Navigation
| Current weather conditions |
 |
Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
It’s chilly, the air is fresh and the one thing that proves that spring has arrived finally shows up to greet our smiling faces. Opening day!
I’m a fan of baseball. You know...Mom, Apple Pie, the Flag. All those great things that are truly American. But there is nothing quite like the feeling of sitting in a ballpark and watching the boys of summer commence with America’s favorite pastime. And I’ll defy anyone to say that soccer is the new baseball.
Do you remember the first time you went to the ballpark. The excitement that came with the first pitch, your first attempt to catch a foul ball, the first time you heard the call coming from up the row “Peanuts, Hot Dogs..Coolllddd Beer”? Perhaps your Dad took you to a game and taught you the finer points of scoring, keeping track of pitches and watching the runner lead off first. Yes, a trip to the ball park taught you about stealing home, the hit and run and when was a good time to bunt. Important life lessons if you ask me.
We learned to scratch and spit. To know the difference between a split fingered fastball and a slider. To lean towards third ourselves, hoping our first baseman could stretch out enough to catch that double play ball and to boo the umpire when we knew our man had slid in safe under the tag. We know the joy of a home run in the bottom of the 9th and the sorrow of Casey striking out. We can sing and know all the words to “Take me out to the ball game” and we certainly know what happens at every ball park at the end of the 7th inning.
So we lead off another year, another chapter in the life of youngsters and old men alike. Those annual trips to see games, to feel the same excitement we had as children, to sneak off from work to catch an afternoon game and cheer for our team.
Of course, if you like me are a Cubs fan, you haven’t quite answered yourself but in the back of your mind you wonder two things. 1). If Cards fans will ever stop giving you grief and 2). if it’s too early to say “There’s always next year”.
See you next week, remember… we’re all in this together.