At some point tomorrow, sons and fathers will be gathering at Dodger Stadium to play a little catch on the Dodger playing field. It would be interesting to see the makeup of these partnerships.
Are they grown up sons trying to catch a little magic once again with their fathers? Are they young fathers trying to catch a little magic with their son? Do the young sons even care about baseball or are they just doing this to make their fathers happy?
What is it about a game of catch with your father that is so special? Having 4 brothers it wasn't easy for my Dad to make time just for me. I can only remember one time when we played catch by ourselves. It was usually a family affair as all of us played baseball all the time. Still that one time I can remember because it was before I could catch a baseball with any regularity and I was probably around 8. One of the balls hit me in the mouth which was a common occurance for me. When I was young, I think I had a split lip just about all the time. We would have the stubborn conflict where he'd show me how to hold the glove and then I'd do it the way I wanted to which would result in me not catching the ball correctly.
I won't be at Dodger Stadium playing catch with my father or with any children. For 47 years I've lived within 20 miles of my Dad but due to circumstance my parents moved to Ferndale two or is it now three years ago. He's started his fight against Prostate cancer and is 1/2 way into his treatment. The Dodgers started this day about 5 years ago when my father still lived in Burbank. I'm not sure my Dad could still play catch even 5 years ago but I wish we had given it a shot.
I've been an Uncle 10 times over and enjoyed all of my brothers children but it never worked out for me to be a father. Everyone assumes because I was a good Uncle that I'd have made a good father. I expect they are wrong but I'll keep those reasons to myself.
I do have only the greatest appreciation for fathers and mothers who are able to do it right. As someone once said anyone can father a child, but not everyone can be a father. Happy Fathers Day, you deserve it, and if your lucky, you'll be playing catch with your children at Dodger Stadium tomorrow.