World Series: Epilogue

(Crossposted from www.insidewealth.net)

From original e-mail sent Sunday, October 29

(Scroll down to read the 1st two installments)

Hello again, my friend,

My airplane and physical body landed back in Oakland yesterday... yet my spirit is still soaring!

I held this dream, reawakened from my childhood... a vision of a St. Louis Cardinal World Series victory in St. Louis, for all the hometown fans to relish, firmly in mind's eye for months. No matter how bleak the circumstances... and along the way there were some pretty dark moments as the Cardinals went into a tailspin and nearly lost their right to be in playoffs altogether, in what would have been a collapse of historic proportions.

So poorly did the Cards play down the stretch of the regular season (barely hanging on like a loose tooth) and so mediocre was their overall record, that all the pundits and oddsmakers heavily favored every single post-season opponent they played (Padres, Mets and finally the Tigers). One guy in USA Today even predicted the Tigers would win the World Series in 3 games!

Clearly, in this context, my vision was a pipe dream, wishful thinking beyond reason.

Game by game, the Cards somehow found away to beat the odds-on favorites and defy the critics. After splitting two games in Detroit, they needed to win all 3 games in St. Louis for my dream to be realized. No small task under any circumstances, let alone as an underdog.

After winning games 3 and 4 (game 4 itself was a game for the ages), the anticipation and buzz of the St. Louis hopeful going into Game 5 was off the charts. We all lived and breathed every pitch and every play as one huge organism. Contemplating strategy and potential consequences as one mind. Hoping and praying with one heart. And with the final out, a strike out, with the potential tying runs on base, we erupted.

It was like 46,000 people having a simultaneous orgasm after a year of foreplay! (Good thing they gave us rally towels!)

So perfect. Even perfect strangers hugging, high fiving, patting each other on the back. One family.

I even gave myself permission to allow tears of joy to flow freely. Tears of joy... the greatest feeling in the world for me.

One big happy family. This was my ultimate BIG childhood dream... reawakened through this one.

My BIG dream is to live in a world in which our primary focus is how we can best serve, care for and play with each other. Just like one big family.

Yep. Helping each other, loving and having fun. A world of peace and play. That's my vision. Simple, yet unlikely. And.... The Cards won in 5!!!

This Cardinal dream-come-true gives me firsthand physical knowing that "anything IS possible!" Even if it seems highly improbable. Or too idealistic. Even though a "what's in it for me" mentality is deeply rooted in our collective psyche, I know in my heart that we can master team spirit and be one big family together... whoever we are.

Your outpouring of unsolicited responses to my last two e-mails touches me so deeply. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you for sharing your own passion for baseball or for simply acknowledging the timeless beauty of seeing life, joy and wonder through the eyes of a child (even if it's a "big kid" like me).

And I couldn't help but feel that all of your support and well wishes somehow contributed to the ultimate fulfillment of this dream. Just like people in St. Louis thought that I personally willed the Cards to victory somehow through my clarity and purity of intention. Some Card trick!

Thank you again for your support and your friendship. And thank you, Tony La Russa and team, for making my life's highlight reel.

And in the immortal words of Steve Tyler of Aerosmith (who screeched "God Bless America" on game 3 of the NLCS)... "Dream on... Dream on... DREAM ON! DREAM UNTIL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!"


Live from Cloud 10,

Stu