Parable Three: The Pick-up Game

Third in a series of my attempting to teach spiritual lessons in mundane terms.

     Me and some of the guys were going over by the empty lot behind Stiermann's, to see if we could get together a quick game of ball. It was Summer, so it'd be light enough until nearly nine, so we reckoned we'd have plenty of time. Imagine our surprise when we heard another gang already on OUR field, playing for all they wuz worth.

 

     Now, we wuz all only in seventh and eighth grade, and most all pretty puny, and that's a fact. But still, I was the biggest of us, so I felt I had to go in and lay down the law on these trespassers, or no-one would. Surprise number two was when we saw that they were high school kids, at least! Big? Oh, yeah! And UNIFORMS! Man, they had UNIFORMS! So clean, it was like they glowed. I s'pose you know we all kinda hung back and watched from the shadows awhile, not really clear as to what to do.

 

     One of the outfielders saw us, I think, and hollered, "Whyn'ch'all come join us?" Sure, right, THAT could happen! The biggest of us five-foot-two and a hundred pounds soppin' wet, against these GIANTS?? Like he was readin' my mind, the outfielder laughed and said, "No, dummy, we'll play WITH you, NOT against you!"

 

     Against my better judgement, I crept out of the shadows, and a couple of the fellers followed; most of 'em hung back a ways, just to see if we was gonna get creamed or not. Our dealings with Big Kids had not always been the safest, I can tell you!

 

    The outfielder was the only one whose uniform wasn't spotless. I noticed especially that his hands and feet seemed some kinda stained. He musta gone after a few grounders or sumpin'. But he musta been the team Captain or somethin' like, 'cause ever time he talked, all the other Big Kids stopped what they wuz a'doin' and listened for all they were worth.

 

     "C'mere, kid. I'm Jesse. What's your name?"

 

     I fidgeted and stammered out, "Tim, Sir."

 

     "Well, Timsir," and he smiled at his own joke, "you reckon you could get your buddies onto the field, so's we could play a little ball?"

 

     "Y'all're a heap bigger'n us, couldn't be much of a game for you, could it?"

 

     "Tim, buddy, it's the ONLY game! In fact, it's why we're here!"

 

     I kinda grinned a little, and felt my cheeks heatin' up, when Jesse called me 'buddy'. I hadn't never been buddies with no Big Kids before, and I kinda liked it. So I turned around and yanked my neck back, tryin' to look as little like the shrimp I was, compared to Jesse and his friends, so the guys would see I was okay, and come on out. They commenced dribblin' out by ones and twos, not at all sure what might be fixin' to happen, not one bit. Then I saw what they were so bashful about. The field behind the Stiermann’s Grocery, full of holes and grown up with all kinda weeds and such, was differnt, WAY differnt. The dirt was smooth, the grass was cut, the basepaths, usually only a matter of a can or a magazine and general say-so, was limed Just-So, and--I swear I'm not kiddin'!!--there were STANDS full of cheering, glowing someones. I'd been so close to Jesse, I hadn't seen any of it change, but the rest of 'em had. I'm s'prised any of 'em hung around at all!

 

     Anyways, Jesse and his boys let us have first Ups. None of us figured that'd last longer than nine pitches, but it was nice of 'em to offer. Bill Don stepped up to the plate first, gulped, stared at the gigantic glowing Kid on the mound, spit, and did his best to stop trembling. Then a look come on his face like I hadn’t never saw, as his front leg popped out and his back leg bent, and his back shoulder lifted and his bat leveled. It was like he didn’t know who was doin’ it all, but was purty sure it wasn’t HIM! A slow slider was first across, and like magic--no, bro, I mean REAL magic!--Beedee lit into it and knocked it out of the park! Now, Beedee is ever’ now an’ then good for a single, and when this happened, he just stood there, not knowin’ what to do, ‘til the catcher kicked him in the rump and shouted, “Git goin’, Stupid!”

 

     And so it want, for longer’n I can tell. All of usns had been around two, three time, and ever’ time it was like it had been with Beedee, like somethin’ was taking holt to us and getting’ our stances right, and pickin’ the pitches we liked best. Too weird, I gotta say! Fin’ly I couldn’t take it no more, and hollered to Jesse, “Now, y’all gonna play ball, or are you just messin’ with us? I mean I like winnin’ good as anybody, but ya’ll ought ta be poundin’ us, and since you ain’t, you got to be sandbaggin’, and that ain’t right!”

 

     Wellsir, them glowin’ Bigs jes' come a-strollin’ on in,  like they’d  had the same idea all at once. Jesse spoke first.

 

    “Yeah, Tim, you’re right, we OUGHT to be creamin’ you, and could, TOO easy, if that’s what we wanted. But, y’see,  creamin’ you AIN’T what we wanted, and it ain’t why we’re here! I reckon you could call us all coaches, sorta, and I…well, I reckon I’m the Manager. We go ‘round and do pick-up games, he'ping kids see what they didn’t know they already had, and addin’ a mite, when they DIDN’T already have nothing’! Like ole BillDon, yonder. They was always a slugger inside him, but he just didn’t know it, and adjustin’ his stance a mite let’er out, just like you seen. We coulda drug down any one of them so-called homers! Yo, Gibby, show the boy what I mean!” The right fielder then commenced to hop about forty foot into the air, and just HANG there…NOSSIR, I am NOT lyin’! Then Jesse went on.

 

     “It’s like this, boy. Ifn a group wants somethin’ bad enough, and have lost their belief that it can happen, then we kinda show up and he’p ‘em get their mojo back, like we done y’all. You felt that ole mojo flowin’ when you hit them triples and homers, didn’t you? And ya reckon you could do it as well again, if I told you we’d stopped helpin’ you a couple innin’s ago, that it was all you, plus belief, plus confidence?”

 

   Brother, if I tole you you coulda knocked me over with a feather, it wouldna been no lie. I spit in my palm, and Jesse did in his, and we shuck on it. The rest of the fellers kinda wandered in then, and they shuck with Jesse, too. And if everything that had happened already waddent weird enough, them Big Kids just sorta vanished then, right before our eyes. Jesse stuck out his arms, like he was gonna hug us or somethin’, and grinned…then commenced floatin’ right up into the sky. Sorta inside my head, like, I heard him say afore he was slap gone, “We’re always here, guys, even when you don’t see us. All we need is for you to believe it, and want it, and she’s as good-as-done! Now, monkeys, GO PLAY BALL!!”

 

   If you look at me like I was a-lyin’ to you ONE more time, I’m gonna swat you one, I swear it. Fact is, we all kinda staggered around like we’d been smacked in the gobs, not really knowin’ what to make of it all. Then Beedee said,--and you gotta know, Beedee don’t NEVER make no suggestions!--“Well, what chu buncha no-counts hangin’ round lookin' stupid for? YOU heard the man; let’s go play ball!”

 

     And play ball we did, like hadn’t none of us never played before, cans, magazines, weeds and all.

Reviews

[emmajoy]

Think I've seen that movie: the farmer turns his working field into a baseball pitch, is it? Anyway, whether or not I'm right or wrong, i certainly get the overall picture of this wonderful story. You've used dialogue within the moral - cos that's what it is, in such a great way, 'took me a little to get into it, but reading aloud helped and soon felt just a little of that world creep into my mind.

There's a warmth and a smile running through your writing, as if you love the subject matter, as if you were there as a lad tho it's probably your wonderful imagination running on; the characters are certainly well defined and i defy readers to not love the ending.

Thanks lots for sharing, Mark .. and many thanks for calling into my world too.

[Zeek4]

"Build it and they will come" This story reminded me of THE FIELD OF DREAMS. I loved the supernatural aspects and how you lead up to revealing them. It was refreshing having teenage boys put in a good light. They usually as a group get a bad rap. This was a feel good story and I liked it a lot.

[bob, small b. aka invs]

this was a very cool story on a lot of levels. first, it's well written. though dialect is sometimes hard to read, once you catch on to it, it's and easy read. the story itself has elements of other stories, but i would guess most parables do. i'm always a sucker for divine intervention stories, whether i believe them or not. i like what the story says about potential within us. there's a lot to digest in this seemingly simple little story.

[Tommy]

This was a cute and very well written story, has a “Field of Dreams,” meets “The Sandlot,” feel to it. I like the message of have faith in yourself, and believe in those who are looking out for you, even if you can't see 'em…

Great Write Mark!
RLG,
Tommy