13...The Beginning

So I am finally going to write something. I have a lot to learn on the publishing side, but you can probably see that in the note about me. I'm sure I'll figure out paragraphs and such soon.

I LOVE BASEBALL! Although the NFL has taken over the country and seems to dominate the sports scene in the U.S., baseball is our national sport and still tops my list. The Canadians had this issue with lacrosse and hockey, although several years ago, hockey was added as a national sport there in an act of parliament.

Back to my initial thought... Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow, which happens to be Valentines Day. With all due respect to Gretchen French and Melinda Wallace from gradeschool in Augusta, BASEBALL was my first love. I remember playing in blue jeans and t-shirts on an old field at the end of second street. I had to convince my friend Tony that I needed to play shortstop in the "real games." I needed to be Dave Concepcion. We also played 2 against 2 in the back yard of an old church. Left Field was closed to make the game somewhat competitive and it may have taught us to hit the other way. We were about 6 years old, so this game wasn't that hard. I never felt more at home or more at peace than I did back in those days. As I grew up and moved back to the Dayton area, things continued to get more difficult at home, in school, in life. Baseball was always there, even if it was not as pure as those days in Augusta.

As you could guess, my favorite number is 13. Today is a Friday the 13th and baseball starts fresh tomorrow. I started blogging tonight because it seemed like the right time to do something new, something fresh. I will not post every day, but I hope to post a few times a week. Here's to the Reds having a successful season and for everyone to remember their own baseball or your own first love.