Love by Ivan Tolentino
Love…. a simple, short, four-letter word. Two vowels, two consonants, and a whole lot of meaning behind it. It is thrown around loosely by some, and for others, it’s nearly impossible to ever utter the word. I’ve been blessed and cursed when it comes to the word “love.” Losing family members way too early, bumpy relationships with close relatives, let’s not even mention my dating life…. Boy, I’m a mess there. With that being said, I am the luckiest man alive. I fell in love and found romance at the age of five. Although my love has cost me many sleepless nights, plenty of gray hairs, and an unspeakable amount of stress, I wouldn’t trade her for the world. I will never forget when my love affair began… October 25, 1986. It was a chilly fall evening but inside my parents’ apartment it was nice and warm. Mom being the Dominican version of Betty Crocker, Dad sipping on his vodka. If you know anything about a Dominican household, you know it’s loud! My oldest brother blasting Merengue, and my other two brothers having their seventy fifth argument of the day. Somehow the little five year old boy was deaf to all that. The only sounds that got his attention that night came from an old Zenith television. NBC played the role of matchmaker for me, introducing me to my significant other. Vin Scully eloquently (as only he could) described this beauty. The roars of the Flushing faithful were music to my ears. I watched a loudmouth, brash, cocky group of men battle through adversity. Two outs down, two runs, it was all over. My heart sank and my loud home suddenly turned into a funeral session. Base hit, base hit, base hit, wild pitch. All of a sudden, I heard it, and felt it for the first time. When most people hear it for the first time, it usually comes in the form of three words. For me it sounded different, it sounded more like…. “So the winning run is at second base, with two outs, three and two to Mookie Wilson. Little roller up along first; behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!” Euphoria broke out all over the streets of Corona, Queens. Two nights later when the Mets captured their second World Title, I was hooked for good. I was filled with happiness, forgetting about the hand me down clothes, subpar neighborhood, and Santa always missing my house on Christmas. Throughout the years, this love affair has helped me through the toughest years of my life. In 2001, my city was battered and bruised by a tragic terrorist act. I watched the archrival Yankees, the team I loathe and equally respect, uplift this town. In 2006, tragedy hit me even closer to home after I lost my brother. For a brief amount of time, my beloved New York Mets distracted me just enough during their postseason run, although they fell short of their goal, fulfilling the streets of Queens with magic just like they did 20 years earlier. I once again felt a sense of normality. So now I decide to share my love with the rest of the world. Don’t worry, I won’t get jealous. You’ll get a glimpse of many different topics. Each controversy will be tackled. Athletes that extend themselves in positive ways outside of the sports world will also be recognized. We will marvel and break down the greats both past and present. No topic will be untouched. I’m ready to share my love with the rest of the world. You will notice how passionate and outspoken I can be. One thing is for sure, there is nothing dull about this love, so enjoy the ride.