It was 10:00 am on October 27th when I got a call from Jim asking if I wanted to go to Game 5 of the World Series. Just the fact that I had my phone with me and on that day was unusual, but I made sure to take Jim's call. I immediately jumped at the chance, and of course I got to see the Cards clinch the World Series for the first time since I was 6. It was amazing. We reveled in the win and post-game ceremonies for a while, and then set out for Paddy O's and Al Hrabosky's to celebrate, along with half of St. Louis. Molly earned major points by fighting crowds and street closings to pick us up at about 3:00 am. As my contented head hit the pillow that night, I mumbled something about finally being able to "put 1985 and 1987 behind me." Molly asked, "What about 2004?" I said, "Oh yeah, that too."About a week later I was at Kinko's--copying, shrinking, laminating the SI Cardinal's collector's edition, my World Series ticket, the front page of the paper, etc. I was standing in line when, in another line, a little girl looked over her dad's shoulder and waved. I waved back, and then I noticed who was holding her--Aaron Miles. I told him congratulations, and mentioned that I had the chance to see him and his teammates clinch the series. I gestured to all the stuff I was carrying, and told him I was going to frame it and hang it up at home. He had not yet seen the SI and was curious. I showed it to him, and then asked him to sign it. It took forever (about five minutes) for one of the clerks to find us a pen, so I ended up having an (only sightly) awkward five-minute conversation with Aaron Miles. He was incredibly down to earth, and he explained how overwhelming the whole experience was, including the parade on Sunday, when 500,000 people came downtown to congratulate the team. Who would have thought I'd see him at Kinko's? He was packing up stuff to send to his home in CA. Seriously, someone really wanted me to enjoy this Championship.
Colleen, Mike, Molly and Jim at the Cardinals Parade
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