Friday Night Lights

Special treat for the boys tonight, we played under the lights like big leaguers. They played really well and it was a good time for all. A couple of impressions…

…Under the lights, a ball field takes on an almost surreal quality. The colors are brighter, the grass seems greener and it doesn’t feel like any of it belongs in this world…it feels too perfect.

…I’ve eaten at some of the best restaurants in this country and overseas. I’ve had some of the best steak, lobster and escargot that anyone could ask for and I’ve loved all of it. … Still, I don’t know that there’s anything I’d rather have than a kraut dog at a ball park!

…There’s that special time before the game begins, when anything is possible. I sat and watched the 1^st pitcher warming up. As the ball would smack into the catcher’s mitt, a cloud of dust would come off the back of the glove, caught by the lights above. The sound and the sight was enough to completely take me away and I was totally happy!

A note – One of our boys, who usually spends the game picking daisies in the outfield had a special connection to the park where we played tonight. The field had been named in memory of his uncle, a fallen local police officer. We had the game well in hand by the last inning so we decided to let him take the mound. He stepped up and made the last out of the game (a strike out) and was awarded the game ball from the team. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a better expression of pure joy than what he had on his face as we slowly left the field.

I wait for a better place.., I wait to move on from here…but occasionally this world shows me enough joy and beauty to let me know that there’s no rush and that plenty of happiness surrounds us every day…it was a good night tonight.