Junto Boys

WHERE TO OLD BALLPLAYERS GO?

Remember Ron Karkovice the longtime backup catcher for the Chicago White Sox? I read last week in the paper that he was an Orlando native who went to Boone High School with Joe Oliver, another MLB catcher with a long career. The article was touting how Karkovice has opened a new restaurant called Ronnie’s Big League Deli. It really gives him a boost. When I read about the location I realized that it was biking distance from Tricia’s house and thought I would take her there at first opportunity. We went Saturday.

The place was decent sized, but most of it seemed under construction. There were only a few tables in the part that was open. One was occupied by a group of 5. No one else was present except for the girl behind the counter. She was nice and gave me a regular size cup for my water. They didn’t have bottled water or unsweetend Ice Tea. They didn’t really seem ready to open. The floor was bare cement and there wasn’t as much baseball memorabilia as the article led you to think.

I had a roast beef sandwich that was mostly tasteless white sub roll, but Trish did like her Turkey Bacon wrap. The beer was priced well enough if we had been in the mood for it.

After we started eating Karkovice sat down at a table behind us. He was engulfed in a replay of the Florida/Florida State game from a few years back. Later he chomped down on some wings. He wasn’t the gregarious guy welcoming everyone or trying to get chummy with the new, if scant, clientele.

I started thinking that Karkovice started this restaurant because he has nothing to do. He was tired of sitting home everyday watching sports so he opened a restaurant so that he could hang around strangers and watch sports. There didn’t seem to be much attempt to lure customers through décor or good food or a great atmosphere. But it did allow him to eat some wings and watch old football games.

He’s got the reverse problem that most of us have. We’re struggling in order to provide a better life for ourselves. Ronnie’s work is over. He doesn’t need money. He needs an outlet for his time. Like a lot of athletes that get drafted into sports he has no fall back plan in life. Some leave sports and have no money and have to struggle with the rest of us. Karkovice must have plenty of money, what with 11 big league seasons, but his life is only half over and he lacks a purpose for the rest of it.

He’s like a lottery winner that has plenty of money, but no connection to the things that were once important in life. The restaurant seems to be a way to reconnect. I only say this because he didn’t seem to put a lot of attention into the things that are necessary to make money and keep people coming back.

I left feeling bad for him. I felt like he either didn’t want to succeed or didn’t know how too. Maybe I read too much into the small scene I witnessed, but he’ll need to put a lot of work into this place if he wants it to be self-sustained. I suggested to Trish that we should come back in a month or two and see if he was making any progress. Maybe he just opened before the place was ready.

Another old Chicago Ballplayer tries something else.

The trouble with what to do with old politicians is even more difficult.