March 26 – “Opening Day”

Opening Day.  just hearing the words brings excitement to the heart and chills to the spine.  There’s nothing quite like the very first time, the new start, the butterflies in the stomach.  Baseball.  Gotta love it.  Well, I do, anyway.  And there is nothing quite like Opening Day for Little League baseball in Small Town, America.  That’s where we spent yesterday.  Hitchcock, Texas.  Little League Opening Day festivities. 

The day began with a parade.  Yes, the whole town turns out for this one.  All of the volunteer fire vehicles lead the way.  Well, following a police car lead vehicle, of course.  The mayor turned out.  After all, it is an election year in Hitchcock.  And each of the 22 teams in the league followed in floats they had decorated, usually somebody’s old trailer they used to haul hay.  The kids proudly wore their crisp, new uniforms and tossed candy to the spectators along the parade route.  Chris and I took up our position at the last driveway before the end of the parade.  I think the kids realized we were the end of the line, because we were inundated with candy.  There was so much on the ground around us that I began to toss some back to the kids.  I had on a pair of those shorts with regular pockets and one of those big square pockets on each side.  By the time we walked back to the fields, my pockets were bulging with candy we garnered from the ground.  Oh, we won’t eat it all.  I was just going for granddad of the year.  And part of that title entails having a full array of candies available. 

Opening ceremonies were treated with all the pomp and circumstance you might expect from a major league franchise.  All the kids lined up on the field for team introductions.  The Hitchcock Volunteer Fire Department Honor Guard presented colors.  A taped voice sang an interesting rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.  The kiddos recited the Little League pledge.  There was even an opening prayer from one of the coaches.  After the ceremonies the games opened, the most popular of which was the ring toss around the 2-liter bottles of soda.  Micah captured four bottles.  Jachin stopped at two.  They also had a silent auction, with each team donating a basket of some kind. 

The games themselves were designated as exhibitions.  None of the results counted toward the standings.  The idea there was to let the kids get their first game jitters out of the way with less stress.  It also made the day more of a fun one, rather than a beginning of the inevitable harsh competition that is to come.  Josiah held his own at first base, making several putouts.  He also hit a nice single down the third base line.  Micah played center field for his team.  He didn’t have any fielding chances, but he did get on base both times he batted.  In fact he was the potential winning run at first base when the final out was made.  Exciting games.  Proud of those boys.  Jachin’s ganes don’t start for another few weeks.  

It was a full and exhausting day for these grandparents.  We snuck in a trip to Home Depot between games to pick up some outdoor electrical outlet covers and some rocks to put under the outdoor section of chimney in the back yard (That was my last chore of the day when we got back home.  Chris went to WalMart to get some goodies for the baptism party today while I worked).  Oh, and I almost forgot.  On the way home we saw something neither of us can ever recall seeing.  About halfway up the causeway heading back into Galveston, we saw, parked on the side of the road … an exercise bike.  No rider, though.  Just the abandoned bike.  Guess the poor guy just couldn’t make it any farther.  Gotta admit, though, he got a lot farther than I would have.

2 Timothy 2:13 says, “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”

Father, would you make it possible for those youngsters involved with Little League to be happy?  Thank you.  Amen.