While we were not in the path of totality here in east Tennessee, being a bit too far to the east, we still experienced the eclipse at around 89%. When it could be seen, that is. A rainy morning gave way just to sunshine just as the eclipse began.
We got to watch about ten to fifteen minutes of the unfolding drama as the normally circular solar disc started to flatten out from the southwestern side. Then clouds and rain moved back in. By the time the rain ended, hours later, the sun was shining freely, as the eclipse had long since passed.
And while I was disappointed for my grandsons, I was okay with missing out for myself. The reason? My wife, children, and I all experienced the total eclipse of the sun back in 2017 when Knoxville was in the path of totality. What is more, if the Lord tarries in His return, my grandson should all have the opportunity to witness a total eclipse in another twenty years or so.
All that being said, I am happy for all those who got to see today’s eclipse in its full splendor. No doubt, it is an experience that will be remembered and cherished by them for a lifetime.
Still, perhaps because I knew in advance that we were not in the path of totality, as well as that inclement weather was predicted to obscure visibility, I was less focused on the solar eclipse marked on this date, April 8, 2024, and more on another significant event marked this day.
You see, exactly fifty years ago today, as a 12 year old boy, I sat with my family glued to the local television channel in Atlanta, Georgia as we watched “Hammerin’ Hank” Henry Aaron belt out his 715th home run, officially surpassing the record of 714 held for decades by George Herman “Babe” Ruth.
At least as compared to day, as a boy growing up on a farm in rural Georgia in the 1960s and 1970s, I had precious few options for entertainment. We went to fairgrounds for traveling carnivals, arenas for horse shows, NASCAR tracks for races, and state parks for camping. And on rare occasions, we even took in a Braves game at the old Fulton County Stadium in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
It was later torn down and supplanted by “The Ted” (Turner Field) across the street, which has now been converted into Georgia State University’s Stadium, as the Braves have moved on out to the suburbs in Cobb county. But when “The Ted” was constructed and the Fulton County stadium was demolished and turned into a parking lot, a brass plaque was placed where home plate once stood, and where Aaron set the record that fateful day.
Like many a Braves fan, I reveled in the moment when I stood on that very spot and relived in my mind Vin Scully’s unforgettable call of “a marvelous moment” on that memorable day.
Of course, much of my take on the Braves came, not from the networks, but from radio broadcasts on WSB, AM 750 as called by Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson, Sr. I cannot count the number of times I lay in bed at night and heard Hamilton intone “Going, going, gone!” as “Hammerin’ Hank” belted yet another home run, all while my complete collection of Coca-Cola Bottle Caps featuring the entire line-up of the Atlanta Braves sat ensconced nearby on my nightstand.
When he retired in twelve years later in 1986, he had amassed an astounding 755 home runs, along with 3771 hits, 2297 RBIs, and a lifetime batting average of .305.
Alas, however, records are made to be broken. And years later, Barry Bonds would go on to surpass Aaron with a total of 762 homers. Of course, he would do this in 22 seasons compared to Aaron’s 23. But along the way, he would only amass 2935 hits and 1996 RBIs while batting. 298, all well under Aaron’s numbers.
Oh, and there is one other notable difference. Both Ruth and Aaron posted their numbers without the assistance of steroids.
Little wonder that baseballs hit by Ruth and Aaron on display in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York are all found today just as they were when originally retrieved.
But not so with the record-setting ball hit by Bonds. For boldly emblazoned on the very ball which he hit to surpass Aaron for his record setting 756th home run is a large unavoidable asterisk! Why the asterisk? Because both the MLB and the Board Members at Cooperstown had to tacitly admit that a man utilizing performing enhancing drugs has an unfair advantage over a man who performs without them.
Kudos to any and all who play by the rules! After all, to do otherwise is, in effect, to cheat. It is to present oneself as something he or she is not. It is, thereby, a way of obtaining something that one is not technically entitled to obtain. Little wonder that it deserves an asterisk.
For my part, I freely admit that I have never amounted to much. The Apostle Paul once referred to himself as the chief of all sinners. In a similar manner, I will readily refer to myself here, not only as the chief of all sinners, but also as the chief of all incompetents!
But while I have never amounted to much, what things I have accomplished have largely been achieved without shortcuts. I can honestly say that I have not depended upon performance enhancing measures as a means of making a name for myself and/or leaving a mark. And I happen to believe this is as God intended.
After all, it was He Who made me who I am. And it was He Who gifted me to be able to do what all I have and will accomplish. And that may or may not involve being enshrined at Cooperstown, New York (MLB), at Canton, Ohio (NFL), or at Springfield, Massachusetts (NBA).
Popeye the Sailor once famously quipped, “I am what I am.” For my part, I echo this sentiment; for I truly am just what I am. I am both who and what God created me to be. And it behooves me to accept this, and then to act accordingly.
In his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 15, verse 10), the Apostle Paul stated “… by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.”
Don’t miss the two truths on display here. First, it was God, Who in His grace, made Paul who he was. This same truth applies to everyone everywhere. And second, God’s doing so was not without purpose. That is to say, He made Paul into who Paul was precisely in order that Paul might accomplish all the things that God intended to accomplish through him.
No wonder Paul would go on to accomplish such great things. He did so in the power of His Lord and Savior. Little wonder that he would later tell the believers at Philippi: “I can do all things through Christ Who gives strength.” It was because he had already shared his conclusion with the believers at Rome that “If God be for me, who can be against me?”
Paul knew it was God Who had made him; it was God Who had gifted him; it was God Who empowered him; and it was God Who would give him victory. He needed to look nowhere else for either encouragement or empowerment. He knew he would finish his course and receive his proper reward at that time. And he when that came, it would not be marred by any asterisk of pretense.
Likewise, when the day comes that I do eventually pass the finish line, I trust that I will have done so in the manner in which God intended – in and though God’s grace alone, with full integrity and without the asterisk of pretense.
And also in the knowledge that I did so in the power of Jesus Christ alone, without support from or dependence upon any other means. For only then can I spend eternity truly echoing the testimony of the hymn writer who once said…
"How can I say thanks
For the things You have done for me?
Things so undeserved
Yet You gave to prove Your love for me;
The voices of a million angels
Could not express my gratitude
All that I am and ever hope to be
I owe it all to Thee
Just let me live my life
Let it pleasing, Lord to Thee
And if I gain any praise
Let it go to Calvary
To God be the glory
To God be the glory
For the things He has done
With His blood He has saved me
With His power He has raised me;
To God be the glory
For the things He has done"
Amen!
SOURCES:
NEWS STORY:
https://sports.yahoo.com/anniversary-aarons-715th-homer-hall-162342533.html.
SEE ALSO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjqYThEVoSQ;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Bonds.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/15-10.htm;
https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-13.htm;
https://biblehub.com/romans/8-31.htm;
https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-10.htm;
https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-10.htm.
SONG LYRICS:
https://genius.com/Andrae-crouch-my-tribute-lyrics.
NOTE: The first time my father ever took me to a Braves game at Fulton County Stadium, I was utterly in awe! As we went from aisle to aisle, making our way around the enormous circular stadium toward out seats, I glanced in. I honestly thought the place was so big that the view from each portal we briefly accessed was an entirely different game that was underway, and that we were merely searching for the one game among so many that we wanted to watch!