62-2- Bleeker and the Reaper
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 9:31 pm
Well, I guess no matter how rich and powerful you are, when the Grim Reaper calls your number there’s nothing you can do about it. I had always had a good relationship with Keith Bleeker, our owner, but now he was gone, and I was sitting in my office beginning the feeling-out process with his son and successor, Keith Junior.
“I was so sorry to hear the news about your dad”, I began. “We always got along great, and I always appreciated how he stuck with me through some tough years on the ball club. I guess it was unexpected?”
“Very much so”, replied Junior. “We were on vacation at our beach house in Hilton Head when it happened. He loved to ride horses and go out on the family yacht.”
“Yes… I know he loved sailing… Was he aboard the yacht when he passed away?”
“Uh, no… Actually he was aboard our au pair, Yvette.”
“Oh… Well… I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“No, no, it’s okay. We had told him thousands of times he was getting too old for that kind of stuff, but he was too pig-headed to listen to us. We had just brought her along to keep an eye on my kids, but we know there was going to be trouble when Keith Senior bought her that French maid’s outfit.”
“Yeah… I can see where that would have been a warning sign. So anyway, Keith, I hope that you and I can eventually be as close as your dad and I were.”
“Absolutely… I want that too. Like my dad, I don’t make any pretense of being some kind of a great baseball mind. We trust you to take care of that end of things, and we plan to keep giving you whatever you need to keep the Gamblers franchise at the level you reached in 2061.”
“Well, that’s music to my ears, to say the least. I look forward to a long and happy relationship, and again, my sympathies to your family.” We shook hands warmly, and that was that.
Two seconds after he walked out the door, Thelma, my secretary and the office busybody, was in my office trying to get all the dirt. “Well boss”, she asked, “what did you find out about Senior’s death?”
“It was very unexpected. They were at their vacation home in Hilton Head. He loved to sail and ride horses there, I guess.”
“Yeah, I remember he loved horses. He always said he wanted to die in the saddle. So, did he die in the saddle?”
“You might say that” I replied.
“I was so sorry to hear the news about your dad”, I began. “We always got along great, and I always appreciated how he stuck with me through some tough years on the ball club. I guess it was unexpected?”
“Very much so”, replied Junior. “We were on vacation at our beach house in Hilton Head when it happened. He loved to ride horses and go out on the family yacht.”
“Yes… I know he loved sailing… Was he aboard the yacht when he passed away?”
“Uh, no… Actually he was aboard our au pair, Yvette.”
“Oh… Well… I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“No, no, it’s okay. We had told him thousands of times he was getting too old for that kind of stuff, but he was too pig-headed to listen to us. We had just brought her along to keep an eye on my kids, but we know there was going to be trouble when Keith Senior bought her that French maid’s outfit.”
“Yeah… I can see where that would have been a warning sign. So anyway, Keith, I hope that you and I can eventually be as close as your dad and I were.”
“Absolutely… I want that too. Like my dad, I don’t make any pretense of being some kind of a great baseball mind. We trust you to take care of that end of things, and we plan to keep giving you whatever you need to keep the Gamblers franchise at the level you reached in 2061.”
“Well, that’s music to my ears, to say the least. I look forward to a long and happy relationship, and again, my sympathies to your family.” We shook hands warmly, and that was that.
Two seconds after he walked out the door, Thelma, my secretary and the office busybody, was in my office trying to get all the dirt. “Well boss”, she asked, “what did you find out about Senior’s death?”
“It was very unexpected. They were at their vacation home in Hilton Head. He loved to sail and ride horses there, I guess.”
“Yeah, I remember he loved horses. He always said he wanted to die in the saddle. So, did he die in the saddle?”
“You might say that” I replied.