Opening Day!

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play! Baseball starts today for most MLB teams. There is something about this day that has always been magical for me. Baseball to me is very comparable to the cycle of life and the seasons......Baseball starts in spring when there is a rebirth of everything beautiful like the flowers, the leaves on the trees, and everything else nature offers us. Baseball also ends in the fall, as everything starts to die and it starts to get cold outside.

I can remember being a kid in middle school and high school and smuggling a "Walkman" in my book bag to sneak a listen to what was going on with the Yankees on opening day...as the games usually started at 1pm when school was still a few hours away from ending. I can remember passing the word around that the Yanks were either winning or losing. It would spread like wildfire throughout the class and I'd keep the other kids posted on who was at bat, who was on base, and what was going on pitch by pitch.

I can also remember going to bed as a kid with a small handheld radio under my pillow. My parents were strict with bedtimes on school nights, but I'd always sneak that little radio and listen to the Yankee night games ever so quietly. I can remember wanting to cheer when a Yankee made a great play and yell out in anger if my Yanks were losing. But, I had to keep my little secret to myself or risk being cut off from that radio and those Yankees.

Yesterday as Tiny A., Bruce, and I walked the streets of Mineola after a great day outdoors, we passed a baseball field with kids playing. I heard the crack of the bat and told Tiny A what a great sound that is for me. I wanted to run on the field and grab a glove. All in due time, my first practice is on Thursday Night this week.

With the first pitch on it's way, Spring, and all the beauty it brings, is truly underway! Enjoy it, no matter what team you like!