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16
On Sunday, August 28, 2005, the Chicago Cubs played host to the Florida Marlins in front of 38,763 fans for a Sunday day game. Carlos Zambrano pitched a gem, going 8 innings and scattering 3 runs on 6 hits.
The Cubs, thanks to an 8 run 7th inning, cruised to a 14-3 victory. Leadoff batter and center fielder Jerry Hairston had a career-day at the plate, going 3 for 5 with 4 RBI.
Coop, who took a "No Decision" the day before in a 2-1 Cubs loss to the very same Marlins, didn't get to see much of Zambrano's outing. Or Hairston's big day at the plate.
He was too busy in the clubhouse, cell phone in hand, ice on the arm, watching the news on one of the clubhouse TV's, while keeping an eye on the Cubs blowout.
The news stations were keeping a worried watch on Hurricane Katrina, which seemed to be on a collision course for Mississippi and Louisiana.
Coop managed to get ahold of his father that morning. Despite all of the warnings to evacuate, Jeffrey did not seem very worried.
"It'll turn, son," Jeffrey insisted, "CNN won't get many viewers if they said otherwise, though…"
"Daddy, please, just drive north to Jackson. I'll even book you a room. Just to be safe," Cooper replied.
"Cuppah, you listen closely, now," Jeffrey said in a voice that showed more love than admonishment, "I have lived through more hurricane scares than you've had candles on a cake. I'm going to be just fine. Besides, Butkus wouldn't let nothing happen to me."
"I know, but…"
"But, nothing, boy!" Jeffrey interrupted, changing the subject, "What has me more scared than anything was your ball to strike ratio in yesterday's game..."
"Blue was squeezin' me all night! You could've fit his strike zone inside a Coca-Cola bottle…" Cooper replied, somewhat relieved that his dad had changed the subject.
"Well, I guess you need to get better!" Jeffrey said, in his typical fashion. He hated excuses, and he was certain that part of his son's success was because he never let him make them without consequence.
"Yeah, well... so does he!"
"Alright, son, I gotta let you go. I'm fixin to run some necessary supplies to the school."
"Let me guess - a case of Corona, some limes, chips, and salsa? And couple pig's ears for Butkus?" Cooper guessed. Down south, it wasn't uncommon for people to throw "Hurricane Parties" during the storm.
"You know me well, son!"
"Yessir!" said Cooper.
"Son?" Jeffrey spoke, his voice down an octave.
"Yessir?" Cooper replied.
"I love you very much, Cuppah. You know I'm proud of you, right?" asked Jeffrey, even though he already knew the answer.
"I love you, too, Daddy," said Cooper, "Please be safe."
"Always…" replied his dad.
As Coop pressed "end" on his cell phone, he peeked back up at the television. The circular storm was being animated by a computer that was showing all of the possible scenarios for landfall. All of them looked scary. One of them looked unimaginable.
He thought back to when his parents took him to New Orleans, or "Nawlins" as it's pronounced by most of its inhabitants. He remembered his parents having him walk towards the water, along with the bank of the Mississippi River just outside the French Quarter. He remembered that he thought it was cool that there were concrete steps that actually went down into the water. He remembered his father telling him to turn around and look back at the city.
That's when he realized for the first time that parts of New Orleans are actually an average of 6 feet below sea level. The French Quarter itself is actually above sea level by about 5 feet, but as he looked further upon the horizon he could tell that the city looked almost like it was sinking.
His father told him about the levees that were in place to prevent flooding in the event of a hurricane.
"So the levee walls will block all the water, Daddy?" 8-year-old Cooper asked, looking for reassurance.
"That's the idea, but they say if the storm's bad enough, the whole city could disappear under water," Jeffrey replied.
