The following is an excerpt from Dune’s latest book,
The Timing of Chicken Feathers, available now on Amazon.
STEVE GARVEY IS MY HERO
I hadn’t really watched Steve Garvey as a fan when he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, so any opinion I had of him was completely superficial. My experience of his play was as a San Diego Padre fan in 1984. I became a real fan of his that year. Steve was solid, smart, played hard, and had very successful season.
In game #4 of the National League playoffs, my wife and I got to see Steve go four for five, including the game winning (come from behind), home run that landed just in front of us in the right field seats where we were sitting. Every time he got up, he did something to help us win that game. Every fan who watched that game at home or in the stands remembers it as “The Garvey Game”, and I’ll always remember standing in the stands yelling, singing, and crying. We were all looking forward to winning game five and going to the series.
Sometime thereafter, maybe two or three years later, I got a call to do an hour of entertainment at a birthday party for a little girl who was turning 8 years old. However, in the course of getting all the information I needed, I found out that the birthday girl was the step-daughter of Steve Garvey, and that Steve would be attending the party!
My wife went nuts. She and her dad got together about 10 small items, and they wanted me to have them all signed. Normally, I’d have said, “No way.” I had worked for famous people many times, and since I’m a professional, I don’t feel that it is appropriate for me to impose as a fan during their private time. So normally, there wouldn’t have been any question…but this was Steve Garvy!
That afternoon I was sitting in my car outside the event about 15 minutes early, getting my equipment ready. I usually do this before each job, but that day, I was also battling inside of my head about the autographs. The party was at a community pool somewhere in the hills of Del Mar California, and as I sat there, I felt like I had the devil on one shoulder, and an angel on the other—battling it out.
THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED. . .
A woman came running out of the pool area yelling, “Call 911!! Call 911!!” It was exactly like Bette Midler in “Down and Out in Beverly Hills”, only it wasn’t funny—at all. I decided I’d better get in there to see what was going on, and if there was anything I could do to help. I grabbed my magic bag and ran inside. As I rounded the corner, I saw everyone standing around the pool watching one of the fathers giving mouth-to-mouth to a little girl on the deck beside the pool. There were two dads there with the child, a few moms standing with their hands on their mouths, and about twenty, 8-year old little girls watching the whole process.
As I walked a little closer, I saw that it was Mr. Garvey, who was giving mouth to mouth to the lifeless little girl. Steve Garvey did what any dad would have tried to do. He tried to breathe life back into the lifeless body one of his daughter’s friend. A few moments later, he did it! The girl started coughing, sat up, and started breathing again. And just that fast, they scooped her up, took her out front where ambulance was just arriving.
Needless to say, we were all shell shocked, and most of us just stood around looking at each other. Then, Dooney took over. Since I take care of children . . . that’s what I did. I was the clown for the day, so I just started doing what I do with the children who were still there. We did magic, made balloons, face painting, served cake, opened presents, and about an hour and forty five minutes later, some of the parents came back from the hospital and took over the party.
When I left, I was still shocked. But I just kept seeing Steve breathing life back into that helpless little girl. I realized that he was never going to be recognized for what he had just done—and in fact, as far as I know, he never was. I had looked up to Steve before then, for his accomplishments on the field; but that day Steve Garvey, the average guy, a dad at a birthday party, stepped up and did something actually heroic.
Steve Garvey is my hero!
It was years later when I found out who the other father had been that day. His name is Wade Boggs. You might know him…he played baseball.
***
Dune Johnson aka Looney Dooney is the foremost family-fun expert, and has devoted his life to bring joy, laughter, and togetherness to every event he does. For more helpful tips to creating the most amazing birthday parties, etc. visit his blog, or read his latest book, “The Timing of Chicken Feathers.”