Remembering My Friend, Don Oppedisano

 

Heartbroken is the word that described me after hearing my friend Don Oppedisano had died so suddenly.  How long a history did I have with Don?  44 years.  Don and Sharon were married at Parkminster Church on Thanksgiving weekend 1977, exactly one week before Corinne and I were married there.  We began our married lives blessed by many faithful people of that worshipping community.  Although the opportunity to buy his family's shoe store in Honeoye Falls resulted in him and Sharon moving there, we've stayed in touch over the years.  

We first vacationed with Don and Sharon in Cape Cod in 1978 and we recently visited them in Doral, FL in March 2020 just before the pandemic hit.  In between, Don and I took many road trips to NY Yankee baseball games.  Each game was its own special adventure because Don planned our outings with such thoughtfulness.  June 1992 was the first of these adventures, and included his son Rich, my son Tim, pastor Mike and his sons.  We ventured to Camden Yards in Baltimore, during its inaugural season, to watch a Sunday night ESPN game followed by a Monday night game against the Orioles. We Yankee fans were well entertained that evening: 4 Yankee home runs; controversy with Baltimore's manager and umpires as to whether the Yankees starting pitcher was doctoring the ball; and receiving single serving size boxes of Wheaties as we left the stadium.  The Yankees, who were a sub 0.500 team at that point in the season, undoubtedly had eaten their Wheaties for breakfast that day.  Don arranged for us to stay with friends that night and created a plan for the following day that included a visit to Ft. McHenry and the Babe Ruth Museum.  We got to the stadium early for the Monday night game to watch batting practice. Don was somehow able to find a way for us to meet the Yankees manager at the time, Buck Showalter, and for the boys to get his autograph.  Although the Yankees lost the Monday game, we had a wonderful trip and time together.

There were many other Yankee road trips we enjoyed together including:

• The 2003 away opener against the Blue Jays at SkyDome, Hideki Matsui's first season and game with the Yankees, and the game that Derek Jeter broke his hand sliding head-first into third base; 
• The September 11, 2009 game where Tim, Don and I saw Derek Jeter break Lou Gehrig's all time Yankees hits record; and
• The July 21, 2018 game against the Mets that both my sons, Tim and Matt, attended with us and watched Yankees closer, Aroldis Chapman, nearly blow, leaving the bases loaded to end the game.

Don squeezed so much out of each trip, each game, each game highlight.  After one particular home game, we met up with Sharon and Corinne after the game and enjoyed Italian pastries at Veniero's in lower Manhattan.  Win or lose, the adventure of the road trip and appreciating the time spent with Don was rich because we also shared our joys, struggles, hopes and prayers.  He understood and lived out the concept that attending baseball games held much more than just entertainment value - we shared our faith walks, enjoyed the times as a gift from God, and we grew in our faith on these journeys.  Every game I attended with Don was a pure blessing.  

Because of my competitive nature, sports too often became an unhealthy obsession for me. Through Don's example I learned to appreciate baseball as a gift from God for all the positive things it teaches about life: discipline, focus, excellence, failure, and redemption.  I don't know when and with whom I'll be attending my next NY Yankees baseball game, but I know I will be remembering and giving thanks to God for my friend Don.