Disposing of a loved one’s life

There are going to be some very well-dressed gentlemen who choose to shop at Goodwill, on account of my brother.

My brother, in one of the many shirts and ties I disposed of

That’s the conclusion I must come to on account of all the items I disposed of by donating them to the place that operates those second-hand shops meant to help the less fortunate find worthwhile goods at an affordable price.

MY BROTHER, CHRISTOPHER, passed away the day before Halloween last year. While some of his belongings were given to various friends and relatives, I must admit to not rushing into disposing of the bulk of his stuff.

Until now, when I’m forced to. On account of the fact that I’m going to be moving out of the apartment I was sharing with him.

Which is why I spent a good chunk of my day on Monday going through his closet to decide which of his clothes have potential for someone else, and which were merely worn out to the point that the garbage man is the only person who will see them again.

I actually wound up finding some articles of clothing, particularly several pairs of pants, that had been purchased, but never worn. They still had the tags on them, indicating how long ago they were purchased.

SO NO, I’M not going to try to return them to the stores where they were purchased from to try to get a refund. That would just be tacky.

I must admit to having some help from my father, who got a little emotional at times going through his younger son’s belongings. Although I must admit he took it well when he was the one who stumbled across a backpack filled with, what could politely be referred to as, dirty pictures.

Those went into the trash, along with certain other items that just weren’t likely to be in demand. But there were some suits and rather stylish shirts that were totally usable. I got to pack those away for future purchase by someone else.

It makes me wonder if I’m going to stumble across my brother’s clothes on total strangers who, somehow, just won’t carry them with the same sense of style as Chris would have, if he were still with us.

NOW IN MY brother’s case, he had accumulated quite a collection of recorded music, particularly of the pressed vinyl variety. The LPs and a turntable or two are among the belongings I plan to keep.

Perhaps I’ll even learn to associate the song “Little Latin Lupe Lu” with my brother’s memory – on account of the fact that I know he has a copy of the 45 rpm recording. In fact, he has several hundred singles, to go along with LPs and CDs accumulated through the decades.

Yet I’ll admit it is the stuff that I had to make the decision to give away or throw away that most caught my attention on Monday.

While I wasn’t operating under any delusion that my brother was still amongst us, it seemed like on Monday that he departed me yet again

IN FACT, THIS now puts another decision solely into my hands. When our mother passed on, she was cremated – which was her wish. Yet we never could decide the proper way to dispose of the ashes.

We figured we had time to think about this and come up with something appropriate. Now, it’s my call – particularly since the scattering urn is also amongst the possessions I have inherited.

So I’m going to be busy for the next few days, what with trying to move my belongings, weed through my brother’s possessions and decide the final resting place for my mother’s remains.

Which is why I’m taking the rest of the month off from the duties of publishing commentary on this weblog. Somehow, the ineptitude of Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, to put together a state budget seems a little less important during the next few days.

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Santo will remain at Clark and Addison long after Chicago Cubs leave Lake View

The Chicago Cubs erected a new statue Wednesday outside their ballpark – meaning that the image of one-time third baseman and radio broadcaster Ron Santo will join the ranks of people like Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Harry Caray.

Yet I can’t help but think that the efforts to pay tribute to their one-time infielder who died last year due to complications related to diabetes will become more interesting on Thursday.

FOR THIS IS the day that Santo’s family will take his cremated remains and scatter them.

Where?

At Wrigley Field, on the playing field. Specifically in the area near third base – where Santo patrolled the infield back in the 1960s.

So in a sense, Santo will now become a permanent part of the site that for the past 95 years has been the home of Chicago Cubs baseball. Santo’s essence will remain there.

ALL OF THIS makes me wonder if we’re now going to get people whose Santo love will be so intense that they will try to find ways to get onto the playing field.

I once heard of an older-generation Chicago White Sox fan who, the one time he got onto the playing field at Comiskey Park, insisted on roaming around second base because that is where Nellie Fox played back in the 1950s.

And Fox doesn’t claim his burial place at Comiskey, the way that Santo will now be able to claim Wrigley as his final resting place.

Perhaps it is a bit macabre. But then again, I’m sure there are other people who will find the idea totally appropriate.

FOR ALL I know, they probably think they should have been allowed to sit in the stands while Santo’s relatives scattered his ashes (my understanding is that the family moment will truly be personal – and private) on the infield.

But then again, he won’t be alone. I understand that throughout the years, there have been many people whose families have wanted their loved ones’ ashes scattered in a ballpark.

Although usually, it is just overly-intense fans who seek this, and not the ballplayers themselves.

Which will make Santo unique. His remains will be surrounded by the remains of many Cubs fans – whose eternal souls are probably now elated at the thought that they have something in common with a real-live Chicago Cub.

IT HAS ME wondering if The Dead Ball Era (a website devoted to the final resting places of major league ballplayers) will now start including Wrigley Field references when they write of Santo.

I only hope we don’t someday see something as morbid as someone getting onto the Wrigley Field playing field, digging up the soil around third base, then trying to sell it off by claiming it has the “essence” of Santo.

At the very least, I would hope e-Bay would have the sense to reject such an item, and that no reputable auction house would allow the thought.

So after Thursday, Santo’s remains will be a part of the Wrigley Field grounds. He’s going nowhere (removing him would be next to impossible).

BUT LET’S BE honest. No matter how much some Chicago Cubs fans want to think otherwise, the day will come when Wrigley Field is no longer the home stadium of the Cubs.

It may be a few decades from now (I expect the Cubs in the near future to attempt a renovation to keep the building functional for at least another 30 years), but the Cubs will someday play games elsewhere.

That will mean that Santo’s remains will remain. Who’s to say what will someday exist at the Lake View neighborhood location.

Which could mean that Santo’s ultimate eternal fate will be to have asphalt on top of him, just like everybody who ever had their ashes deposited on the playing field of the former major league ballpark that existed on the north side of 35^th Street at Shields Avenue.

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