My Favorite Things

2. Ice Cream and 1. Sometimes when I am stressed and feeling down, my oldest son will seek me out with a ball. He knows that my favorite thing -without exception, is playing catch. It relaxes me, gets me to the moment and out of the past or the future. There is (I'm making up all the following terms) casual catch, much as sitting and having a conversation, and task catch where we set a goal to toss back and forth 200 times without dropping the ball or piece of molded foil... And then there is catch in the wide open: in a park or field with room to run.

This year I had the most fun after one of Dexter's Little League games, the coaches and their sons stayed late to hit and field. I was out there running, rolling, flopping (not quite my younger seeking, gliding, getting) but it felt great. I was Wilie Mays at 78, or Omar Vizquel with a broken leg; limited but still having fun. Hit me fly balls on my birthday and my wishes are answered.

I hold the memories of playing catch with my father close to me. I remember waiting for Dad to ask after he came home from work. He would only do this sometimes but without having to talk, this was his way of staying connected. Even today with him nearing 90 and with restricted mobility, I kind of hope that he will ask again. I'll be ready.

My youngest is content with letting a soft ball plunk him in the bean, then laying out as a cartoon character but it's about the value of the ritual, and that's his ritual. I am thrilled when Maria wants in the game. Whenever the family goes on road trips, we pack a ball or two and if forgetting to do so look immediately to find one. It drives me nuts that some general stores do not stock balls!

Every year during the closing Steve Earle Saturday set at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, with the sun setting and the food booths shutting down, Dexter and I run and find open spaces to float a ball back and forth against the dark blue sky. This is heaven to me.