Opening Day!

It has been a while since the last post.  Many of you few but faithful readers have asked what the deal is.  Well, I don't have a great reason other than to say I just wasn't feeling it for a while.  Work, life, life and life got in the way.  I have not been doing this for a while, but I got to a point, call it writers block if you will, but I just did not feel the creative juices that I felt when I started this.  No worries though, I did not dry up like a desert and the previous creativity was not a oasis never to be found again.  It was just a drought, and like my basement that was dry for most of the winter, the creativity is back, just like the water level in my basement.  This blog will continue to be the sump pump for me (sorry for the metaphor, the sump pump in the prison basement has been working overtime).

Opening day means a lot to baseball fans. At Garfield Prison, it has become a tradition to watch the game, have some hot dogs and popcorn and enjoy the game as a family.  It is probably the only game each year where all 5 of the prison's inhabitants will watch a full game together.  It is certainly the only game where everyone is excited to watch an entire game.

Aside from the start of baseball season, Opening Day represents so much more when you take a step back and analyze it. It is a signal of spring, even if Mother Nature isn't always a baseball fan. It is a fresh start. 162 games is a long season for sports, but each year, it starts over. Every team, every fan starts again on equal footing. 0-0. Everyone tied for first.  At the end of the game, half of the teams will be in first place, and the others will be a half game out of first.  The cream will start to rise to the top, but for right now, everything is equal and fresh.

Each year opening day means more and more. As the prisoners get older, their understanding of the game increases. The oldest two are playing t-ball and all have, so far, been in lock step with the Warden and the Guard in our love for our Phillies. #2 slept with his stuffed Phillie Phanatic. He named his newest stuffed animal Chase after his favorite player. #1 has her pink glove and spikes. Each batting lefty to the dismay of the warden, but each with a level swing and unexplored potential.

As a kid, baseball was Little League practice and games. Wiffle ball in the yard with the rules tweaked for wherever we were playing. Ball gloves strapped to our bikes. Baseball cards traded. Countless cards inserted into the spokes of our bikes. Hours of summer time spent playing baseball in one form or the other. 

As I got older, baseball meant less and less as life changed. It was always there, but it did take a back seat to life until it once again started to become an important aspect in life. But this is the great thing about baseball. The fresh start. It is always there. Always willing to accept you back, no questions asked. Come on in and sit back and enjoy the game. 

This year, the fresh start, the first indications of spring and the new beginning represents even more to the Guard.  #1 and #2 have started playing t-ball and they have embraced it with excitement.

To say the winter was difficult is an understatement. Many of the comical incidents have been chronicled in this blog but for this guard at least, the winter was a personal struggle. The details of which won't be discussed here, but it has become very evident that a change was needed.  The change needed is being addressed, and much like the fresh start of baseball with Opening Day,  a fresh start for the Guard is occurring as well.

So, Happy Opening Day!

Some of you will think watching baseball is like watching paint dry, but sometimes it is really kinda nice to step back, smell the roses (or the fresh cut grass, hot dogs grilling, popcorn popping and all the other smells of summer) and just watch the paint dry.

Let's PLAY BALL!