way to make the games interesting on the side, but he loved
playing pick up on Sundays with his family. My uncles Efrain, Louie and Raul
were my favorite players back then. Those were the good old days. As for
baseball, he named his 1st son Wilhelm, after HOF Hoyt Wilhelm and
he loved to blame managers. My favorite baseball memory with him was in 1986
when the Mets won we actually hugged, that was a rare event.
3, Mistakes – He made his. I made mine. Sometimes these father-son
scars don’t heal, but as life goes on you have to realize he had his reasons
and it’s unfair to completely judge as I wasn’t in his shoes. What you can do
is learn from them (mistakes). I will not waste any time with my family. Astrid
Alexandra and Caley I’m here for you always, and I will learn from the mistakes
we made. It won't be easy, but I will connect with them.
I don't want to feel this regret again. It's empty. I hate empty.
2. Hustler – he
loved action, wagering, blackjack, shiesty hustles was his thing, and he
sandbagged a lot “hacer el bobo”. He was a classic character. To him a night
stay at the state hotel was just an inconvenience, but despite his hustles he
was good. As mentioned above generous, friendly, not a mean or evil bone in his
body
And the #1 Thing I wanted to remember about Samuel Ronda
1, Warrior - Ironically, I respected him more in the last seven
years as with the help of my mother, who unselfishly did everything for him and
kept him, alive
He fought cancer, a heart attack and numerous systems
failures to truly enjoyed life, he was not afraid, and until recently had a
very good quality of life. He often joked he was a cat as he had 9 lives and 3 days
before he died he looked me in the eye and said “I WILL BOUNCE BACK “He was a
warrior.
I was finally Proud of him. Proud to be your son.
It’s Never Over
