Danny and softball

Whenever I hear the phrase " The Boys Of Summer" I almost always think of my youngest child, Danny. Now of course Danny is not a child any more, at least not physically. He has competed in
Special Olympics since he was eight years old. He had a best friend whose name was Bryan. I believe they would still be friends if Bryan were still here. He passed away when the boys were in their early twenties. They really loved each other. They were brothers despite having different sets of parents! I remember attending their first Special Olympics competition in Oakland California. They were in the same heat for the 50 yard dash. The gun sounded and they were off running. Danny was way out in front and we all cheering, when suddenly, Danny looked back and saw Bryan pretty far behind. He stopped and cheered his friend/brother on. They crossed the finish line together. We could all learn from those two eight year old little boys.

Danny went on for many years swimming, running, bowling, competing in gymnastics. In his mid-teens he began playing softball and over time he gradually gave up the other sports and now plays softball with a group called Sporting Chance. The six weeks of play are somewhat stressful for him as they are often rained out. He is a regular and yes sometimes annoying weather man during the short six week season. He doesn't always play as well as he used to but wouldn't miss it for the world!

Now this week was so different. I have spent some quality time with him trying to convince him that he needed to keep both hands on the bat and follow through. Finally he seemed to understand and when he got up the first time (yes!) both hands on the bat and followed through. Base hit! In one hour he had two base hits resulting in two runs, as infielder he defended second base for two outs and caught a fly ball. Did I mention that he was so excited that he caught it with his bare hand? He did have a glove but forgot to put that hand up. He was so excited, he forgot how much it hurt and walked off the field shaking that hand and began laughing and laughing. He has got a lot of mileage out of his special "Day of Summer" this week. May your own Days of Summer be as much fun with far less humidity than my own and I hope you catch the fly ball of your choice.