Gil Cargill's Long Walk Home
robert conover

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      • 8086
      • A Letter From Your Secretary
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      • Alpha Beta Traitor
      • Amy And Amy And
      • Are You Telling Me?
      • Baby Blue Sunbeam
      • Ballpark Hero
      • Barn Quilts
      • Beautiful with Braces
      • Because it Still Rains
      • Bend
      • Better
      • Better Yet
      • The Big Yellow Elopement Machine
      • Blind Date
      • Brother
      • Cadmium Gold
      • Calico Charms
      • Caramels
      • Carrie Me Back
      • Cat in the Corner Chair
      • CATCH from 13 Stories
      • Cat's Eyes
      • The Cherry Spot
      • The Closer Wins a Steak
      • Cloud
      • Coffee Shop HEARTS 2
      • Company
      • Confessional
      • Confetti
      • Cover!
      • Cover Art Gallery
      • The Dad Who Was 24-Feet Tall
      • The Day the Avanti Didn't Start
      • Days of Christmas
      • The Devil Sells His Soul
      • Double Sugar
      • The Ebullience of Being Elaina Brightman
      • Escape
      • Everybody's Teddy
      • Fall of Winter
      • Fatal Flaws
      • Final Final: The Last Newspaper
      • Forgiveness Day
      • The Girl as Good as Mozart
      • The Girl Who Never Was
      • Girl With Backpack
      • Grand Lady
      • Guardian
      • Hard-Boiled, Soft-Headed
      • The Heart of an Unknown Soldier
      • Help Wanted, Hope Needed
      • Hurt
      • I Am Afraid of My Feelings
      • I Don't Care if I Ever Come Back
      • I Will Be Leaving
      • I Wonder Where He is Now
      • In the Throes of Coca Coma
      • Jailhouse Judy
      • Jigsaw
      • Kansas City
      • The Kid Goes 0 for April
      • KISS
      • Kiss Me, Kate-Lynn
      • klick-klock
      • The Last Elevator Girl
      • Lawyer Vs. Rodeo Rider
      • Library Doors
      • Lighthouses
      • Loft in Space
      • Lookalike
      • Love Nothing Novel
      • The Lunacy and the Lace
      • Man in the Big Pajamas
      • Mermaid
      • Morning Jog
      • Mr. In-Between
      • My Brother's Science Project
      • A Nice Quiet Space
      • Nine
      • Not Fields Afar
      • The Note
      • On Briarwood Roof
      • One-Two Punch//Delivered
      • One Way Ticket
      • Out of Limelight
      • Parallel You
      • The Passenger
      • Perfect
      • Physical
      • Pitch Count
      • Polaroid Manipulations
      • Portrait of Genevieve
      • Pretty Dresses, Petty Thieves
      • Pretty, Ugly
      • Proposal
      • PurgaStories
      • Red Chair to Mars
      • Reentry
      • Return to Fine Arts
      • The Ride of a Lifetime
      • Run-Run Runaway Caboose
      • Saturday
      • Secret Game Workshop
      • Shadows
      • Signals
      • Slideshow
      • Slugger
      • The Small of Her Back
      • Southpaws
      • Spelling Bee
      • Spring of Summer
      • Starry Night
      • Stewart Survives the 7th
      • Stuntgirl
      • Stopover
      • The Stowaway
      • The Super Secret Planet Finder
      • Tail of the Lake Monster
      • Team Bus
      • Telephone
      • Tow Me
      • Turret
      • Usherette
      • Varsity
      • Veranda Nights
      • Wicked Curves
      • We
      • Where's Your Faith?
      • You
      • You Kill Me
  • Suit to Kill, Slip to Thrill
  • Prayers Answered
    • Postcards
    • Pitch Count
    • Where's Your Faith?
    • Spelling Bee
    • You Kill Me
    • Cruisin'
    • Casey's Comeback
    • Archives
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  • Contact
  • Omnibus
  • Parables
  • Love Stories
  • 5-Minute Stories that Last Forever
  • Miracles
  • Healing
  • Meditations
  • PurgaStories
  • Scenes of a GT Hawk
Picture
How many miles do you figure that is-- from
Macon to Middleville?  A long, long walk,
wouldn't you say?  But I remember Gil Cargill
saying it as clear as my old Stude pickup's rear-
view mirror: 

'If I ever whiff four times in a single damn game.
I will walk home to Middleville in my uniform.'

Well, it happened. 
As sure as flipping a two-sided St. Michael's medal,
I 
was there when it did that Saturday afternoon.
I followed him all the way in my pickup and 
he wouldn't take my offer for a ride. He would
not hear of it.

But what a walk it was along the dusty way!

Clarence Goodfellow greeted Gil as he was
mowing the lawn with his town's last manual
mower.  Clarence told him he was at the game
when Gil hit two four-baggers and a single in
the same inning.
Will Robeson saw him and recalled the game
Gil knocked in nine runs by hitting for the cycle--
on a bum knee.
And, in the home stretch, Virginia Hall told Gil
her dad took her to the night game when Cargill
took a grand slam away from Gus Sternlow with
a great leaping catch before Sternlow ever made
the Yankees.

Talk about going out in style, I marveled, and Gil
just laughed in my face.

'Who said anything 'bout this being my farewell tour?'

I didn't hear anybody say that, did you?

"Get in the pickup," I told Gil, "I'll buy you and me
a couple of cold Nehi grape sodas and I'll drive you
back to Macon in country comfort."
Picture
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  • Home
  • Roadmap to HEAVEN
    • Title Index >
      • .005
      • 8086
      • A Letter From Your Secretary
      • A Woman's Pride
      • Aliens or Angels?
      • Alpha Beta Traitor
      • Amy And Amy And
      • Are You Telling Me?
      • Baby Blue Sunbeam
      • Ballpark Hero
      • Barn Quilts
      • Beautiful with Braces
      • Because it Still Rains
      • Bend
      • Better
      • Better Yet
      • The Big Yellow Elopement Machine
      • Blind Date
      • Brother
      • Cadmium Gold
      • Calico Charms
      • Caramels
      • Carrie Me Back
      • Cat in the Corner Chair
      • CATCH from 13 Stories
      • Cat's Eyes
      • The Cherry Spot
      • The Closer Wins a Steak
      • Cloud
      • Coffee Shop HEARTS 2
      • Company
      • Confessional
      • Confetti
      • Cover!
      • Cover Art Gallery
      • The Dad Who Was 24-Feet Tall
      • The Day the Avanti Didn't Start
      • Days of Christmas
      • The Devil Sells His Soul
      • Double Sugar
      • The Ebullience of Being Elaina Brightman
      • Escape
      • Everybody's Teddy
      • Fall of Winter
      • Fatal Flaws
      • Final Final: The Last Newspaper
      • Forgiveness Day
      • The Girl as Good as Mozart
      • The Girl Who Never Was
      • Girl With Backpack
      • Grand Lady
      • Guardian
      • Hard-Boiled, Soft-Headed
      • The Heart of an Unknown Soldier
      • Help Wanted, Hope Needed
      • Hurt
      • I Am Afraid of My Feelings
      • I Don't Care if I Ever Come Back
      • I Will Be Leaving
      • I Wonder Where He is Now
      • In the Throes of Coca Coma
      • Jailhouse Judy
      • Jigsaw
      • Kansas City
      • The Kid Goes 0 for April
      • KISS
      • Kiss Me, Kate-Lynn
      • klick-klock
      • The Last Elevator Girl
      • Lawyer Vs. Rodeo Rider
      • Library Doors
      • Lighthouses
      • Loft in Space
      • Lookalike
      • Love Nothing Novel
      • The Lunacy and the Lace
      • Man in the Big Pajamas
      • Mermaid
      • Morning Jog
      • Mr. In-Between
      • My Brother's Science Project
      • A Nice Quiet Space
      • Nine
      • Not Fields Afar
      • The Note
      • On Briarwood Roof
      • One-Two Punch//Delivered
      • One Way Ticket
      • Out of Limelight
      • Parallel You
      • The Passenger
      • Perfect
      • Physical
      • Pitch Count
      • Polaroid Manipulations
      • Portrait of Genevieve
      • Pretty Dresses, Petty Thieves
      • Pretty, Ugly
      • Proposal
      • PurgaStories
      • Red Chair to Mars
      • Reentry
      • Return to Fine Arts
      • The Ride of a Lifetime
      • Run-Run Runaway Caboose
      • Saturday
      • Secret Game Workshop
      • Shadows
      • Signals
      • Slideshow
      • Slugger
      • The Small of Her Back
      • Southpaws
      • Spelling Bee
      • Spring of Summer
      • Starry Night
      • Stewart Survives the 7th
      • Stuntgirl
      • Stopover
      • The Stowaway
      • The Super Secret Planet Finder
      • Tail of the Lake Monster
      • Team Bus
      • Telephone
      • Tow Me
      • Turret
      • Usherette
      • Varsity
      • Veranda Nights
      • Wicked Curves
      • We
      • Where's Your Faith?
      • You
      • You Kill Me
  • Suit to Kill, Slip to Thrill
  • Prayers Answered
    • Postcards
    • Pitch Count
    • Where's Your Faith?
    • Spelling Bee
    • You Kill Me
    • Cruisin'
    • Casey's Comeback
    • Archives
  • Library
  • Contact
  • Omnibus
  • Parables
  • Love Stories
  • 5-Minute Stories that Last Forever
  • Miracles
  • Healing
  • Meditations
  • PurgaStories
  • Scenes of a GT Hawk
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