The "Some of the Most Important Things in Your Life" Story

It was an ordinary day. I was playing American Legion Baseball after my senior year in high school. American Legion is summer ball and is kind of low key compared to high school baseball. When I entered 10th grade in high school I decided, with a few of my friends, to play football. Now I was a 140 lb., 6' 1" string bean and I was going to play high school football. Well, I ended up playing quarterback on the JV team and was given the chance to play a few plays between halves at a varsity game one time that year. I also got to play 2 plays on defense in a game we were ahead by a gadzillion points. At the end of the season I realized football wasn't for me. In the spring I tried out for the baseball team and did much better. I got a chance to play on the JV team, but not at the position that I was used to playing in summer ball. I was placed in left field instead of my usual 1st or 3rd base position. Still enjoyed it, but I could hardly wait for summer ball so that I could play in the infield again. That summer I played for the Grandview team in the Eastern Lanco Midget league and had a great season. Ended with the second best batting average on the team and helped the team advance in the New Era Tournament at the end of the season. Then came September again and my birthday. I WAS 16! I knew football wasn't for me so I decided I would give up football in high school and get a job to help pay for the gas and insurance for the car that I had purchased at the end of the summer with the proceeds I made from raising guinea pigs in my back yard. Got a job at a local department store that had recently opened and was instantly wealthy. Kind of! Enough to keep the car on the road and some extra for bowling and eating fast food every weekend. Then spring came and high school baseball was ready to start. Now I had a really hard decision to make. Give up baseball so I could keep the car running or play baseball which was my passion. I knew I would probably get to play the infield this year, but after days of thinking about it, I decided that working after school and weekends was what I wanted to do. BAD CHOICE I found out in the next few months. I really loved baseball and now I could only watch it. I knew I was better than over half the guys on the team, but I had made my choice. Did play summer ball again, but not the same as playing for your high school. Funny thing though, I never did learn my lesson, since I never did play high school sports again. Years later I regretted it so much that I vowed it would never happen to any of my kids when they reached that stage in their lives. All three of my kids were exceptional athletes and I made sure that they didn't make the same mistake that I did. They had transportation to use if needed, but throughout their lives I tried to stress that getting a job and working could be done after high school. Matter of fact they had their entire life to work. I think they all were glad for the advice. I only wish I had been given the same advice when I was growing up. Come to think of it, I probably was given the advice, but ignored it since at the time, my car was more important to me. How dumb!! Sometimes you learn life's lessons the hard way. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.