The Boys Played in Gym Shoes

 

 Driving down a winding road in a rural area where I live, I noticed a couple pairs of gym shoes dangling on an electrical wire. Kids without shoes will make some parents very angry. Does anybody have a forklift? 

The gym shoes are a reminder from pleasant memories in the past. As a blanket of snow covers our landscape it's hard to believe that there is anything like baseball, but there is.

The corner lot was paradise. Baseball was a passion. With nothing better to do with our spare time we gathered with friends and had fun.

There was nothing fancy about it. In blue jeans, sport shirt, and gym shoes, we played baseball. We improvised with cardboard bases, splintered bats, and tattered baseballs in the park. 

Following a baseball game we hustled over to Mike's Hot Dogs. Three blocks from Lincoln School we chained our bikes around some lamp post. Mike's had the best hot dogs in town. During lunch or after school it was our favorite hangout. 

Nestled between a bun a hot dog got smuggled with all the goodies–ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, and coleslaw. Coke and French Fries topped the lists. Talking with a mouth full was a big challenge. 

But it was winter and back to the reality of cold weather and snow. There was no way we could play baseball right now. Summer was a long way off, but there still was hope.

The ball traveled across the big room before making a cracking sound inside a baseball glove. Picking it out of a cozy spot which angered the ball, some nasty fingers returned the celebrity across the room in the opposite direction. Back and forth the ball went playing catch in the big school gym.

Like a row of dominos following a pattern, a dozen boys soon joined. No body wanted to be left out. Who says baseball is a summer sport? We must learn to improvise and satisfy our baseball appetite. 

Meanwhile, I satisfy my baseball appetite with stories from my newsletter. Join us and make your life so much brighter. https://aw1283c2.aweb.page/cornerlotsbaseball    

 

A Baseball is Like Gold

 

When I got up this morning I saw a blanket of snow on the ground. I suppose winter is here to stay. I've been waiting for summer ever since January 2nd, but it feels like it takes forever to get here. 

I'm a baseball fan. Looking at that little white ball with stitches on it like an appendix scar gets me excited for some baseball. 

A baseball is like a magic wand. In a baseball game it provides lots of action. People get excited following it all over the field during a game. At the end of a game some folks go home happy while others sad.

The pitcher stands on the pitcher's mound turning a ball around between his fingers behind his back until he has just the right pitch. Then, after going into a windup, he delivers the ball toward home plate. Fastball, curve ball, junk, or whatever, the batter is fooled and the fans love it. Munching on a hot dog and sipping some soda pop only adds frosting to the cake.

A bunt slowly rolls down the third base foul line and keeps the fans guessing. Finally it stops inches from the bag and the fans go crazy. 

The short stop makes his job look easy. Scooping up a fast moving grounder he flips to second where the fielder wheels around and throws to first beating the runner by an arm's length. Bingo! Double-play.Two out

A deep fly ball has the outfielder leaping the centerfield wall. A routine popup rest comfortably in another fielder's glove. The catcher flips off his mask, wheels around, and races toward the screen before play resumed.

The baseball was like a magic wand and everybody wanted to have one. Just look at all the people scrambling at a baseball game, fighting to get their hands on the celebrity. Get an autographed baseball and it's treated like gold. If you have one guard it with your life.

But it's winter outside and I have to wait just like everybody else. Meanwhile, I satisfy my baseball appetite with stories from my newsletter. Join us and make your life so much brighter. https://aw1283c2.aweb.page/cornerlotsbaseball