The Countdown is On!

It will not be long . . .

Countdown To Start of Practice

Countdown To First Pitch

 

I Love It!!!!

 

Mincmi is so good........Braves, why can't you be this creative?

 

Braves is

when his crayons are sharp.

 

You may try to discredit my creativity, but at least........I stay in between the lines while coloring

 

Is there fishing involved?

 

I can't color. So you are one up.

 

but you still have to outline everything first

 

While I admit that is true, my specialty is the connect the dots:

 

The cycle of life is not the same for everyone.

There are those that subscribe to the Gregorian calendar with the new year beginning on January 1st and the obligatory resolutions, followed by the annual holiday schedule. Some mark the years as they pass by birthday celebrations, especially the milestone years. Yet others are still tied to the school calendar that was ingrained into them during their youth. Fall means it is time to buckle down and get on with the business at hand. Christmas and Easter are times for a break in the daily schedule, while summertime it is free and easy. But to a handful, there is a fourth most special “calendar”, the calendar of baseball.

“Opening Day” marks the New Year, with all its hope and optimism. Everyone has a dream as this year maybe the year. In a game of failure, where the best hitters fall short more than half the time, even at the high school level, no one has a loss; booted a ball; or struck out.

Early season is approached without distress or anguish. Late season games can make even the most seasoned fan queasy when the intensity continues to climb with every game, inning and pitch as a push for a conference title or state playoff victory is mounted. But on opening day, none of that applies. It is a time of renewal, of grace, and of celebration all wrapped into one, like having Easter, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July all at the same time.

The first days of the season can be a struggle as winter sometimes likes to remind you. Nevertheless, opening day also signals that the days are growing longer. Soon daylight stretches beyond the workday. It is a sign that the warm summer nights are not far away, as are the scorching days at the ball park.

Youth is served once again on opening day. It does not matter your age, for come opening day, everyone from 10-70 are sure they can step into the box and rap out a few blue darters even against the best heat.

Soon box scores will make their appearance in the local papers and TBR and the lines will be drawn with wins, losses and rankings. But deeper into the boxes, the theater of the mind takes over, as the swinging bunt dribbler that drives in the winning run looks like a Roy Hobbs gapper.

Opening day is a sensual treat. The sight of the diamond freshly striped up with crisp straight chalk lines and the rye grass gleaming in its alternate shades of green. The field has not looked so good since last year. New unies are displayed for the first time, with the players’ shoes shinning with a fresh coat of polish. You stand a little taller, a little prouder when you hear the National Anthem for the first time of the season. The chatter in the stands is brisk as you meet with old friends: some on your side, some now opponents. The pop of the glove, the crack of the bat seem to welcome you. The cheers for the first hits and/or strike outs may not be as loud as those to come in the playoffs, but the passions are heard and felt. Excitement begins and is experienced long before the first pitch. The smell of the ball park envelops you: the popcorn, the fresh cut grass, the crisp clean air. The hotdogs always taste better at a baseball game, just ask Braves.

And for those whose of us who are waiting for the “final month of the calendar” to turn the page, it is worst than waiting for Christmas. Don’t you wish you could open one package early?

I guess a fishing trip would pass the time until Opening Day.