DEAR MOM

When I was 13, I was very small for my age. Only Brandon Ewing was smaller than I was. And what was worse, I had a very sensitive stomach and couldn't eat most foods. And so I think my mom was worried for me that I wouldn't grow up and be a strong, tough man like my dad. I got picked on a lot mostly because I was a smart ass and had a mouth on me and wasn't afraid of making the bigger guys feel stupid, even if they beat the crap out of me afterward. I played baseball and so did my older brother but we were on different teams. I played with the 13 year-olds and him with the fourteen and fifteens. Well one day they were short one player and were going to have to forfeit. I was there with my glove of course, as always. So they gave me a jersey that was way too big for me and put me on 2nd base and batting last in the lineup. My brother was at shortstop as usual and he was very good. By the third inning all of our batters had been struck out, 3 at a time, and I was to be the last out. As I walked up to the plate the crowd began to laugh because I was so small, especially compared to the other kids, and the baggy uniform only made it worse. The first pitch came, I had never seen anything that fast before and I jumped back. And they laughed again. The second one came exactly the same. I couldn't believe it. I stepped out of the batter's box and looked up at my mom. She was standing with her hands on her mouth. I heard her say, "C'mon Jamie, you're not going to hit anything if you don't swing the bat." I looked down the 3rd base line at the coach. He gave me a couple claps, not expecting much, and I stepped back into the box. The 3rd pitch came just like the other two and I took a swing and smashed the ball over the right fielder's head. A stand-up double. I looked back at the stands and my mom was jumping up and down and clapping. She was so excited. And for a minute I thought maybe she wouldn't worry about me so much.

 Mom on the left and my brothers and I wearing our baseball team jackets (I'm giving the thumbs up).