Summer means baseball.

Even though it is unseasonably cold here in Northern California, it finally feels like summer.  That's because today I watched a team of young athletes practicing baseball in a nearby park.  I had to walk in fairly close proximity to the practice field so I was keeping a watchful eye out for any stray balls, but it was the sound that brought back a rush of good memories for me. 

Being one of four children born to a big baseball fan, I spent a number of weekends playing baseball on our family team with Dad as the pitcher.  Since there were four of us children, two girls and two boys, we didn’t quite make a full team but we had most of the key positions covered. Gender didn’t matter and we were all drafted for the game.  We each got equal time batting and fielding and although we wouldn’t tell Dad, we looked forward to those outings. 

But back to that sound.  If you have ever played baseball you know that sound.  It’s the sound of the ball hitting the bat.  It could be the rewarding thunk of the ball hitting the middle of a wooden bat or the equally rewarding clang of ball on aluminum.  Either way, that sound is proof positive that you have connected bat to ball and there is no greater feeling in the world.  You can feel that connection in the core of your bones and in most cases you can tell if it’s a decent hit or a crummy pop fly by the way the bat vibrates after a hit.  But you can tell a lot by that magical sound.  

Good presentations are a lot like batting.  You can tell immediately if you are connecting or not.  And when you make a connection there is no better feeling. 

Thanks, Dad.