Lawrence Biggin, my grandfather, turns 89 years old on Monday, July 13, 2009. His career as a relief pitcher is over because he broke his arm several months back after a fall in a South Dakota grocery store.

Grandpa grew up on, and then had a farm in Wisconsin. My grandmother gave birth to eight kids -- all daughters! The family moved to Colorado in 1967, after granddad had one of the first neck fusions at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Upon arriving in Colorado, he settled in Brush and worked in the sale barn until retiring in 1982. I can't count how many afternoons I spent in the dining room of their house playing yahtzee with a Cubs game on.

My grandparents moved to South Dakota in 1997; for the most part, they had 12 relatively healthy years in the Black Hills before the fall. These days, I hope for two things: that his pain medication does what it is intended to do; and that the Cubs make a huge second-half run so that he may see a championship from his beloved team before he passes on.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Love,
Louie