Opinion

Running and Jumping

Friday, January 5, 2007

Our family recently lost our oldest cousin. Martha Landis had turned 70 not long ago. To have reached that age was by itself somewhat of a miracle. Martha contracted polio at the young age of four. For the remainder of her life, she had to wear braces, use crutches, often ride in a wheel chair, and suffer much pain.

My Great-Aunt Dorthy and I visited about Martha after her passing. She remembered her wedding reception many years ago about six months before Martha contracted the dreaded virus. The very active 3-year-old had been running and jumping among the guests. As the first cousin born into the family, she had been the center of attention and so full of life.

Martha worked as a typist and bookkeeper for many years despite her affliction. She also tried to live as normal a life as was possible. Before age, increasing bad health, and the loss of her parents, she was quite active. Just over 5 years ago she moved to Nevada and came to love the town and called it her home. I have had a difficult time trying to decide what to write as a tribute to Martha and her life. All of the family members have their own memories and thoughts.

I have decided to tell the story of Martha's and my trip to the ball game as a way to honor her. In June of 1982 I was in Kansas City for meetings for the state of Missouri. Martha and her family lived in Raytown so I planned to visit them. This was also the heyday of the Kansas City Royals, and I tried to go and see them as often as possible.

I called Martha and asked her if she would like to go to a game. She said she would like that, but would I mind if we took her Mustang. She felt it was easier for her to drive than to try and get in my pickup.

Once we arrived at Royals Stadium, we were allowed to park in a special handicapped section right outside the main gate. In those days, there were no stickers for the windshield, we had to show them her braces and crutches to get the preferred parking.

Martha was able to walk quite a distance despite her discomfort back then. We did not have to walk too far, as I had been able to get us tickets on the last row of the lower deck not far from the entrance. It was a beautiful night for a while, but increasingly muggy.

After just a few innings, we began to see lightning, and it was obvious that a storm was approaching. We talked about leaving, but since the stadium had artificial turf, we decided to wait it out. We fully expected that the storm would pass through and the game would continue.

No such luck was to be had. The violent storm came rushing from the area to the west of the stadium which kept it from our view. Suddenly the heavens just opened and the rain was falling in sheets. To the north of the stadium which was the main direction of our view, the lightning was as bright, loud, and dangerous as I have ever witnessed. People were running from the unprotected seats to get back under the roof. I told Martha that we were lucky that we were just about as far back as we could be under the roof so we should be all right.

Once again, no such luck followed. The winds began to blow fiercely and the swirling raindrops were now blowing all the way back to where we were seated. In the muggy June weather we had worn typical summer clothing and had no jackets. For the first time in my life I understood the word drenched. In those days I still had hair and quite a bit of it. Despite being soaked our hair was blown straight out by the tempest.

There was no place to hide, so giving each other encouragement, we rode out the storm for the next 30 minutes or so. The winds gradually began to subside a little, and we could see the field again.

Royals Stadium looked more like a lake than a ball field by now. The concrete stairs that led downwards towards the field had water gushing over the treads like Niagara Falls. Just about the only lucky thing that happened for us the entire evening was that being on the last row, there was not much water running down by our feet.

It was obvious that the game would not be resumed. So I asked Martha if she thought she could make it to the car. She was worried about slipping, so I told her I would carry her. Off we scampered and soon we were in the car with the heater and defroster on. Bedraggled and forlorn from our adventure, we shivered trying to get warm. Then almost at the same time we began to laugh. It was an infectious laugh that was as much from relief as anything. We had survived our stormy night and would always have a tall tale to tell others.

When I think now of Martha, I know that she finally is free of her life-long pain. She no longer has to wear the brace or use the crutches. It is like that for all of us. We will one day be released from the daily constraints of life. Life is never fair, but we make of it what we can.

Martha found her own paths for a rewarding life. I admired her courage in all that she faced. It certainly took a courageous person to go to a ball game with me. Martha, you can now go running and jumping again.