Dreams, Wishes, and Time Passing By

My watch has stopped working.  Dead. Finito. Sort of fitting, given the fact that I don't want this journey to end.

But end it must. 

Today is going to be a great one.  We begin with our first game at 10:30.  You won't see this game on television - - but you should.  It's the Challenger Game for kids with special needs, a chance for these children to experience the fun of Little League, with umpires whose hearts will really be in the game.

And speaking of hearts . . .

Here's a cool photo I took from a little cubby hole under the stadium which captured the professional photographers who were working the Panama - Mexico game.  Wayne had the plate, and did a great job.  I thought it was one of his finer moments.

That is, until this one . . .

On the right is a young ball player who is enjoying his dream of watching the Little League World Series, thanks to the incredible work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  I gave him one of my umpire trading pins and suggested I could help him collect the whole set.

What I didn't know: that was going to be a challenge -- some of the umpires had already given away all their pins.

Before you could say "Hmmm," Wayne sprinted to the Umpire Room and returned with all the pins he had collected from his fellow umpires the first day we all met.

And proceeded to give every one of them to this very grateful fan. 

Bruce, another one of my big-hearted colleagues, helped him feel like an honorary umpire!  He took him on a tour of the area beneath the stadium, introduced him to the crew, and gave him a game ball for his collection. 

Did I mention there's a lot of heart in this group? 

And they all love doing it.  Jim umpires an average of 14 games a week.  Think about it.  If you add game time, travel, pre-game meeting, post-game meeting, that's about 42 hours a week -- it's as if he has a second job.  And I'm sure, he'll tell you, it's a labor of love.  We do it for the kids.

Because, after all, their dreams are our dreams.