hey batter, batter, batter....

...so, i'm writing this in response to brain's blogpost about childhood sportsmanship and athleticism (and in both our cases, lack thereof).

my mom recently told me that during my tenure as a tee-ball player, albeit brief, i made an extremely memorable play while in right field... i screamed "I FOUND A QUARTER!" this caused quite a scene: all teammates from both teams to left their positions, dropped their bats and gloves and ran into outfield and to see my discovery. my mom said it was if they had never seen a quarter before... like i might as well have screamed, "I FOUND A WOOLLY MAMMOTH!" or "I FOUND A CIVIL WAR MUSKET!" or "I FOUND AN EXTREMELY UNIQUE BLADE GRASS!"

automatically from this story, it is clear that i am extremely unathletic... i should have been watching the ball. i took the path less traveled: kicking the dirt up, twirling in circles, and, more than likely, rhythmically reciting my multiplication tables. to the dismay of any future athletic aspirations, this behavior was extremely rewarded: while others came to gawk and stare, that quarter went home with me.

the lesson we've learned here is that children's sports DO holistically develop our youth and teach life lessons. for instance, i learned that if i yell something, people come running and i can cause a scene. while my sports career was short lived, the repetition of this behavior has caused endless stories of outrageous fun.