“Hey Dad, can we play catch?”
It was Kaylea. She wanted a break from math homework. With the sun shining bright and storms coming tonight, I was perfectly content for a second game of catch. I can always fold laundry after the sun sets and the storms roll in. Besides, in a couple weeks, she’ll no longer be a junior in high school. And this time next year, she’ll be talking about her graduation party and collegiate plans, and I’m not quite ready for that. I don’t know that I’ll ever be ready for that.
“When did we first play catch?”
We first started playing catch when I coached Kaylea’s t-ball team in the League of Smiles at Cornerstone Church. Grant, Colten’s dad (Day #69), helped me coach. We didn’t really have any idea what we were doing, other than trying not to get hit by the bat once we placed the ball on the tee. I think we made it through the season injury free, which is t-ball success.
Kaylea’s always had a pretty good arm and solid hand-eye skills. Kaylea’s also been quite good at asking questions.
“How hard do you think I can throw?”
“How do you throw pop-ups like that?”
“How far can you throw the ball?”
“How far do you think I can throw it?”
I listened to her questions and laughed. At her age, I probably would’ve asked similar questions, trying to push myself to throw farther and faster. Today, I worked on my circle change, seeing just how slow I could throw it and still get it to her. Catch-playing from an endurance mindset.
When we got home, I checked in with the Royals. The Detroit Tigers seemed to score runs with ease. Disappointed, I logged into my email and spotted a message from Dwier Brown.
Dwier Brown is an actor. His big break came in the six minutes or so he’s on the screen in Field of Dreams.
I sent him an email the day of the screening at the Alamo telling him about playing catch and Miracle League and thanking him for his role in one of my favorite movies. Today, he replied.
Dear Ethan,
I’m sorry I didn’t respond in time for you to give my love to the audience at your Field of Dreams screening. I hope you raised a bunch of money for Miracle League. I was supposed to emcee the dedication of one of their new fields a few years ago but it got flooded just before the scheduled opening. It’s a great program.
I enjoyed reading your blog posts. Great writing! Congratulations on your continued success! Go the distance…
(It would be a lot easier to have a catch year round here in Southern California).
I don’t have plans to travel to Missouri any time soon but I will be at the Field of Dreams site in Dyersville, Iowa on September 2nd. That’s way more than halfway. I’m just sayin’…
On one of my first stops on my book tour, I participated in a Wounded Warriors softball game. I went to Kauffman Stadium that evening and fell in love with the Royals as they were trying to limp into the playoffs (most of the locals were sure they would implode in the final weeks).
Of course, they lost the Series that year but, the next year, I put this picture on my Facebook page and I’m sure it helped them bring home the Commissioner’s trophy (haha).
I wish you all the best in your continued journey to 365! It is a noble pursuit.
Your friend in the corn,
Dwier Brown aka John Kinsella
