Lifelong Major Bucket List Item — checked!

   This week I was able to fulfill a major lifelong bucket list item. Kathy and I drove to Cooperstown, NY to go to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. A love of baseball was passed to me from my dad, grandfathers, and my older brother, Kent. Baseball is a family thing for me.

   I played a lot of pitch and catch with Dad, but more so with Kent. He and I spent many hours, probably hundreds,  passing old, taped up baseballs back and forth. The thought of buying a new baseball never seemed like a possibility. I also loved passing the ball with my boys. Playing pass is a human connecting activity. I also played a lot of wiffle ball with my kids, my brother, Doug, and my sister, Kim. I miss it all.

   So here are my favorite parts of spending a day at the Baseball Hall of Fame:

• Feelings of love for my family that were pervasive all day—and since.

• The artifacts: balls, bats, gloves, uniforms, and other gear used by the greatest players in their greatest moments—Babe Ruth’s 60th homerun ball and bat, George Brett’s pine tar bat that caused the umpire to disallow his homerun, Hank Aaron’s locker and gear from the day he broke Babe Ruth’s lifetime homerun record, and many more.

• The twenty minute movie they show in the theatre about the generations of baseball connections.

• The Buck O’Neil room and statue. Buck starred in the Kansas City Monarchs championship Negro League team. He also was the first black coach in the major leagues—the Cubs. Buck is the heart of the multi-episode documentary Ken Burns Baseball. Kathy and I were lucky to have him give us a tour of the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City a few years ago. What a great storyteller he was. The HofF gives an award in Buck’s name every three years to a person who has been a great ambassador to the game of baseball. He was the first recipient of the award.

   I hope to go back to Cooperstown at the end of our mission in September. Hey Kent, want to join me?