The Idea Blog

I’m reading Bill Bryson’s latest book. It’s hilarious, a beautiful capture of growing up in the ’50’s and early ’60’s. Outside the major story, Bryson tells us about his father, who was an outstanding sportswriter - especially about baseball. Bryson senior was there for many of the key plays and games, and Bryson junior uses 1951 as an opportunity to wonder aloud something many of us wondered about:

“But then he had to be there. It was part of his fate, too. I am not exactly suggesting that Bobby Thompson hit that home run because my father was there or implying that he wouldn’t have hit it if my father was there or implying that he wouldn’t have hit it if my father had not been there. All I am saying is that my father was there and Bobby Thomson was there and the home run was hit and these things couldn’t have been otherwise.”
Bill Bryson - The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

I sometimes wonder the same thing. And I’m convinced others do as well. I’m absolutely sure my brother Brad believes North Carolina’s basketball team would have beaten NC State on Saturday, February 3, if only he’d been in front of the TV to watch anything more than the very end of the game.