Moving west, escaping the home you know, leaving one world for the next, is an American idea and an American ideal. In the desert, on the Rialto River in the 48th state, is the city of Tucson. God must intend for me to know of this place. 15 members of my family live here. Today I had the opportunity to invest in relationship with two of my nephews. My sister Kara and my brother-in-law Dan are raising four thoughtful, loving, respectful, creative, happy kids.
Noah, the ten year old and oldest boy, and I walked to Starbucks Coffee this morning. I can still remember him as an unsteady toddler, when his front teeth had been chipped into the shape of fangs from making contact with the ground with such force and frequency. All of the tears and falls have no doubt contributed to this young man’s toughness, focus, and resolve. Noah is my oldest nephew, and of course I love him simply for that. The fact that he is now of an age where the two of us can laugh at each other’s stories and exchange opinions over which Marvel super hero is our favorite and why, has been an unexpected treat for me. I also connect with Noah’s appreciation for life’s simple joys.
This afternoon I was tasked with taking Luke, my sister’s youngest, on his first outing to the batting cages. We found The Batter’s Box after no small amount of driving around. The desert has few landmarks and Tucson seems to have placed a moratorium on new street names. Two or three streets with no connection to each other will have similar if not identical looking names and are then to be found within the same neighborhood.
As soon as we arrived, Allen took Luke under his care and did not cease in either complete attention or instruction to the 5 year old for the next 90 minutes.
After watching the two of them work Luke’s stance, swing, timing, follow through, pivot, and vocabulary, I can say that I learned more today about batting technique than I have in all of my living days. It was simply amazing to see Luke hit pitches that were coming out of a machine. Allen walked him through all of the steps of the at bat and by the end he was telling me just how naturally talented Luke was. The best part about it, however, was how attentive Luke was to Allen; how much respect, and deference, care to detail and positive poise he showed.
Afterward, we went out for burgers and fries. Does anything say America like a day which begins with black coffee, mixes in a little baseball and then finishes with potentially heart stopping food?
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