Master Melvin

The Giant great, Mel Ott, would have been 100 years old today had he not been tragically killed in an automobile accident. Ott was nicknamed “Master Melvin” by baseball people and most remembered for his unconventional swing. Mel played his entire career for the New York Giants and was also a manager for New York. His number four is retired and the Hall of Fame member is recounted by rabid fans to this day.
I never knew much about Master Melvin. The Giants did not call New York home by the time I discovered baseball. But, when I was little, I had the nickname Melvin also. So I thought today would be the perfect day to post about something as unconventional as Ott’s style at the plate. Instead of scribing sports, I will record my snow day memories since it’s snowing like crazy in New York this morning.
When I was young, I had a “Melvin jacket” that I mostly wore on snow days. It was a very putrid purplish red winter coat. In fact, I do not even think the jacket itself knew what color it was. If articles of clothing could speak, this coat would have been begging for a friend. I hung it lethargically in my parent’s coat closet located in our kitchen. I don’t know why I wore it only to play in the snow nor why it wasn‘t allowed to be hung in my room. Maybe I was embarrassed to transform into my alter-ego, Melvin. Or perhaps I didn’t want to claim the red covering as mine. Maybe someone told me the ugly coat was not to be proudly paraded around in public. For whatever reason, I wrapped the warm and worn wool around me to play in the snow. It did not match my snowsuit I am sure.
The best thing about snow days was playing in the snow. Building tunnels and snow forts were my forte. The snow had to be the right consistency in order to concoct an ideal igloo. I tried to master my craft with the help of my sister and our friends. When the ice dome materialized, we called it home and pretended we were lost in some strange land.
Kids get bored easily, no matter how creative they are. When we tired of our fort, we formed snow angels and had snowball fights. We’d take sleds and snow tubes down to the bottom of our hill and cascade down the slope. It was tremendous fun but obviously the thrill tinkered as our thumbs turned numb. It was time to head back home with our chapped lips, dry throats, wet mittens and slushy boots.
My home was welcoming and cozy. Hot chocolate with marshmallows awaited all of us as we changed into sweatpants and play clothes. The warm cotton and boiling cocoa couldn’t have been more perfect. With no school to attend, no teachers to make demands and no set plans, the day was ours. Anything was possible.
I think back to those snow days and smile. Now I despise this winter weather and hate driving and shoveling it even more. I no longer can take my Melvin jacket off the rack and sport around. But I can still be a kid at heart, just for one day. I think Master Melvin would be okay with that. Ott was known as one of the nicest guys in all sports. I mastered being a nice Melvin too.

Parting points: “Learn To Fly” by Foo Fighters is my song today.