The Soundtrack of My Summer

If you have ever experienced a strong emotion or witnessed a particularly striking scene only to have the exactly appropriate song begin to play on the car radio or some other source, you know that can be an interesting, even eerie feeling.  It's as if your life has suddenly become a movie and you're listening to the soundtrack.

This happened to me as I was leaving New Market on the morning of August 8th, after seeing the last few players turn in their uniforms and saying a final good-bye to Vic Moyers, the Rebels' bus driver.

The song was Paul Anka's "Times of Your Life."  It begins . . .

Good morning, yesterday.
You wake up and time has slipped away.
And suddenly it's hard to find
The memories you've left behind
Do you remember the times of your life?

 . . . and ends with,

Gather moments while you may
Collect the dreams you dream today
Remember, will you remember
The times of your life.

You know, you can't make up that kind of stuff.

I already have this odd sense, that this past summer, was a dream.  It was too wonderful to have really happened, but then I look at the photos from Al Smith and Melissa Dodge and Anna Kipps and I realize that it must have been real.  I mean, after all, there I am, in some of those pictures.

I told the players the first evening that they met as a team on May 31st that my goal was to write a book that they would be happy to pull off the shelf 50 years from now and read to their grandchildren about one of the best times of their lives.  Turns out that gathering their moments was one of the best times of my life.

Photo courtesy of Melissa Dodge
Must have been real:  There I am at the Old-Timers' Workout.

Comments

[Melissa Dodge]

**sniff** you got me with that one. This summer has been special for so many reasons. I think what touched me most this summer were the small things--- beyond the book, the crazy weather, and the Rebels improbable run into the semi-finals. The collective wacky sense of humor that was the bullpen, making new life-long friends (Gisriels!), watching those young men play through and past adversity and injury, Jay Lively taking the time to send me a message that this was one of the best summers of his life--those are some of my mosr cherished memories.
My sound bite is much the same--same theme, different generation:

'Good Riddance' by Green Day

"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life."

I know I sure did!

[Austin]

Melissa, that is so eloquently put and I appreciate not only your words, but the sentiments expressed. Life really is about collecting moments. Of course, I want the book to be profitable, but if I earn no money from it, it matters little in the long run. The moments that I have collected and the friends we have made are invaluable and will last for the longest run.

P.S. I like "Good Riddance," too.