Deja vu In Stereo

Talk about déjà vu in stereo! On the one hand I'm reading The Day I Hit a Home Run at Great American Ball Park and on the other I am reliving memories of my sandlot baseball days in junior high on the heavily-treed school yard lot. I had intended to scan the book to see if my nephew would enjoy Paul Mullen's book but got so enthralled with my own days on the diamond that I finished the book before reaching for my now-cold coffee.I love the special sandlot rules - into the woods in left field is an out, over Stover's fence a home run, into Stover's pool a two-run homer. On my school yard ball field there was a large oak tree immediately foul of first-base. If the ball bounced off the tree in fair it was playable; otherwise foul. If the ball was hit high into the tree and started ricocheting from left to right on the way down you could make a last minute leap for an out. And we didn't play barefoot because stomping down on an acorn could be painful.Mullen's colorful descriptive language produced other instant memories - like when he describes his father's Old Spice cologne as smelling like "vanilla cream coffee." And in this day of wild-eyed hockey moms and fanatic Little League parents it was refreshing to hear Dad whispers to Michael, "Don't worry son. Whatever happens, you're still my boy."What a wonderful story and delightful read. This is a story not only about baseball and youthful dreams but about character and how to live life without regrets. And, oh yes, my nephew enjoyed The Day I hit a Home Run almost as much as I did. dr seuss cat in hat history