

Got together with some friends yesterday for a good-ole-fashioned pick-up game. As a kid, softball was one of my favorite things about summer. In organized ball, I played pitcher and 1st base. Our backyard was the neighborhood hotspot...we lived on a corner and were outside all the time. We played ball so often that we had built in dirt spots for each base (except 3rd base, which was the 'monkey tree'). Home plate was just a huge dirt patch, and while my dad kept a perfect lawn, he never complained. In fact, he was out there playing with us half the time. I LOVED IT.