Where Are They Now – Sidd Finch

He’s 52 now.

The hair is thinner and the waist a bit wider, but he can still get into the lotus position with ease.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”

He goes by simply Hayden now, his actual given name. “Too many people knew of ‘Sidd’ after Mr. Plimpton wrote that article. I still honor my beliefs, but I had to change back to my given name. After all solitude is happiness for one who is content.”

He never did pursue that baseball career. “Baseball in its purest form is still a wonderous heavenly melding of movement and spirituality, however professional baseball takes the purity away from the action.”

“I would have stayed with the Mets but they wanted to give me money for pitching, they told me I would have to take money because the union said so,” Hayden reflected wistfully as he looked out over the trees from his cabin just outside Hinton, Alberta.

“I did not want the money – it was about the purity. If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him – if he has conquered greed, nothing can limit his freedom.” He shakes his head and raises the horn to his mouth.

He has not picked up a baseball since the day he left Florida. When Hayden decided that baseball was not his path, he decided to focus on the French Horn. His fame prevented him from playing with any of the major philharmonics, but that did not deter Hayden. He has played in small cities and towns across the globe.

Five years ago he played his horn at the Hinton Fohn Festival when he says he was “overcome with the power of the spirit.”

Hinton lies on the edge of Jaspar National Park – and whether it is the mountains, the trees, or the cool, crisp air, Hayden found the accoustics in Hinton perfect. “This is what I had been looking for over many years, after all perfection is only attained by slow degrees, it requires the hands of time.”

He has no TV, no radio, and no computer. He has his French Horn and he has the world. That is all Hayden (Sidd) Finch needs or wants now.

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