Haven't got sense enough to . . .

"The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has
rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard,
rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this
game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what
could be again."

That's beautiful, Mr. Jones, but may I counter your oft quoted soliloquy with another gem from baseball cinema . . .

"A good friend of mine used to say, 'This is a very simple game. You throw the
ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you
lose, sometimes it rains.' Think about that for a while."

People know I love baseball. One thing that keeps me sane in small-town church life is that there is a "field of dreams" of sorts right here in Allendale. The local junior college USC-Salkehatchie has a team, and when they play, I am there. No, the diamond is not carved out of a corn field, but it occupies space near pine woods that border the old airport.

The line from the Bull Durham quote that has been resonating with me is "sometimes it rains". We have had some nice downpours here in the last two weeks. It didn't rain on gamedays, but it rained so much on the days before that the games were cancelled or moved to the other school because the field flooded.

Let me be clear, I am not complaining about rain. We need it down here. I love baseball, but I also love peaches (Hear me, frost, you are not welcome here 'til October!).

Yesterday evening's game was scheduled for 5 PM. Walking out to the car, I noticed a few drops on the windshield. The game went on amid off and on light showers. I stayed for the whole thing and was treated to a 9th inning rally by the home team to win the game. I probably will have a cold, or pneumonia, or tuberculosis, but today I'm happy!