** breaking news ** - 756.

have to interrupt the 'i spy - buddies' two-parter (which actually is now gonna be a three-parter, fyi) for this. this is definitely an obligatory post.

because last night, barry bonds hit his 756th career round-tripper, becoming the homerun king, taking the crown from hank aaron. (the record for career homeruns in the major leagues is considered the de facto greatest record in sports, i should add. and i am one of those who consider it so.)

now, im not gonna use the basilica as a forum for opining on the controversy surrounding this event. im not even gonna link to it (although it is hard resisting!).*

i bring this up b/c it is a benchmark in all our lives - whether you realize it or not. ill explain.

when i was born, the homerun king was henry aaron. when i was a kid growing up, the entire time, the homerun king was henry aaron. (once i began to appreciate and feel passionate about sports, the video of aaron breaking babe ruth's record would always bring a tear of joy and awe to my eye, i might also add.) when i was a teenager, the homerun king was aaron. and when i was a young adult, and then ostensibly an actual adult - up until last night - hank was the homerun king. (i meant that the homerun crown changed heads last night, of course, not that i am no longer an ostensible adult. ostensibly, i still am.)


get the picture? teachers changed. friends changed. the cities in which i lived changed. presidents changed. even at least acoupla el niños came and went. but the whole time, hank aaron had the homerun record. my whole life. now, it's someone different.

now, i happen to think a-rod will eventually break bonds's record, but whether or not he does, the following will still be true.

there's a good chance youre gonna have a kid that's into sports. (trust my dad on this one - it doesnt matter if youre into sports or not. which is why my kid will most likely abhor sports.) and that kid is gonna know one homerun king most of his life, and then one night (or day) a new king will ascend. and the kid might not be a kid by then. s/he might be in his/her thirties or forties. or might even be a grandmother/father! or, this record transfer might not happen at all, his/her whole life!

but if it does happen, if that benchmark does take place, you should remember last night, aug. 7, 2007, as the last time it happened. because we should take note of the (pop) cultural events that are only gonna happen a few times (at most) during our lives.

and maybe (actually, prolly) your rare benchmark person isnt the homerun king. maybe it's the pope. same thing there - ive only had two. or maybe it's the chief justice of the supreme court - ive had three.

or maybe it's not a person. maybe it's the triple crown winner of horse racing. ive had none, despite the fact that there were three in the seventies. and it's worth mentioning that prior to 1973, the last triple crown winner was in 1948.

those last few benchmarks are all signposts of time my dad likes to hang his life's hats on. poor dad, he might never see a new chief justice. roberts is eight years younger than he. :/ by the time i see a new chief justice, i wonder where ill be. my life will have taken most if its shape by then, ill bet. anyway, dad and i both salivate at the prospect of my first triple crown winner.

ive outlined all of my benchmarks below, to visually represent the rarity. (click to enlarge in a new window.) and dont forget - barry lamar bonds, august 7, 2007.



* - ok, i couldnt resist opining at least. for the record, i think barry bonds is a charlatan not fit to scrape the dirt off hank aaron's cleats, and as far as im concerned, there are two homerun records now: the legit. and the illegit.