After his accident, Stan struggles to move on. What did you think of his predicament? Have you ever experienced a life-changing setback? How did you move past it?
Stan was used to being a hero a star. Yes his injury was bad but he should have been thinking about his family not just himself.
Yes, I have but unfortunately or maybe now it was for the best because my experience ended with a divorce.
Stan’s entire identity had been as a hero ballplayer. He never thought farther than that. He wallowed in self-pity when his injury sidelined him for good. His mother fed into the “poor me” mentality and didn’t help matters. He didn’t care enough about Mimi and the children to take action to improve their situation. Again, Mimi saves the day when she meets the man willing to give Stan a try at coaching which leads to him regaining a sense of worth. I wasn’t very sympathetic toward him. As for myself, there have been times I’ve wanted to walk away and turn my back on something because it would have been easier. However, I have a strong faith that encourages me to see things through and do the best I can. My faith gives me strength.
He’s of the male sex. And they don’t do well when their ego’s are hurt. He perceived his life as ruined because he was no longer a big shot baseball player. He gave no consideration to how he was treating his family. He gave no consideration as to how he could stay in the “game” in a different capacity. I frankly got very disgusted with him.
Yes, I have experienced what I considered to be a life-changing setback - more than once! But you have to pick yourself up and go on. The world doesn’t stop and the sooner you can accept that the sooner you will recover.
Stan didn’t have any feelings of self worth – his only identity was as a hero ball player. That said - I think he should have been more understanding about what his family was gowing through and not just concentrating on the losses in his personal life.
I agree with everyone’s observations so far. Stan lacked self-esteem beyond being a baseball player. It seemed odd to me that he had never contemplated that someday he wouldn’t be able to play – athletes age out of their sport! (Did ya hear that, Aaron Rodgers?) I don’t know why that would seem to be a surprise to him at the age of 36.
I also didn’t understand why it hadn’t occurred to Stan that pivoting from playing to coaching would be a logical transition if he wanted to remain involved in baseball.
Yes, I’ve faced a life-changing predicament. When I was undergoing eye surgeries and the drs. were trying to save my vision, I had to formulate a Plan B or, at a minimum, accept that I might need accommodations to continue practicing law given my profession required me to be able to read and write.
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I am afraid that Stan had a typical male struggle. What did I think about it? Well little boy, it’s time to pick yourself up and regroup. It may not be as a player but you do have other options. That needed to be voiced not only by Mimi, but her mother-in-law, but unfortunately those words were never spoken. That was the 1930’s, this is today and perhaps this generation’s woman is stronger and more able to openly express her feelings. Hopefully so!
Yes, I have experienced a life-changing setback. After over 20 years of being a stay-at-home mother and wife, I need to start over and support my daughters. And, I did. I picked myself up and kept going, the world around us doesn’t stop and neither do you. YOU get the job done!
Stan was very short sighted; he had never planned what would happen when he could not play baseball. Unfortunately, we still see this in some of today’s athletes, they don’t plan for the future and get caught up in being the “big star.” Stan fell into feeling sorry for himself. Thank goodness he had a wife that went to work and found him a future path. But, I do wish he had done more for himself.
I am sure that everyone on this site has struggled at some time with an unexpected life-changing setback. We learn it is a part of life. For me, I believe it is not that it happens, but how you handle it that matters. And I often find that a major setback can lead to a new and better path that we just never even thought was possible. Of course, this means you dust yourself off and work to improve your situation, not easy but so rewarding.
Stan was a star in his world of baseball and couldn’t accept that his time in that career might end. He was in a world of self pity. He was unable to see the stress in Mimi’s life as she had to hold everyone together.
Stan was a weak man with a large ego. He should have been able to move past this to support his family.
I want to have hope that professional sports offers counseling to players who are facing the reality of retiring or moving on from injuries. Stan was miserable and as a result he “infected” his family with misery. His mother didn’t help. She could have given him a kick in the behind! If the belief was so critical that the man provide for his family, then why didn’t his mom chide him???
Stan’s predicament felt realistic. Before his accident, he had a sense of who he was and his future. Afterward, he was dealing with physical limitations and grieving the loss of the life he expected to have. His struggle was about recovering, finding a new identity, and creating a purpose when his old one was no longer possible. His frustration, bitterness, and hopelessness seemed understandable, even when they affected the people around him. Change, acceptance, and possibilities were needed.
Moving past setbacks isn’t a single decision but a gradual process. Support from friends and family, accepting help, focusing on steps forward, and finding new goals can make a difference. While setbacks may remain part of the story, it doesn’t have to define the rest of someone’s life.
I agree that Stans ego was too big to allow him to see the bigger picture of what was happening at home with the bills and his family… I believe that it can happen after some type of life changing event, that is hard to move past how things were before, but I think most people could have seen the struggle that Mimi was having trying to hold things together and would have stepped out of their own self pity to try and help the situation. I had a hard time feeling empathy for Stan because I thought he was very hard on Mimi.
His accident was tragic resulting in his physical limitations and the fact that he would not be able to play ball again. Initially he held out hope then reality set in. He was depressed and wallowed in self pity. Understandable. But there comes a time when you have to brush of your knees, stand up and walk. He was unable to move on. He was unable to help himself let alone his family. I became more and more angry at him as time went on (too long) and his inability to do so. I wanted to confront him. To yell at him. To tell him to get himself together and move on. That’s me and not Mimi. That was not what women did then. Mimi sucked it up and dealt with his behavior. She dealt with it and found a way to move beyond it by accepting the clinic job.
Mimi was the strength of the family. I couldn’t understand why Stan didn’t feel a sense of shame after so many months of moaning and groaning. The male culture of the time would seem that the man would be the breadwinner, and yet, he didn’t even try.
All Stan could do is think of himself after his injury. He has a family to support, in the 30s it was the mans job to bring home a salary. He leaves it to his wife to worry about paying the bills. One would think after the refrigerator being recalled he would be concerned but not so. He could work with Leagues to see if he could be a trainer or couch. Becoming a sudden widow was life changing and I got on with life.
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