"God Bless"

Jun 18, 2022, 10:37 PM

So tonight I went to the local Coastal Plain league baseball game, the Salamanders. I wore my usual faded out Salamanders tee shirt and Clemson baseball cap, though admittedly this was my first game in a couple seasons. Most of the players came from smaller schools around the US but there were a few that came from UNC and NCSU that garnered more applause than other players. The weather was perfect with no heat or the humidity that we have faced with here lately and the local team pulled off a nice win. As I was leaving, I bumped into an older fella, about my dad's age, wearing a Tiger hat. It was the only other one I had seen all night. I approached him and who I presume was his daughter and said, "Go Tigers!" and patted him on the back. He said to me," Go Tigers and God Bless!" I've had too many interactions similar to this in my life to count but this one stuck out to me. You see, some of you may remember my posts in the Spring asking for prayers for my day after a stroke. My dad is the only reason I am a Tiger fan today, without him I don't know if I would've ever become a fan on my own (long story that I will spare you for now). Well, my dad is having surgery to remove cancer from his mouth this coming Tuesday. The original surgery that was planned back in March is what caused him to have a stroke that almost killed him. I wont get into the details but a medical mistake was made that lead to his stroke that he will never recover from completely. He will have an 8-10 hour surgery Tuesday to remove his cancer. He will be left with a feeding tube and trach afterwards for an indefinite amount of time. Back to this gentleman I came across tonight. Without provocation, he told me "God bless" and it touched me in a way that I can't really explain. This man was exactly the type of Clemson fan that I have come across so many times my entire life that has endured me to being a Tiger fan as long as I have. So with that said, thank you to the Clemson gentleman that touched me tonight. And for the praying type, I sure could use your prayers this coming week for my dad's surgery. And well, God bless!