Detroit: Ernie Harwell's Christmas letter

Those Christmas mass-mailings are often lampooned--many justifiably so. But former Detroit Tigers play-by-play announcer, Ernie Harwell, has a great one in today's Detroit Free Press.

Here is a bit:

Christmastime in the Harwell household always has meant that my wife, Lulu, did the heavy lifting and my job was the sending of the greeting cards. These cards were to express our thanks for the loyalty and support of our friends.

This year, I'm not sending cards. Last July, doctors gave me only six months (more or less) to live. That was five months ago. I am still hanging around. But, while getting ready for my new adventure, I'm not dying to send out cards.

However, my friends at the Free Press are allowing me use of this space to thank all of you who have reached out to me and my family since the announcement of my illness. I can't answer 10,000 cards and letters with a personal note, so I have to do it the easy way.

Robert Browning was a great poet but didn't know much about baseball. He once wrote, "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" That's a great outlook on life, but I'm sure Jim Leyland would rather see his outfielder catch and hold onto a fly ball than have his reach exceed his grasp.

Michigan and and the Tigers had a trying 2009. But Harwell keeps his spirits up on what could be his last Christmas.

He's a class act to the end.

Andrea Shea King, The Radio Patriot, writes about war here Marc Alan Lee, who gave the greatest gift of all.

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