First Sign of Summer

Traffic was getting thicker. Car horns were going off all over the place. The doors to the restaurants along the way had people spilling out into the streets. There was a sea of smiles, a wave of laughter moving down the street toward the ballpark. As we neared the parking area, it felt as though we were just another cow being herded toward the slaughter house. Finally, we found a parking spot and headed toward the park. I could feel the electricity in the air. The sea of people headed toward the turnstiles into the park. As I stepped through the turnstile, I felt that I was stepping into a different world. As I was walked toward the field, the air was filled with the smell of buttered popcorn and hotdogs on the grill. These are the smells that remind me that baseball is finally here. I walked under the archway to the field. My world opened up when I saw the dark green field and the brick red pitcher’s mound. I took a deep breath and smelled the sweet scent of fresh cut grass. The base lines marked the perfectly shaped diamond. The grounds crew had delicately raked all the signs of human touch away from the pitcher’s mound.

I found my seat and watched as people filed into the park. There were a lot of empty seats yet, but it was still early and the game wouldn’t start for another half hour or so. Dad asked me if I wanted to go and get a hotdog and soda. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into the hot juicy ballpark frank. One bite and all my senses were aware of my surroundings. The atmosphere at the park adds an element to the hot dog that you just can’t find anywhere else. We ordered our foot-long hotdogs that had been browning on the rotisserie. The server took his silver tongs, grabbed a dog and placed it in the fresh bun. He handed us our dogs then proceeded to get our drinks. We moved to the condiment bar and fixed our dogs just the way we like them. Dad likes to put a lot of onions on his. Mom’s not crazy about that, but I don’t mind. I’m not the one that has to kiss him. I like mine with the sweet taste of ketchup and tang of mustard. Mom adds onions to her dog this time so she can give Dad back his taste of onions. Gross!

We made our way back to our seats to eat and take in the sights. The game is about to start. I can now see the players moving around in the dugout. The announcer bellows over the intercom and announces the teams. As they come out of their dugouts onto the field, the crowd is on their feet clapping. I can feel the excitement building in my stomach. The game is a roller coaster. The teams taking turns being the lead of the game. Swish goes the bat as the crowd groan. Crack goes the bat and the crowd cheers as the ball goes out of the park. The seventh inning stretch brought everyone to their feet, raising their hands in the air and singing at the top of their lungs. At that point it didn’t matter what the score was, everyone was too busy smiling and singing. It took twenty-six out of twenty-seven outs until our team reigned victorious. The rows worked their way to join the river of spectators leaving the park. The river flowed up stream and widened toward the exit signs. The crowd was full of smiles and laughter.

The end to a perfect night and the perfect first sign of summer. I could only smile and know that I couldn’t have asked for a better time.