i write often, and i write much. i have papers due all the time, i have at least two pieces run in the newspaper every week (column and at least one staff editorial), i blog. i'm a writer.

and i feel diverse in my writings. i feel like if i want to write the personal narrative, i can do it reasonably well. if i want to write a fictional piece, i know the basics of that. i have all kinds of practice at the non-fiction political rant. but there's one type of writing that i don't think i could do, one piece of publication that i wouldn't ever think i could do justice.

obituaries.

they seem so formulaic and impersonal. and i know they're supposed to be formulaic - tell when the person died, what she or he did during life, who she or he left behind, when the services are, how gifts or donations are to be handled. maybe, in a sense, the formula works in that people know just to which paragraph to look for particular information (birthplace, siblings, etc.).

but how are we to get a sense of who this person was in 300 words or fewer? how are we to understand the impact a person had on a community or an individual in four succinct paragraphs?

i got a call from my mom on wednesday. she told me one of my little league coaches passed away. he was hit by a car after pulling over in a fire station parking lot to get something out of his car. the driver who hit him called 911 immediately - it was, by all accounts, an accident.

here's an excerpt from the most important part of the obituary in the providence journal:

(randy) hien was the owner of the living room in providence since 1975 and also hien's family restaurant in lincoln. he was a communicant of st. jude church, lincoln. mr. hien was very active and dedicated to the sport of baseball. he coached cumberland farm league for two years, cumberland babe ruth for five years and lincoln little league for twenty-eight years. he also coached the lincoln parks and recreation basketball league for two years.

none of this is untrue. randy did love baseball, and he loved the kids he coached. twenty-eight years in lincoln little league - that alone demonstrates his dedication and love for the game and the people associated with it.

but an article about the accident in the same paper tells more about randy, no doubt because of the space allowed and the nature of the writing. through interviews with people that knew him, you get more of a sense of the man's personality:

"i was at one of his practices saturday," (president of lincoln little league john) sharkey said, "and he had all the kids lined up on the first base and third base lines, instructing them on swinging the bat. they were free-swinging. he couldn't see all of them so he turns his hat around and puts his sunglasses on his neck, 'i'm watching yous all,' he said."

more...:

"he never, never said a discouraging word about any kid, ever," (lincoln parks and recreation director paul) prachniak said. "i'd try to bait him, get him to say something bad, but he'd always say, 'nah, he's an angel,' or 'he'll be all right.' "

one day this year, prachniak said, he and hien were talking about lincoln's little league team lineup and someone suggested putting a certain player at a different position.

"and randy said, no he stinks," prachniak said, "and i said 'see,' but then he said, 'no, it's because he's great over there.' "

and, if that weren't enough:

(two years ago) hien's car had been hit by a vehicle driven by town planner albert v. ranaldi jr., who was cited for driving while intoxicated, and driving to endanger.

hien suffered two broken legs and internal injuries from the crash.

but hien went to court and asked that ranaldi not be sent to jail.

"i told the judge i didn't want to see him go to jail," hien said at the time. "he's not a drunk. he just made a mistake that night. i think he deserved a break."

i don't have many heroes. there are lots of people i respect and lots of people that i look up to. there are qualities other people have that i wish i had. there are outlooks and perspectives that people keep that i try to channel. but i don't have many heroes.

randy hein is one of my heroes. aside from all that he taught me about the game of baseball - which is likely about a third of all i know, and i played the game for twelve years - it's what he taught me about everything else that i'm going to remember about him.

he had this spirit about him that was so contagious. he was always upbeat and optimistic about outcomes, he always had this confidence in even the worst of his players, and he always made sure that we knew just how much confidence he had in us. and he had this ridiculous hat with a laughably long visor that was his signature attire. we never let him hear the end of it for that beloved hat.

randy had a catch phrase - it's tough to type, but it's something like "aidee-eye," some amalgamation of "'atta boy," "good eye," and "'atta way." he would mainly yell it when "good eye" was appropriate - when a batter doesn't swing at a ball outside the strike zone. but he would use it when his pitchers did something well, when his player successfully stole a base, when someone made a spectacular play in the field....

he got his players so excited about everything. now and then, when we were in the field, he'd step out of the dugout and yell, "hey, who's gonna make the next play? who's gonna make a running, diving, tumbling catch!?" everybody knows the running, diving, tumbling catches are both the most fun to watch and the most fun to make. and randy was always - but always - about making baseball the most fun, and that ended up making it competitive, too.

my town will not be the same without him. my baseball league - of which i have absolutely no blemished memories - will not be the same without him. there's a hole there that nobody will be able to fill. but his spirit and memory will live on. check out this kicker quote from that same projo story cited above:

hien had been active recently in efforts to get a new little league field built in town.

"if we ever get that field," sharkey said, "i guess we know what the name will be."

i would be proud to play and coach on randy hein field. the man gave so much to me and to so many other kids. it's strange to think just how much he shaped me and how influential he was on me when i was eleven and twelve.

and for all that he did, for all that he was, and for all that he made the rest of us, here's a big "aidee-eye" to one of my heroes.


thanks, randy. we're all better for having known you.