Never to realize our lofty dream.

I find ways to waste my time. Deliberately. Because it’s good for me.  Wasting time can be beneficial. In one way or another. I learn to salvage something. From the waste. And I start to believe that there’s no such thing as wasting time. At the top of my wasted list are the Chicago Cubs. The perennial losers. The so-called loveable losers. The Cubs specialize in losing baseball games. In every which way. They concoct endless ways to lose games. Especially in heartbreaking fashion. That is, if one takes the games seriously. I do and I don’t. Certainly, I’m less serious than I used to be. I’ve become fascinated by the art/craft of losing. The Cubs almost always find novel ways to master losing. Like last night. In Cincinnati. They get a brilliantly pitched game from their starting pitcher. In fact, the Cubs starters have the third lowest earned run average in baseball. Yet, the Cubs have the worst record in baseball. Five wins, 13 losses. Of course, the season is still early. Last year, the Cubs lost 101 games. Second worst in baseball. This year, they are striving to be the worst. Despite the decent starting pitching. The Cubs offset that with lousy relief pitching, pathetic fielding, atrocious hitting. They have the baseball’s lowest batting average with runners in scoring position. They can’t buy a clutch hit. They choke when there’s an opportunity to score. Well, back to last night’s game. The one in Cincinnati. The Cubs held a 2-0 lead for most of the game. But the bullpen gave up two runs, and the game went into extra innings. The Cubs held on tenaciously, and  scored two runs in the top of the 13th inning. Yes, took a 4-2 lead. But I turned off the game. Knowing full well that the Cubs would find a way to lose. And they did. Cincinnati rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 13th. And the Cubs lost again, 5-4.. Fortunately, I’ve learned to forgo the anguish of loss.Therefore, my time as a Cubs fan hasn’t been a total loss. Instead, I’m intrigued. Fascinated. By the antics of my favorite baseball team. The Cubs used to have a mediocre baseball team. But now they are in an alleged rebuilding program. Cubs fans have been told that the Cubs roster was scuttled. To get rid of mediocrity. To start over from scratch. With young and mostly inept players. With potential. To some day blossom into star elite players. And Cubs fans are supposed to practice patience. To truly believe in the impossible. To wait a few more years. For the grand reward. In baseball heaven. A World Series, which Cubs fans haven’t seen since 1908. Those fans, unfortunately, are all dead. And the rest of us are waiting, waiting, waiting. Knowing we’ll all be dead some day, too. Never to realize our lofty dream. –Jim Broede