On Being My (Big) Brother's Keeper

We arrived at Cooperstown Dreams Park last Friday, and since the crack of dawn on Saturday have been in baseball heaven. Opening in 1996, this amazing park represents the fulfilment of a dream for the (North Carolina native) Lou Prescutti family, who had visited the Baseball Hall of Fame more than a decade earlier, and then began to dream of a place where boys could play the game,which is so thoroughly represented at the Hall of Fame. (There's more baseball there than you can shake the proverbial stick at!) Dreams Park came to fruition with the purchase of a beautiful tract of upstate New York farm land, within a few miles of the Hall of Fame, and the construction of a player's village and a dozen fields. For the last thirteen years Cooperstown has been the site of lifetime memories in the making, for thousands of 12-year-olds across America.

Now expanded to 22 playing fields, the every-week-of-the-summer tournaments host teams from every state in the union, and beyond. Jackson's team, the Charlotte Crush, has, so far, faced competition from New York, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan. Even as I type, we're awaiting the seedings for the single-elimination tournament, which begins at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. Cooperstown boasts baseball "as it should be," and in a word, it is. Everything is first class, and the boys are the beneficiaries. Memories for a lifetime.

Though, after six games of preliminary play, we approach the tournament with a 2-4 record, and ranked 62nd out of 104 teams, we've lost three games by one run, and have come from behind to contest every outing we've lost. Our two wins were convincing, including a 17-1 rout. "Show me some heart," Coach Pat exhorted, and this team has played its best ball ever.

We've had a great time watching. In addition to the families of Jackson's teammates, some of Amy's family -- Rut, Ginger, and Katie Jacks, and Susan and Don Adams -- have also made the northern trek to catch a little of their favorite Charlotte Crush on the mound. None has been disappointed. We've cheered and groaned, been elated by victories and downed by hard-fought losses. We've laughed, held our breath in high hope, and been amazed at the maturing we're seeing before our eyes, as individuals and as a team. As to our player, he's not ready for the Majors just yet, but he's throwing a pretty good game these days. One of our wins was at the hands of a complete game he pitched, with impressive control.

Now, the little brother is a ball player, too... but this week is about Jackson.

And there has been no better fan.

It's good to see. In addition to all the "brotherly love" expressed in those not-so-loving ways (from personal experience, I'm guessing that's "normal"!?), there's a good bit of it expressed genuinely, through cheers and hearty 10-year-old congratulations. Let's hope the goodwill continues for at least two years, because Bennett already has his sights set on playing here.

We'll just have to see what kind of cheerleader his older brother will be.

Thanks, "B," for what you're teaching your old dad about being a brother's keeper!

r