"Hope springs eternal."

Most of us have heard that catchy phrase sometime in our lives. It is actually a truncated version from Lawrence Thayer's classic American sports poem, "Casey at the Bat." The full sentence from Thayer's prose that contains those three words reads as follows:

With that hope that springs eternal from within the human breast.

In the poem, the central character, referred to simply by his last or first name (we are left to guess which), Casey, comes to the plate to hit for the beloved Mudville team in the bottom of the ninth inning, trailing 4-2. Prior to Casey's immortal at-bat, the first two batters in the ninth for Mudville, named Cooney and Burrows, respectively, were both quickly retired. Thayer implies that Cooney may have been trying to stretch a single into a double, as Mudville's first batter in the ninth makes the first out of the half inning at second - not first - base. (Hey, at least he made it past first base!) Perhaps a throw from the infield to first base on a "routine grounder" was too high or wide and Cooney tried to take advantage of the throwing error by advancing to second base but was thrown out there. According to Thayer, Burrows likewise "did the same" as Cooney, but in expert writing style the author doesn't tell us exactly how each batter was put out at second base and leaves it to our imagination to ponder what happened.

With Cooney's and Burrows' outs, Mudville finds itself down to its final out, still staring at that two-run deficit. The Mudville fan base is understandably distraught as their heroes appear to be destined to lose the game with their star hitter, Casey, likely to remain stranded in the Mudville dugout, never to come to the plate. Some Mudville fans even leave the ball park, assuming the inevitability of defeat and looking to get ahead of the departing crowd at game's end.

The two batters that ended up preceding Casey in the Mudville ninth inning were named Blake (how ironic, as will be made clear below) and Flynn. Thayer describes Blake as "a fake" and Flynn as "a pudding." (We can only assume what flavor of pudding Thayer had in mind for Flynn, but being "soft" and "mushy" seems to be Thayer's intent in describing Flynn's ability, as in lack thereof, to hit a baseball with any degree of consistency.) However, much to the surprise and delight of the Mudville faithful, Blake manages a single and Flynn (described as "much despised", either by the Mudville fans for his hitting ineptitude or by the opposition for whatever reason - again, Thayer leaves it to us to figure that out) "tore the cover off the ball." Blake ends up on third base and Flynn on second base with a double and, suddenly, Mudville's crowd comes alive as "Casey, mighty Casey" comes to the plate with a chance to drive in the tying runs or win the game with a home run.

Thayer uses eloquent verbiage to describe the setting for the first two pitches of Casey's at-bat, both of them called strikes. Thayer continues to paint a vivid mental picture of Casey's steely determination to make contact on what ends up being the third and final pitch of his at-bat, which is summarized as follows: "There is no joy in Mudville. Mighty Casey has struck out."



Major league baseball's 2007 season began last week. Every year at this time, the return of America's pastime (historically baseball is America's pastime, although it's hard to deny that football has become the top spectator sport in America today) gives hope to many. It is this time of year that fans of such moribund teams as the Kansas City Royals and the Pittsburgh Pirates actually believe they have a chance to win the pennant. (Trust me, they don't. Really, they don't.) That feeling doesn't usually last very long - maybe a week or two, no longer than a month, to be sure, for Royals and Pirates fans - but for a brief time span they cling to the hope that this could be "the year" for their favorite team.

The Chicago Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908 - the longest such string of futility of any franchise in American professional sports - yet they have as passionate and fervent a fan base as any team in major league baseball. Every year at this time, Cubs fans start another baseball season with Thayer's "hope that springs eternal."

My son, Blake Fought, was a Cubs fan. A very BIG Cubs fan. Every chance he got, Blake would watch his beloved Cubs on WGN - the Chicago superstation that televises several Cubs game every year, on ESPN or on whatever TV station he could find them playing. Summers in the Fought household meant Cubs games - lots and lots of Cubs games. Even though I wasn't a Cubs fan (although I am now, in his honor), watching Cubs games with my son was a joy we both shared. Sharing that simple pleasure is now gone from my life.

"Hope springs eternal." Eternal. Now, that's a word I've been thinking about a lot lately.

Eternity is a concept many of us fail to grasp, and for understandable reasons, since none of us have ever experienced it and returned to tell others about it. (Some make the claim they've done just that, but I remain skeptical.) We all have a limited perspective when it comes to the concept of eternity. Everything in our lives has a beginning and an end to it; therefore, our thought processes always incorporate a finite time component to all of our experiences. This makes the concept of an "eternal life" hard for some to comprehend. I'll admit that I didn't put enough thought into the concept of eternity until March 2, 2007, when my son left us to join the one and only true God that Blake so humbly yet passionately served in Heaven for all of eternity. Sure, I was a Christian before Blake's death and will continue to serve the Lord, although Blake showed me and others just how to provide that service in such a powerful and meaningful way, but I'd never really thought about eternal life in a profound sense. Now, I do.

I have moments where the pain and agony of missing Blake are practically unbearable. At times I simply break down into periods of uncontrollable sobbing and wonder how I can possibly survive without him in my life. These periods are like tidal waves of despair washing over me and I feel powerless against them. They come at various points in the day - sometimes seemingly without warning. I'm learning not to fight them, but to allow them to temporarily immobilize me, to get through them and then past them. After the wave passes, I re-inform myself of Blake's eternal home, his eternal life earned by serving the Lord. I remind myself that Blake now suffers no pain - physical, mental or emotional. He now enjoys an existence we can only imagine and strive to one day experience ourselves.

Matthew 5:4 says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." I am thoroughly convinced that it is only through the grace of God, the prayers being spoken on my, my wife, my daughter and Cathe Minnehan's behalf and an unwavering faith in the Lord, that are getting me, my family and Cathe through this very difficult period in our lives.

Blake Fought lived the Christian life. He lived it powerfully and admirably. He - the son - taught me - the father, and countless others - how a Christian life should be lived by putting Jesus Christ first and foremost in everything he did. As I said at his memorial service, if I can grow to become half the man my son became, I'll consider my life to have been well lived.

The sixth verse of the 23rd Psalm reads, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." According to my belief system - my Christian faith - Blake now dwells in the house of the Lord for all of eternity. Forever. Without end. That knowledge gives me and, I trust others, comfort. Comfort that an enduring faith and a lifetime of serving the Lord can give each of us the most precious gift of all gifts - eternal life in Heaven with God.

In his epic sports poem, Thayer wrote that, "Hope...springs eternal." Personally, I think it's the other way around.

"Eternity springs hope."

Enjoy eternity Blake. I'll be joining you there someday.


This article was written by Mark W. Fought, father of Blake E. Fought, recently deceased Radford University student and one of the founders of RUnderground. Mark will be an occasional contributor to RUnderground in the future.