{"id":1487,"date":"2013-04-02T07:45:43","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T14:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.littlebrowne.com\/?p=1487"},"modified":"2013-04-02T07:45:43","modified_gmt":"2013-04-02T14:45:43","slug":"opening-day-papa-and-sammy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threeadventure.com\/littlebrowne\/2013\/04\/02\/opening-day-papa-and-sammy\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening Day, Papa, and Sammy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Rookie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I can\u2019t think of baseball, but especially the L.A. Dodgers, without thinking of my grandfather (or as we called him, Papa). He passed away 17 years ago as of late last night (April Fool\u2019s Day), although the paperwork says April 2. Anyway, no need to digress into that story. The point is that I used to be a huge baseball fan. My first memories of baseball were going to Dodger games with my grandparents as a young child. Although I don\u2019t follow sports as much as I used to it\u2019s still a great memory for me.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, Opening Day for MLB (which happen to be my initials too), I was working from home so I had Sammy. When I got up yesterday morning I didn\u2019t really think anything of April 1st being the anniversary of my Papa\u2019s passing or Opening Day. I started seeing a few people post on Facebook that the game between the Giants and Dodgers was starting so I decided to turn it on and see if I got into it or not.<\/p>\n

Turns out I kind of did. Not into it like a rowdy sports fanatic, instead more like someone that enjoyed having it on in the background. As the game progressed I could remember being in that stadium hundreds of times over the decades. I could remember how I felt as a little kid walking through there and everything seemed so big. I could remember the smell of Dodger dogs and peanuts. I could remember the echo down the long corridors and the excitement that a young boy feels at a place like that.<\/p>\n

As those memories came flooding back I thought more about Papa. There was not sadness necessarily; the feelings were more just content thoughts of a really cool life I had with him. Those thoughts then turned to Sammy. I imagined being in a room with only Papa, Sammy, and myself\u2026it made me smile thinking how Papa would be with Sammy.<\/p>\n

Baseball, even though I don\u2019t love it like I used to, still gives me a thrill because of the memories. I remember those baseball games with Papa and I know there will be a day when I get to take Sammy to his first baseball game. I imagine I will get a little teary eyed. Those moments with Papa at those many baseball games filled me up. They were happy times. My eyes as big as they could be and I know Papa would just sit and watch me and how I reacted to the noise, the game, the smells, and the rest of that environment.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to have that with Sammy. It\u2019s one of those amazing full circle life moments. If I\u2019m lucky, one day I will have that with Sammy\u2019s kids. To be able to carry on the legacy of what those moments meant and give those moments to another child\u2026words cannot express. I am finding that this is what life is about.<\/p>\n

I thought the car I drove or the house I lived in mattered\u2026it doesn\u2019t. Even though I was on a path of understanding this prior to Sammy arriving in this world, he certainly has been a catalyst for wanting deeper understanding. It\u2019s funny how many things have come full circle in the short time Sammy has been here. I want to do better and I hope to be able to give this little dude some of those amazing memories. I hope one day he sits down and can write about those times\u2026those memories\u2026and how much they meant to him. If I do my job right\u2026he will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t think of baseball, but especially the L.A. Dodgers, without thinking of my grandfather (or as we called him, Papa). 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