Soak It All In

I didn't do "Doubleheader" yesterday because if there's one thing I've learned this season, the first game of a new series is a beast.

You're getting used to the style of a different team and there just seems to be gremlins in the stadium.

So I didn't do a show. As a result, I stood watching batting practice at one point yesterday and really enjoyed myself.

And so? Screw it. No "Doubleheader" for the rest of the week.

Like working at the Greenwich Sentinal, there's no money, except in the case of GCH, it's well known and the invoices and repeated requests aren't ignored when we do something for money.

So I've decided to take care of me. WGCH gives me that flexibility. I'm going to enjoy every last minute of these last five games. If the Gades somehow make the playoffs then we'll enjoy the following week also.

It ain't over 'til it's over, right?

So I'll watch batting practice and try to stay in the moment. I'll allow myself to not stress over the lack of lineups (3:07 p.m. and I'm still waiting...). I want to love how much I loved being the broadcaster for the Renegades and, as of right now, there's nothing stopping me from being back in 2022. I already know that the season starts in Greenville, SC and if I have it my way, I'll be there on April 8.

Obviously, that's a little over six months off so no need to get crazy yet.

But I want to walk around and see every corner. I want to listen to people. Talk to people. Laugh with the others in the stadium. Listen to the sound of bat hitting ball.

I'm tired of fighting to do a radio show that brings me no money and brings me grief. No. These next few days are for me.

I've worked my butt off to get here with a story that deserves to be told but I'm simply not that narcissistic enough to pursue it.

It took 20 years to get here. I went on and tried to work "real jobs" because that was "expected." I helped raise my son because it's what I believed in. 

And now here I am, at the back end of a summer that I won't forget and expect to say how much I enjoyed. Save for bouncing between football and baseball this Saturday, I will be laser-focused on the Renegades.

With a heavy heart, I'll watch the season end late Sunday (again, assuming no appearance in the Championship Series). Even then I'll be hard-pressed to leave. Oh, sure, I'll probably have to go back and break stuff down but the ballpark will be different by then.

There might as well be a foot of snow on the ground at that point (I feel the lump building in my throat as I type those words).

A little over six long months will begin...

No. We're not writing that epitaph now. That can wait.

And if you didn't come to the stadium? I'm sad and I'm sorry I didn't do enough to bring you there. This year meant so much to me. Probably more than you'll ever know. I wanted to share it with you.

So I'm going to enjoy the ride.

Soak it in.

(and then it took 90 minutes to go from Mahopac to Dutchess Stadium)