That one summer night

That One summer night

This story is a simple one, a dad and his young son jump in the car and head to the nearest ballpark. The young boy throws his glove in the back seat and tosses on his favorite jersey and ball cap. The car ride is full of impatience and excitement. The closer they get to the city, the more and more they can see the city’s skyline. The boy moves around in his seat to get a better view of the big buildings, something he doesn’t see often in their small mid-western town.

They finally get into a parking lot after waiting to move up the line in traffic. As the son steps out of the car and drags his glove with him. The boy is wide eyed as he stares at the stadium’s bright lights, the large structure makes him take a step back before his dad puts his hand on his back. As the boy looks at his dad all he sees is a smile staring back at him, the same look the dad was given by his dad when he was the same age of his son.

As the father and son walk into the ballpark and scan their tickets the boy immediately spots the mascot and the ice cream stand, the two most important things at a ballpark. As he drags his dad towards the ice cream stand the son stops in his tracks and stares off into the distance. The bright green of the outfield caught his attention, it was the view of the skyline that took his breath away. A view that the young boy never knew existed until this very moment.

As they take their seats the smell of popcorn and hot dogs rush by the son’s nose as the crack of the bat, the sound of the ball hitting the mitt pounds the ear drums of everyone in the stadium. After every pitch the son is amazed over the game, like every pitch is the greatest he has ever seen.

Each moment is savored between the father and son, every foul ball, every homerun, even the number of hotdogs and peanuts consumed within one inning. It’s the purity of the game, the youthfulness that fills the stadiums after every hit.

The seventh inning stretch, and the mascot race is always a plus, nothing beats the beautiful game that is being played on the field. The cheers for every hit by the home team and every boo for the runs scored by the away team. It echo’s out of the stadium and onto the streets as the people walking by can hear the fans from inside clearly.

The final pitch is thrown, the fans cheer as the home team celebrates the series win. The young boy has a big smile on his face as they walk out of the stadium to the parking lots. As they get in the car and head home, the son falls asleep in the back seat.

The dad adjusts the mirror to see his son asleep, ballcap over his eyes and his glove in his lap with his head on the window. The dad moves the mirror back with a smile on his face knowing he made his son a baseball fan for life.

Happy Father’s Day