Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Ernie Harwell pajamas.
Ernie Harwell, the legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster, died on Tuesday. He will be deeply missed by many many people from the sate of Michigan. Personally, I'm not sad that he died (although I will miss him). He died at the age of 92, so he lived a long and fulfilling life. And I'm sure he was in a lot of pain because of the cancer. I'm glad that his suffering is at an end and he is finally at peace.
I'm sorry to say that I don't have any vivid memories of listening to Ernie Harwell as a kid. I am only 25 years old, so my window with Ernie as the Detroit Tigers' radio broadcaster was very short. In addition to that, I never really listened to the baseball games on the radio. I usually watched them on television, so my first introduction to Ernie Harwell was in 1994. I don't exactly remember when I started getting into baseball, but it was in 1994 that I started paying attention to it somewhat. What a year to start liking baseball, the year in which there was a strike! I remembered being really disappointed about that, and I also remember my excitement when play finally resumed the following year. And I like to think that Ernie Harwell was a big part of fostering that excitement for baseball.
Anyway, this post isn't about me, it's about Ernie Harwell. Mr. Harwell was truly a great man. I never had the privilege to meet him, but I've heard many great stories on the radio these past few days from those who did. From what I gathered from these stories, Ernie Harwell was the kind of guy that never had a bad day and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. He was the kind of guy that could and would talk to anyone. He invited numerous strangers into his house, just to chat about baseball and the many interesting stories of his life. Not only that, and I don't know this for a fact or anything, but he probably answered all the fan mail he ever received. There was this one story in which a lady wrote to Ernie and asked him to autograph some pictures. The problem was, she forgot to send the pictures along with the note! Ernie, being the stand-up guy that he was, personally called this woman and told her of her mistake. He could have just said, "screw it, this woman didn't enclose any pictures, I'm just going to forget about it." He didn't though, he actually called her and told her to send another letter with the pictures enclosed and that he would be happy to send them back autographed. What kind of guy does that? I'll tell you what kind of guy does that, a man of the people.
Ernie Harwell was a man of the people and he will be missed by more people than most of us can comprehend. That is why it saddened me to hear about what some of those people, people who claim to have loved him, did to him and his family yesterday at his public viewing in Comerica Park. Some people were actually taking pictures of him in his open casket. Some people even stood next to his open casket and had their picture taken by someone else. To me, that is one of the most disrespectful things you could ever do to the man and his family. Why would someone do such a thing? Just to say that you were there? Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but it isn't about you. You being there has no significance whatsoever. The viewing was about Ernie Harwell, not you, and you people desecrated it by acting like a bunch of fool asses.
And I know that if the family didn't want pictures taken, they would have had the cameras confiscated or banned from the viewing. It isn't about that though, it's about respect for the deceased. I don't care how famous the person was, you don't take a picture of a dead person in a casket. Unless that dead person is a close relative of yours, you have no right to take a picture of the person. Even then, I would never do it, but I don't begrudge the people who have done it. Ernie Harwell was not a close relative of any of you. And don't hand me the bullshit excuse that you took the picture to remember him by. There are plenty of pictures, especially on the Internet, to remember him by. Go to fucking Google images and search Ernie Harwell. See all those pictures that popped up? Those are great pictures to remember him by, not some lame ass picture of you standing next to his casket. And I pray to Zeus that you weren't smiling in those pictures. Valhalla help you, if you were. That's not what I call living the high life, not at all. You people need to be served a big old platter of common sense. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
In closing, I would just like to say a final goodbye to Mr. Harwell (even though he would much rather say hello). I hope to become half the man you were and I hope to live a life a tenth as fulfilling as the life you lead. And even though you're long gone, you'll never be far from my heart.
I started this post with his name. I'm going to end it with his words. This is a quote from the man himself, closing his final broadcast in 2002:
"It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure. I'm not leaving, folks. I'll still be with you, living my life in Michigan, my home state, surrounded by family and friends. And rather than goodbye, please allow me to say thank you. Thank you for letting me be part of your family. Thank you for taking me with you to that cottage up north, to the beach, the picnic, your work place and your backyard. Thank you for sneaking your transistor under the pillow as you grew up loving the Tigers. Now, I might have been a small part of your life, but you've been a very large part of mine. And it's my privilege and honor to share with you the greatest game of all."
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