The New York Times has the oddest, most touching story of the 2017 baseball season so far: a man who is visiting ballparks around the country to flush his friend’s ashes.
This man is flushing his friend’s ashes down the toilet of every major league ballpark, and it’s beautiful
Find someone who is as good of a friend to you as this guy.
Photo Illustration by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images
He stepped into a bathroom stall and sprinkled the ashes into the toilet with as much decorum as the setting allowed. A couple of flushes later and Mr. Riegel’s remains were presumably on a journey through Citi Field’s plumbing.
“I took care of Roy, and I had to use the facilities myself,” Mr. McDonald said, emerging from the stall with the empty container. “So I figure, you know, kill two birds.”
The rules? It has to be in the middle of the game. It can’t be in the ballpark of a hated team, like the Cubs. And only recently did McDonald decide that Citi Field was worthy of the ashes, but only because Shea Stadium is long gone. You can’t just flush the ashes in any ol’ place with a toilet. The grounds have to be ash-worthy.
It’s a touching story that’s worth a read. May we all have a friend that’s willing to flush us down a ballpark commode to honor our memory.
