“The game of baseball has always been linked in my mind with the mystic texture of childhood, with the sounds and smells of summer nights and the memories of my father.” –– Doris Kearns Goodwin
Now that the MLB lockout has been resolved, it is time to play ball. Opening day at Citizens Bank Park is now scheduled for Friday, April 8th. Although the game of baseball is not as popular as it was when I was young, the sentiments of Doris Kearns Goodwin ring true with me.
Those who know me well understand I have four main passions in life: my family, elder care law, Bruce Springsteen, and baseball.
Typically, a caregiver child who has increasing difficulty in dealing with the financial, emotional, and medical issues involving an ailing parent contacts our elder care law office for assistance. The caregiver child is distraught watching the once active parent succumb to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and is torn by the potential for nursing home placement. In many cases, the parent may not come to the initial consultation.
However, as an elder law attorney, my client is always an elderly parent. Therefore, I attempt to visit the client in their home, assisted living residence, or nursing home.
Upon visiting the client, my first goal is to make the client comfortable with me. I begin to talk about what they did for a living and what their hobbies are. Invariably, especially in the case of male clients, we begin to talk baseball. If the client grew up in Brooklyn, we talk about the old Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets Field. In this fashion, I am better able to understand the relationship between father and son/daughter. I attempt to use baseball as a mechanism to bring the family together during a possible medical crisis.
Similarly, my father, Leonard Rothkoff, taught me to love the game of baseball. My father died in 1997 at the age of 57. Some of my fondest memories of my father surround the game of baseball. My dad was a baseball purist. He insisted on keeping score at every game he took me to at Veterans Stadium. I will always remember our trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame when we saw our respective childhood idols, Richie Ashburn and Mike Schmidt, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I still remember as if it were yesterday, our embrace sitting in the 700 level at the Vet after the Phillies won the 1993 Pennant against the Atlanta Braves.
About two weeks before my father’s death, in anticipation of his 58th birthday, I attended a baseball card show in which Robin Roberts, the Phillies Hall of Fame pitcher, was signing his new book on the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies. I had the book autographed by Robin Roberts as a birthday present for my dad. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to give him his present. However, that book will always be linked to the wonderful memories of my father.
I am sure many of you have had similar experiences with your parents. Each of you brings your beautiful memories of your parents to our office. I enjoy practicing elder care law because it allows me to make a difference in an individual’s life while keeping those precious memories alive and well.
On April 8th, opening day, my son and I will walk into Citizens Bank Park for the first time. Right by my side will be my father, scorecard in hand.