November

The leaves are fading and falling;
The winds are rough and wild;
The birds have ceased their calling–
But let me tell you, my child,

Though day by day, as it closes,
Doth darker and colder grow,
The roots of the bright red roses
Will keep alive in the snow.

And when the winter is over,
The boughs will get new leaves,
The quail come back to the clover,
And the swallow back to the eaves.

The robin will wear on his bosom
A vest that is bright and new,
And the loveliest wayside blossom
Will shine with the sun and dew.

The leaves today are whirling;
The brooks are all dry and dumb–
But let me tell you, my darling,
The spring will be sure to come.

There must be rough, cold weather,
And winds and rains so wild;
Not all good things together
Come to us here, my child.

So, when some dear joy loses
Its beauteous summer glow,
Think how the roots of the roses
Are kept alive in the snow.

– Alice Cary

Although this is the first day of November, we Dodger fans have endured metaphorically the bleakness of November ever since news of Frank and Jamie McCourt’s plundering of the team for their own luxurious lifestyle hit the fan.  We have seen our beloved team, once at the pinnacle of of Major League Baseball, fall into mediocrity and become a laughing stock in the baseball community.

Hopelessness and despair have been our constant companions as we read about the continuous flow of litigation and business manuevers initiated by Frank McCourt and his legal henchmen as they tore apart the organization so lovingly crafted  by men such as Branch Rickey, Walter O’Malley, Buzzie Bavasi and Al Campanis.

The news that McCourt may have finally realized that he is in a no win situation given that about 99% of Dodger fans want him gone and is seriously thinking about selling the team has brought the first ray of sunlight after a dark and tumultuous storm.  While he has been a poor steward of the Dodgers, the team itself has too much history and been too big a part of Americana to shrivel up and die.

The roots of the roses are alive in the snow
Awaiting a new owner to restore the Dodgers beauteous summer glow.