Always swing for the fences

Why do baseball movies bring men to tears? I have a theory. Baseball movies are about a man’s relationship with his dad, at least the good ones are. What guy doesn’t cry when Kevin Costner’s character in Field Of Dreams asks to play catch with his estranged father? I have seen that movie hundreds of times and every time I watch that scene, it’s like someone turns the faucet on. One time I was flipping through channels, came upon that scene and started crying as if by command. Sad I know. The Natural is another movie that tugs at my heartstrings. Man does Robert Redford have a sweet swing or what?

We spend our adolescent years emulating him, our teen years despising him and the rest of our lives trying to understand him. It’s complicated. Now that fatherhood is a few short weeks away for me, I am constantly evaluating the relationship I had with my father trying to sort what went right and what went wrong. Thankfully a lot more went right then wrong. He brought me up to be a man. Little league, Cub scout trips (he was the den leader) he taught me the value of being honest and always doing the right thing. Nobody is perfect but he got a lot right. Now I have to get things right with my own son and that’s a scary prospect. I think the goal is that someday my son will be watching Field of Dreams and start crying just like his dad does.

For all 10 people that stumble on this blog, it will be about more than just being a new dad. I will talk about politics, economics, real estate, books, and music. Of course there will always be posts about the trials and tribulations of being a new father.