Is it a full moon? It's snowing out, I can't tell. Anyway, all these coincidences and signs are happening, like the guy at the bookstore yesterday.

I was thinking about writing a post about baseball fans being big kids, and today, on my page-a-day calendar called Moving Forward, Keeping Still (which Lys' mom got for me for Christmas) (and which doesn't give moon phases), the quote is this:

"It takes a very long time to become young." -Pablo Picaso

So here's what I was gonna say about that...

Last season, Pat and I went to Baltimore to see two Sox games, and before one of 'em, we were along the fence during batting practice, and Papa Jack flipped a ball our way. I could see it was headed right for Pat, so rather than try to battle it out with him, and possibly deflect it to someone else, I figured if I step aside and let him get it, at least "we" as an entity would end up with the ball for sure, and I'd be happy for him and yadda yadda yadda. So he caught the ball, and, y'know, it was cool and everything, but before we could start to examine the treasure, we noticed Papa Jack staring at us, quite menacingly, pointing his bat toward a nearby little kid. Pat knew what that meant and immediately gave up the ball.

I know players and coaches want to be nice and give balls to kids, and that there are SOME people who stand around during BP who wouldn't appreciate a Major League baseball nearly as much as a youngster, but you know what? If we adults are standing around for hours, desperately trying to get our hands on a little rawhide sphere from grown men playing a game in a park, then I say we've earned "kid" status!

I can't help it if my body grows physically larger as I age! I'm a kid and I want that ball, dammit!

Baseball players need to learn that all baseball fans are kids.

All right, maybe the little ones should have a fair chance. I'm sorry. I'm just still bitter about the time when my friend got a ball once because his dad elbowed a baby to get it, then gave it to the baby's dad to be nice, but got it back because the baby's dad said to just take it, the kid's too young to know anyway. So he gave it to his own son, my friend. Terrible job. Jim Rice hit that ball and my friend is a y*nkee fan. No fair.