The Ryan Express

"THE RYAN EXPRESS," revisited from a personal perspective

I remember as a young boy watching and reveling in my dad's excitement about many things: his passion, along with my mothers, for their pastimes brought great joy to my childhood. One of his pastimes was marveling in other people's God-given gifts, which could include everything known by mankind under the sun.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, his passion for such television broadcasts as coverage of NASA moon-rocket launches was outmatched only by his passion for the water (he was an avid fisherman), flying any type of aircraft (he was a tail-gunner in WW2, and a prisoner of war for two years in Germany), and working on antique cars - of which he owned two, sitting in our garage. He actually leapt from his chair when the first Space Shuttle lifted off from Florida, whooping like a young boy with excitement! When the movie "E.T." hit screens, he had nearly the same reaction when the bikes on which the escaping boys - along with E.T. himself - lift off into the air near the film's finale, occurred. He exclaimed, "Wheeee!" and held onto the theater's chair as if he were flying with them as well. What great joy in a human being!

Another of those "God-given gifts" he (as well as my mother) would often marvel at were those that were human abilities of others the world over, such as great singers, preachers, builders, or sports celebrities - including Nolan Ryan's amazing pitching ability in Major League Baseball. I was never as interested in sports as most of my friends, however the excitement and wonder of my own dad (and my friends') at seeing exceptionally successful plays during major sports events would easily carry over into inspiring me to watch and learn what made them worth the time.

Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr., known to sports fans as one of the best pitchers of all time, is well-known both for his fastball and as a role model for players and fans alike. Like my own father, he appears to have led a life of tremendous integrity, standing by his convictions which, from what we read, were instilled in him at an early age by his parents: dad Nolan Ryan, Sr., and mother, Martha Nolan. Nolan, Jr., born January 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas. He was the youngest of six children. (His birth was about a decade after my father's.) While I myself am an only-child, my own father, Everette, was the oldest of three (his siblings were two sisters, Ethel and Elizabeth). It seems to me that children with siblings might have an edge over those without: growing up an only-child was often difficult for me, in not having anyone I could truly trust to tell things that happened to me, or things I felt or thought, to someone other than my parents, which I could "never tell them to." I would laugh about that feeling now, even while realizing that it's interesting how we feel as children can come full circle as we grow older and can look back with greater perspective. I can look back now and laugh about many facets of my childhood, and how I perceived them, but it was not always funny at the time - even when things worked out for good as events in my life played out.

Ryan's amazing baseball career pitching was often referred to, by the media, as "The Ryan Express" - in that his fast arm would sometimes spike fear in the hearts of batters on opposing teams taking the plate, wondering if they would be injured by a baseball coming at them at about 100mph. That's fast, for any pitcher. And his fame as a "No-Hitter" is legendary, helping his team to win repeatedly. That feat is astonishing, and worth the time to watch and revel in! (I am especially fond of reading that, in his youth, Nolan would throw any object at any item, in hope of inspiring his father to start him in baseball. I have to wonder, with a wry twist of humor, how many windows he broke or how many "items" he had to unwittingly damage to convince his dad to buy that first baseball....)

Obviously, that choice paid off, and not just for their family: it paid off for us all, for everyone who enjoys a great baseball game, and even those who may watch just in passing. Nolan Ryan's baseball career turned into something astonishing. This is where the perspective of watching sporting events with a good attitude comes to mind. Much has been said and reported about Nolan Ryan's baseball pitching career, however there isn't all that much known about his personal life other than straight facts about who, what, where and when.

A passage in one written account states that Ryan's wife, Ruth, moved to be with him in New York when he became homesick for his native Texas during his career with the New York Mets. Later, he succumbed to his longing to return there, and they moved back to Texas where they currently reside. It's another fact that Ryan disliked the climate of the Eastern seaboard, preferring the dry, arid heat of Texas to the excruciatingly wet humidity of the Atlantic basin. I have been to Texas several times, and must admit he has a point. Likewise in life, perhaps somewhat akin to that in Nolan Ryan's life, my own dad's experiences prompted my mother to come to his support many times, sacrificing her own desires to keep him happy - but in doing so, it boosted her own happiness. Upon his death, my dad was more content with my mother than any man I had ever known, and it showed on both their faces. In my dad's last two years on this Earth, both my parents appeared to be almost like a newly-married couple again!

It often occurred to me that my parents would seem to gravitate toward other couples who shared similar backgrounds as did they. Like my parents, Nolan Ryan and his wife Ruth were quite close. Sure, there were times when I thought World War Three might erupt in our living room at any given time, but every time they came through whatever was biting at them and grew stronger as a result. (Most often times it was my dad's disdain for his job that threw his life off-kilter, causing more than one loud argument with my mother - who simply took in in stride, evidently realizing it wasn't her own fault, but his personal frustration with work being released to the only person he could honestly trust with everything in his life. As it turned out, this was the most life-affirming revelation from him I would ever learn.)

From what we read about Nolan Ryan, I would gather he and his wife Ruth shared many common attributes. His knack for sharing his experiences and time with the youth of Today is well-regarded by many as his greatest attribute. I feel the same way about my own dad's time spent with me, so it comes as no surprise that Ryan's time shared with younger generation is time well-spent. Apparently this may become Ryan's single greatest achievement beyond being a fast baseball star pitcher: making gains into inspiring young athletes to do what they do best, and be the best at sharing their own God-given gifts with others.

There is more to these two men's lives that strikes me as too similar to ignore. My dad had a heart history, and passed on in early 1984, six days before my 25th birthday, from heart failure, with shortness of breath an acute response to the condition. In April of 2000, Nolan Ryan underwent emergency double-bypass surgery at the Heart Hospital of Austin, Texas. After experiencing shortness of breath and chest pains of his own, his wife drove him to the RoundRockMedicalCenter in Texas, where doctors performed tests. He was then taken to the Heart Hospital of Austin, where an angiogram (an X ray of blood vessels) showed a substantial blockage of the left main coronary artery. Fortunately, and unlike my dad, Nolan Ryan survived, and is currently a cattle rancher and a businessman. He and his wife are also active promoters of healthy and fit lifestyles for Americans.

Nolan Ryan, and Everette Coates. Two men of extraordinary integrity (--and whos photo-likenesses appear remarkably like long-lost brothers!--) who gave God a gift in return: they (one, thankfully, being still with us) each shared their talents with others around the world, and with great passion and love for others. That, to me, is what Life is all about.