Some things we never get over

Archive for Thursday, May 7, 2009

May 7, 2009

Some Things We Never Get Over

Today we went to Topeka to watch out grandson play baseball. He is 14, the team is called the Goosetown Reds, and they won first place in the tournament. Each player got individual trophies plus a great big trophy for the team. We joined the parents and players before the game with a “tailgate” picnic right next to an empty ball diamond and were having a great time when a man asked if they could use that diamond. We assured him that we were not using it so they proceeded to start practicing their slow pitch game.

I was so fascinated watching them as they were so close to my age, within 10 years or so, that I struck up a conversation with one of them. I told him that I played fast pitch ball about 50 years ago for a Lansing team. He said “put on your hitting shoes and come on out and join us.” As time went on they could see that I was just aching to get on the field so they handed me a bat. What a wonderful feeling that was. After years of not hitting, I was able to connect with a few. That meant so much to me that even though I am not a poet, I decided to write a poem about my experience. Here it is:

Fast Pitch to Slow Pitch Softball

Today I met a great new friend

Who knew me right away.

It was funny how he understood

How much I wanted to play

He asked me how old I was

And said I could hit a few

We are only doing this for fun

For me it’s nothing new.

This happened in Topeka today

On the diamond next to us.

Several seniors came to practice