My Sunday Feeling

The little guy likes to sit by his Dad's chair. He was sitting there in his school uniform when Igot there. He was eating ice cream and watching baseball. He loves his baseball. I went to the kitchen where his Mother was. I gave her a bottle of wine. She gave me a hug.

It had been a bad day for the little guy. Not everyone understands. So he was getting to have an ice cream and baseball night. Sounded like a plan to me. After all, most 5 year olds haven't made friends with whisky yet.

I sat down in Dad's chair. "Who's playing?" I asked.

" The Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers." he said. " They were tied 2 to 2 but the Detroit Tigers loaded the bases and knocked in 2 runs. They are winning 4-2"

Knocked 'em in? He sounds like a bad sportswriter. This is alarming.

" Knocked 'em in huh?" I asked.

" Uh-HUH" he said. "They knocked 'em in. And you know what?"

"No. What?"

"Tomorrow the Texas Rangers play the Angels. They play them 4 times. Then they play somebody else 3 times."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Dad made me a website. I can go look up the team's schedules."

Must be MLB.com. I was not so much impressed that he was able to harvest this info-after all he can read at a second grade level- as I was that he could regurgitate it. I mean, these are the Texas Rangers for chrissake. I guarandamntee you that he is the only person in Little Rock who has committed their schedule to memory.

But like I said, he likes baseball. There is something about the geometry of the game and its cadences , the importance of stats-some of the more rudimentary ones he has readily grasped-that he can readily wrap his mind around. Maybe this indicates an innate facility for numbers and mathematical relationships. It is not unheard of for people that are so inclined to gravitate to music. Maybe he will learn an instrument. After all, what are intervals but the mathematical relationships between the various notes?

Who knows with a little one of such tender years? Who can know what his tomorrow holds?

But that is tomorrow and tomorrow can fend for itself. The little guy reminded his Mother that the Cubs were on WGN and so we switched over. He then told me about the Cub's roster and their respective positions. He also advised me as to their whereabouts for the next week off the top of his head just as he had told me more about the Texas Rangers than I ever wanted to know earlier on.

It had been a bad day for the little guy. Not everyone understands. But at the precious age of 5, there's not much that can't be made better by the presence of your Mom and the certain knowledge that your big Dad will soon be sitting by your side in his big chair. Tomorrow can fend for itself. Because for now we are having an ice cream and baseball night. And that is hard to beat. Because everybody likes ice cream even if most folks would eschew the Gummi Bear garnish that the little guy seems to have acquired a taste for.

And because the little guy really, really, likes his baseball. And that is sufficient for today.











"