Today, this baseball was in the back of a customer's pickup truck, under some big rocks.
While I loaded his order, I said, "Know where I can get any rocks?" He said, "You can have all of 'em! How about a baseball? There it is if you want it."
He saw me smile as I picked up the ball. The rocks stayed. I worked the ball with both hands, like I was sizing up the next batter before he steps into the box. I thanked him for the ball and said, "When I was your age, I could put one of these pretty much where I wanted to."
The ball felt good in my hand. The stitches were familiar as I followed them around with my thumb.
I felt like a winner, walking back inside. The day's good fortune, a pleasant distraction from my routine.
I wonder...
Where have you been?
The label on the ball was faded but readable:
"Rawlings FSR1NCAA"
On the other side, "SSA."
A google search later:
"FSR1NCAA" is a Flat Seam, premium grade baseball, sold by the dozens, for use in a college game or college tournament, including the College World Series.
I guessed that "SSA" is for Southern Athletic Association.
The University of the South at Sewanee, thirty miles away, is part of the Southern Athletic Association.
I imagine that's where this ball has been.
Was it a home run by a guy that already had twenty? Landing just beyond the eyes and reach of kids that go out and find them?
Might have been fouled up and over the backstop by a player that finally got his first college at bat. Then you have to wonder, did he strike out on the next pitch? Or make contact for a game winning RBI?
Maybe this ball was used to warm up a pitcher. Then, got by the catcher, to the back stop, only to be discarded by the home plate Umpire?
Maybe it never made it in the stadium. Maybe local kids ended up with it and played in their front yard, touching Maple trees for bases, and stepping on an old shingle to cross home plate.
Maybe one kid made the swing of a lifetime, and hit the ball into the field for a home run. When they didn't find it, a farmer picked it up days later, along with rocks, to clear the field for spring planting.
One thing I do know...
Where are you right now?
The ball rests on my desk here at work. We passed it around. Guys held it like they had one more curve or fastball ball to throw. We shared smiles, stories, and memories, as we handed it back and forth.
What if I hadn't made a joke about those rocks? If that baseball stayed in the back of that truck? It likely would have ended up in a ditch, never to be found.
My "Right Now" feeling is nostalgia, and quiet joy. It makes me smile just seeing that ball here. Its hard to explain that peaceful feeling to a person that didn't grow up with the game. I find myself picking it up and rolling it around in my hand. Good stress relief, and a real connection to the past.
Something I now think about...
Where are you going?
This baseball has potential. Maybe not for a college tournament game. But potential.
I'm not going to plan it out too much. But at some point in the next week or so, I will give this ball away.
To a kid that might play a game of catch with his friends in the front yard.
To a parent of one of my buddies that is no longer here, that I played baseball with years ago.
To a coach from years gone by because that person taught me fundamentals, and to love the game.
Maybe I'll give it to a stranger that just needs someone to be kind, and talk to them.
There are life questions that parallel today's find...
Where have you been?
We can't change where we have been. What we can do is own our bad behavior, and change our ways. We can ask for God's forgiveness for our sins.
God forgives us when we ask.
Where are you now?
We have a loving Father in Heaven that wants us on his Forever Team. Kind of like the old baseball, God says, "Here it is, do you want it?"
It's up to us to listen, say "Yes, " and pick it up and claim it as our own.
Where are you going?
Today's baseball reminds me, our good fortune is best when shared with others.
