Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

I was talking to a high school class last week and a student asked why Charles Bender was such a fascinating subject. There are many reasons. One that came immediately to mind: He was such an interesting human being. Bender had a rare ability to throw a ball. His story was and remains an inspiration. His success was so improbable. All that. Yes. But he was also a unique human being. Always learning. Always doing something — and usually doing that something extremely well.

Bender was a ballplayer, a trapshooter, a sportsman, a golfer, a teacher, a speaker, a salesman. He was also painter. I don’t go much into the topic in the book but during his post-major league years Bender’s artwork was good enough to sell.

I thought about that after I heard from another kind member of the extended Bender clan. That person, Jenny Floravita, is a professional artist. Ms. Floravita (the included oil canvas is one of her works) told me she was never sure where her passion for painting came from, but now wonders whether she has another connection to her famous relative.

Ms. Floravita was gracious enough to allow me to share part of her note:

I am not a sports fan but am so touched [by your book], as the “Chief” was my grandfather’s uncle. My grandfather, Charles Roosevelt Bender, was also named after him. I’ve cherished a few photocopies of pictures, like the one the cover and one similar to pages 47, 84. I’ve seen them daily for over a decade and my mother has had one framed in a hutch since I was a child. My grandfather wasn’t much for words and didn’t speak of his family back in Pennsylvania but the “Chief” was someone he was proud of. That, I know for sure.

And though I was born a quarter century after this man passed, I feel a very deep connection because all I have to do is look at the pictures and see my own relative. That and I know how the Benders are. My grandfather was a spitting image of this man, especially as a younger man. It’s uncanny. He had slightly fairer skin but all of the features are the same. I once read that he was very stoic and I know exactly what that means as it’s the way I would describe my grandfather, who also came from Pennsylvania and was the oldest of many children. Yes, stoic. And there is nothing historical that my family has to offer but I can tell you that this book cannot possibly mean as much to others as it means to us.

My grandfather is no longer with us and while he was alive, he didn’t speak of his family and in my youth I didn’t think to ask. This gives me a more complete view to a person that holds a special place in my family’s thoughts. And I am touched that now a new generation of sports fans can see how important to baseball this man was despite the odds of his heritage.

Thank you, Ms. Floravita. Check out her blog for more impressive samples.

This post was added on Saturday, May 31, 2008 by Tom Swift at 14:33 and is filed under Albert, Reading Material.