By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 15, 2019 — All of my current problems have been “locked away in a compartment of my mind” for at least 24 hours while I savor the joy and excitement of my beloved Washington Nationals 7-4 victory over the Saint Louis Cardinals to earn our first World Series berth.
These lead paragraphs in tonight’s Washington Post story put the reason for my overwhelming joy at this time in proper perspective: “After 86 years, after losing a baseball team for decades, then getting it back, then wondering if it will ever win the big game — or ever stop breaking hearts — the city had one more wait.
It had to wait for a finish that seemed sealed when the Washington Nationals stepped on the field Tuesday night. It had to wait because, in this sport, there’s nothing more dangerous than assumption. The Nationals were going to the World Series. That felt clear once they scored seven runs in a first inning that left little doubt. It felt clear long before the Nationals beat the Cardinals, 7-4, to complete a four-game sweep in a National League Championship Series that was one-sided from the start. It felt a little less clear after Patrick Corbin wilted, giving four runs back, but the bullpen held strong, navigated the last 12 outs and, with that, turned waiting into sheer delirium…”
I live just six blocks from Nationals Stadium, so I am savoring the excitement that has gipped this wonderful city, where I previously called home for 21 years before returning to The Bahamas permanently in 1996 and where I returned to live in 2013 when I was appointed Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at The Bahamas Embassy until the change of Government in May of 2017.
When my diplomatic appointment ended in July of 2017, I made the decision not to return home because of a mobility problem that requires me to see my doctor at George University Hospital on a regular basis. However, my current personal problems reached a point where I started giving serious consideration to returning to The Bahamas, but because I lived in Freeport for 12 years prior to returning to D.C. in 2013, the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian in Freeport erased those thoughts from my mind.
In any case, for the time being – at least for the next day or two, as this city that I love so much celebrates my beloved Washington Nationals winning the National League Championship – all of my personal problems have been temporarily put in “mental storage” as I savor this wonderful reason to celebrate. HOW SWEET IT IS!!!
