Roberto Clemente made me drink cheap whiskey
When I was 13 years old I was obsessed with all things Roberto Clemente. I had jerseys, t-shirts, an autographed picture, video tapes, posters, and what would be a staple in my room for many years the framed glass image you see pictured here.
After the Great Cranberry Shit Flood of 2007 I kept this picture packed away and the man cave I was promised when we moved to the new townhouse was promptly made into a storage room. Little did I know I wouldn’t see this again for 5 years.
While going through boxes in the basement of my somewhat newer house I came across the collection of photos I wanted to hang in my new office/dude room that was going to be made from the nursery of kiddo #2. Realization sunk in that this again wasn’t going to happen again (Guys, once you have kids that room is never coming back to you as I found out when I converted the nursery to a kids playroom 2 days ago) so I was determined to find a new home for it.
The boys room! Of course! They would love this!
I grabbed a handful of nails and with my gold painted hammer (my dad had a thing for spray painting things gold before he passed. That’s a story for later.) marched upstairs with a small stack of framed sports moments. The Clemente was the final photo to go up and when I took a step back to admire my handy work I noticed something new. Midway down on both sides was a… Seagrams 7 logo?
WHAT!
How is it possible that this cherished collectible from my youth was a bar sign? Heh when you think about it. it’s kinda ironic eh?
The following week when we had Teaspoon’s 3rd birthday party at our house I showed my brother the sign since he was the one who got it for me.
He still didn’t notice until I stuck my finger right on the photo. STUNNED!
We looked at each other and laughed. Our parents would throw a fit if I had anything alcohol related hanging in my room but Motley Crue posters with strippers was perfectly fine. *sigh* but there it was, the crowded 7 in all of its glory next to my hero.
Am I keeping it up? Of course! It will be a long time before the boys realize what’s on that photo. Heck, it took me 23 years.
