In the summer of 1977, I played Little League baseball, a season that left me with fond, if vague, memories. I remember the names and faces of my childhood friends. Though I'm not close with any of them, I occasionally run into one of them. In the team picture, I'm in the second row, second from the left. The guy to the left of me and I cross paths every now and then; we're both friends of Bill W. When we meet, we reminisce about childhood days. The rest of my teammates are just memories. If I hear their names, I can picture them as they were in the photo.
The biggest thing about that year is the trophy I’m holding in the picture. It was my first and only trophy, and it held significant sentimental value. I kept it until I moved back to Oconomowoc from Ashland in 1986. Seeing this picture, I realize I am a two-time Little League Champion, Oconomowoc in 1977 and Ashland in 1978!
The memory that stands out from the summer involves a particular game where I was playing right field. Back then, right field was often reserved for the players who weren't considered very good, terrible really, I lived up to the expectation. I would pick dandelions, put my glove on my head, and often felt unsure of what to do when the ball came my way. Sometimes, I just waited for the second baseman to run out and get the ball from me.
That game my dad was watching, but he had a softball game and had to leave early. I started to cry because I wanted to go with him to be the bat boy. He stayed and ended up being late for his game. I got to be the bat boy, and he played catcher, I think in softball they said the same thing about catcher as they did about right fielders in Little League. That’s the only memory I recall from that summer and baseball, it was a small seed in my journey.
My childhood was marked by frequent moves and a lot of starting and stopping at different schools. In 1975, I started 3rd grade at Greenland Elementary, but then my family moved to San Jose for my dad's job, which led me to spend part of the school year at Stipe School in San Jose. After six months, we moved back to Oconomowoc, where I finished third grade at Greenland. My fourth-grade year (76-77) began at Dousman Elementary, a town 5 miles from Oconomowoc, we moved back to Oconomowoc later that school year, and I again finished at Greenland. I started fifth grade (77-78) at Greenland but moved to Ashland and completed the year at Beaser Elementary.
Even though I have vague memories I recall my childhood (Oconomowoc, San Jose, Dousman) as pretty carefree, we ran around the neighborhood, built forts, stole candy, played with snakes and would just show up at friends’ houses, when we heard our moms calling us home for dinner, we would ignore the call and keep playing, deciding a hot baloney sandwich was better late than the casserole Mom made.