Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Happy Birthday Chuck

It's been a rough year for all, but it's ending on a high note celebrating the birthdays of a couple great friends. Today, I feature birthday boy Chuck Gekas.
I love the picture below. It's from a pre-game press session on the field at a St. Louis Cardinals game. I am so happy to have been able to bring Chuck on the field. It's a little bit of something good I gave him after he has been there so many times for me.
Chachi has been everything to me, including a work colleague, a sounding board, a mentor, a partner in silliness and trivia and more. Words really do not encompass all that Chuck means to me.
When I first got a press pass for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008, I immediately thought of Chuck to join me. To say we were like kids on the field is a gross understatement. We have since repeated this at several ball parks and we have never lost that little kid feeling. For me though, doing it with Chuck and giving him the experience is a big part of the fun for me.
Today, like every other year on this date, I raise a toast from afar to my great friend Chuck. Happy birthday, buddy. I hope it is the best, because you deserve it.
Chuck Gekas in St. Louis, MO-Summer 2013.

2 comments:

Jean Parker said...

Happy Belated Birthday Chuck! Hope you had a great day!

Petty Boy said...

Thanks Johngy for your heartfelt birthday greeting. I'm sorry for the long awaited response, but I only recently saw this recently. I truly appreciate your kind words and feel the same way about you.

The mention of our press passes brings back many great and funny memories. Dodger Stadium was our first as a top rated journalism team. What a blast! Yes, we were like giddy kids and took turns making the other laugh. At times I had to think about death to avoid bursting out laughing. But, as the true professionals, we somehow managed to remain cool. I guess saying at least 100 times, "we're all professionals" kept us in check and occasionally made us burst out laughing!

Looking forward to a more normal 2021.
Chuck