I dreamed of a 4th of July Game...

Anyone who regularly follows this blog--all 7.4 of you--knows that we play a double header every 4th of July and have a delicious BBQ lunch in the middle.  With the world going to hell in hand basket this year, well, this year we couldn't do it.  Which was a real shame.  The strangest thing happened though.  I had a very vivid dream that we did, and I would like to share it with you all.  My dream.  That I had.  That was not real.

For some reason we were at St Mary's, not our first choice of fields, but it seemed right.  Even in dreams, the MBC is an intelligent and respectful group, so we all had face masks on, kept a reasonable distance from each other, sterilized hands regularly, and didn't share equipment.

It was a slow start, as it always seems to be, but by the end of it we had 16 players.  There was a woman playing with us, which was different, though when I asked Greg--in my dream-- he said that she played quite a few times and her name was Anna.  She was really good, and made some great digs at first and led off for the homers.

Sonny started for the visitors, and I started for the homers, it being my dream where I get to do what I want.  Amazingly, no one scored for the the first 3 innings or so, aided by some great defensive work on both sides.  And we had an all-time center fielder in the form of James, who was bedecked in PPE, to protect himself and his growing family.  In my dream I wished him congratulations and told him it was the best and the worst thing that can ever happen to you.  I am sort of an asshole in my dreams too.

The homers finally got on the board after a few misplayed balls, and the bases loaded we had a fielders choice and a timely hit to break the seal.  We kept it that way for an inning, and then the visitors also came through with their own collection of hits and errors.  We answered right back, in my dream Mitch hit a scorcher to left center that was the big hit of the game.

I was keeping the pitch count low, in my dreams I am still a conscientious pitcher, but by the 6th inning my shoulder was twinging after one fastball too many and I thought better to step aside then risk a stupid injury.  In my dream.  Mitch came in and shut the door for two innings like a boss.  Sonny bowed out and Nick W. came in to mop up.  The runs that were on the board stayed the same, and we ended the game with a tight 3-1 victory for the 4th of July single header.

Dream Highlights:

* It was a very realistic dream, which made me happy.

* There were several double play opportunities, and I think that each team successfully turned at least one.

* James, in a true future-AOY fashion kept firing the ball from center field to throw people out at first, and he got Greg on one.  Greg thought it a bit poor that the mid-50's game-legged catcher was being singled out, especially after a nice line drive up the middle.  As a fat mid-40's game legged pitcher, I agree, and also was almost thrown out by James

* The first inning I got three batters in a row to pop up to Mitch at SS.  I wish I could do that in real life.

* Even if only in a dream, it was great to see Tony again, and he played 2nd the whole game, which I thought was strange, but weird things happen in dreams.

* Elon was out again, and still being tied up in knots with the slow ball.  If he ever connects with one of those big swings it is going to disappear into the sky.  Maybe in his dreams.

* There were great plays at 1st for both sides, a lot of them of the bang-bang variety.

* The wind blew a bit, just like it does in real life at St Mary's.

* Since the dream was so lifelike, we also had a new guy out who looked like he could hit a ton, but also had trouble with the change-up.

* This would have been the time to change the AOY and present the award to a new person.  But since this was my dream, and not real, we didn't.  With the controversy of last year still fresh in everyone's minds, and Don's general demeanor, he went ahead and gave himself a 3-peat and a pat on the back.  So much winning!  In my dream, I remember that I found this old baseball picture and gave it to him.  I couldn't take a picture of it, since it wasn't real, so I made a drawing of it instead.  I am a pretty good artist.

Happy 4th everyone.  I hope we can make it out of this mess someday and find a way to get back to what life used to resemble.  I hasten to add that does not mean back to "normal".  Hopefully we can all say that we have gained more focus on the really important things in life--family and friends, physical contact, human rights, human dignity, fact-based health practices-- and that as one country and one world, we can move forward with a lot more compassion, respect, justice and and love for all.

Hopefully that part isn't just a dream.