#8 Lived to be 90. Born in St. Louie in 1925, signed by the Yankees in 1943, but War happened. Yogi Berra served as a gunner's mate in the Normandy landings during World War II. Earned a Purple Heart.
Yes, folks remember Yogi for his goofy sayings. That malapropism word, I didn't know it. "the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect, as in, for example, “dance a flamingo ” (instead of flamenco )"
"You come to the fork in the road, take it."
He took it to Yankee Stadium to the tune of being an 18 time All-Star, won 10 World Series Championships (that's more than ANYONE else)..
"I usually take a 2 hour nap from 1 to 4." Me too Yogi, me too. And with retirement, it feels so dadgum good.
"We made too many wrong mistakes." Yessir Mr. Hall of Famer, that's pretty much all of us, for pretty much all of our lives.
"Ninety percent of the game is half mental." Learning this as we brush through life and Google, medicate, be counseled, counsel, console, lean, help one leaning, yada. It doesn't make sense but it so much does make sense.
"Never answer an anonymous letter." One may laugh, but Yogi was ahead of the game. "Spam Risk" cell phone calls, Area Codes "I don't know anyone from there" and Ring Doorbell cameras keeps solicitors, fanatics and maybe criminals away.
"No one goes there nowadays, it's too crowded." Those of you who grew up in Liberty, this might 'hit home.' Virtually everyone who usedta live here states this about present day Liberty. Us still here, and all them damn others we have no idea where they came from, laugh, and STILL, love our town.
"Take it with a grin of salt." Laugh? Maybe, but when you think about it, food goes down much easier with a 'grin' of salt, and life? Hella easier with a grin. You tell 'em Yogi, we'll tap our foot.
"The future ain't what it usedta be." Of course this hits home with us old farts. We acquiesce much. Recently my leg was hurting, went to a HS basketball game. As I looked for the damn elevator to get to the upper level, I had to stop and laugh because this is the High School I usedta long jump and high jump at. The future ain't what it usedta be, but OH OH OH, the memories. Golf weekly with townies, friends for 60+ years, just had a reunion of college buddies yesterday, some not seen for 40+ years. We may not remember who won the election in 1996, the Super Bowl winner five years ago, but by golly stuff from 40-50 years ago is SO WONDERFULLY embedded in us all. It is what it usedta be.
"You can observe a lot by watching." Agreed Mr. Berra. Next to sliced bread and sex, people watching, to me anyways, is one of life's wonders. (You can observe a lot by watching won't help you decipher if blog writer meant two things, sex, and sliced bread....or, if he meant sliced bread included during sex.) You come to the fork, take it.
"It's like deja vu allover again." Oh Yogi, do us old farts know this one.
"A nickel ain't worth a dime no more." He was forecasting, gasoline, ground beef, the One Doller Twenty Five Cent Tree store....
"Pair up in threes." "You better cut the pizza in four pieces cause I'm really not hungry enough to eat six." Who cares about numbers, life is a party, and it doesn't have to be restricted to just two people to have fun.
"It gets late out there early." Another forecaster for life at 60, 70 and beyond.
"I don't know if they were men or women fans running naked across the field, they had bags over their heads." Did he know the future or what?
"If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer." Oh Yog', if only all of Social Media lived by this rule - we all might peacefully coexist.
"I never said most of the things I said." And Yogi, we too were so lucky that back in the day, not every Tom, Dick or Harry walked the Earth with a camera and a microphone. Of course, today we are in jeopardy, but saying goofy stuff at our age, kids will just think it's a malapropism. (Don't worry, they don't even know what Funk and Wagnell is.)
Most of his stuff Berra's repeating.
"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be."
By Henry, Josh and Bob Gibson. Forward by Mantle and Maris. Edited by Uecker.
Love, Victurd
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