Searching for a poem that Pete Rose recited at his father's funeral

August 28, 2013 7:27 AM

My mom has asked me to find a quote that she used to carry around with her after her mother died, but that she has recently lost. As she remembers it, it's something that Pete Rose recited when his father passed away. I've spent an hour searching for it, but my Google-fu appears to be weak today. Anybody have an inkling what she's looking for? My mom's question to me is inside.

Here's what mom emailed to me (between the sets of asterixes):
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I'm trying to find a poem that ends with the line:
"You miss them most when you hit the highs."
(referring to the fact that you miss your parents after they die, but particularly when you have good news or accomplishments that you would like to tell them about)

or close to that

I think Pete Rose recited it and cried when his father died. I carried the poem/quote around for a long time after Granny died but I can't find it now. I've searched the internet every way I know how and am finding nothing.
* * *
I've tried googling the whole quote, fragments of the quote, variations, info on the death of Pete Rose's dad, poetry databases...I'm coming up empty. Any thoughts? I want to help my mom! :(

posted by NewGear to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (3 answers total)

Is your mum sure it's Pete Rose? I ask because, according to this article, his dad died in 1970, 15 years before Rose broke Ty Cobb's record in 1985, and quite possibly before the time when a eulogy might be found on the internet.
posted by essexjan at 8:14 AM on August 28, 2013

I searched LexisNexis Academic, probably the largest commercial database with archival newspaper/media content (back to about 1980), for the phrases {Pete Rose} and {hit the high} and only found stuff that referred to his inability to hit high fastballs. A search for various versions of just the quote (i.e., {You miss them most when you hit}) came up with nothing. Sorry to have struck out!
posted by docgonzo at 8:56 AM on August 28, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks for the try, docgonzo! LexisNexis sounds like a great resource. Essexjan, you might be right, my mom might be remembering it a bit wonky. The search goes on...

(I feel bad not being able to just find this easily for her! It's her birthday!)

Maybe there's a better poetry database than the ones I've been using...
posted by NewGear at 12:02 PM on August 28, 2013