It Really is a Game

I spent the bulk of yesterday evening on the highways toward Los Angeles. A good friend of mine needed a ride to the airport and I agreed to take this good friend. Our location down here in Southern California is strategically tucked far away enough from most of the major airports yet closes enough to be able to get the best available fare. I have always lived within 30 minutes of a major airport until moving to California in 2001 and for the most part this isn’t so bad. I have been fortunate enough to have a job close by the area and not having any need for the airports other than the occasional visitor. I don’t mind taking the trips to the various airports and yesterday evening that trip didn’t go so bad.

This particular airport is about 90 miles away and I guess everything can be put into perspective because when we used to live in New Jersey this would equate to flying out of Philadelphia. Interestingly enough back when we lived in New Jersey this was never an option and we would always concentrate on the nearby airports. Even the airports closer than 90 miles weren’t considered because they were “over the bridge” in New York which seemed to be off limits. Now the perspective has changed so driving 90 miles to the airport is really no big deal and last night it was no big deal.

My friend was taking a quick trip to the east coast and would return in two days. It does seem like a long way to go for such a short time but who I am to argue. I took my friend to the airport and fortunately it was non-rush hour so the trip was limited to 90 minutes. I have taken this trip in the past and it has taken over 3 hours at other times so everything worked out well. I returned home at a reasonable hour and went to sleep.

This was one of those mornings where I had a few things to do before venturing to the gym and my phone seemed to be ringing constantly. This is a good sign because I am starting to get into a “groove” with my new position. It really is all about me making things happen and fortunately I do have a great supporting staff so I have something to fall back on; however; it is me that either makes things happen or doesn’t make things happen. I am in the making things happen category this week and today was yet another good day.

The day took its course and it was time for the weekly sales meeting. I couldn’t stay for the entire meeting because my son had a baseball game. It is my priority to be at every son’s and daughter’s game and today was no exception. I gracefully excused myself from the meeting and headed off to the baseball field. As it turns out my home office is only two blocks away from the baseball field so I was at the field in no time. I even had time to change into my “coaching garb” (shorts an Angels shirt) and today I was even given a complimentary Angels hat for my service as coach. This is all working out very nicely and my son along with his team had another great game.

My son once again went 3 for 4 with three singles, one run scored and one run batted in. His only out was a strikeout and really if any of the players puts the ball in play they will reach base. The majority of outs come by the way of strikeouts but there were a few putouts during the game. My son played right field, third base and catcher. He had a tough inning at third base making a few errors and one of the high pops hit his arm which caused him to cry. He was able to shake it off and I think he was more hurt by not making the play rather than the impact of the baseball on his forearm. After a few tears and my consoling him he was right back in the game and made the ending inning out.

This is a non-competitive venture during the spring and no one is “supposed” to keep score yet each team has an “official” scorekeeper. I don’t understand but the non-competitive unofficial score had my son’s team ahead 12 to 10. The rules are very good for this age group and the game moves along quickly. These games can only last one hour and forty-five minutes by rule and the first two games have been complete in an hour and a half. The key is to teach the kids the fundamentals and some kids understand more than others. An example of this would be one of our players running past second base not knowing he had to stay on the base. We do have a great deal of work to do in the base running department but it is very cute seeing these little guys run the bases without much of a clue.

This was yet another great day and the type of day I had yearned for as I served my sentence. I had to smile during the game because it really is all about having fun. I am sure the competition will commence shortly for my son as the game of baseball gets more serious but hopefully my son will understand it is a game and outside of a life and death situation he will take it for what it is worth. He is having fun even as the ball bounced off his forearm; he didn’t want to come off of that field which I took as a very good sign.