Well, the holidays are over and it’s time to get started on the New Year. I hope that you all had some fun and got some rest.

This year, my son and I again went to Arizona to visit with my brother and his wife and to play a little baseball. We did not get to see the nephew on this trip as he was off in the Galapagos Islands learning about the ecology of the island and the life of the tortoise.

I was a little worried that my son would feel neglected, since he only got a trip to baseball camp instead of a rewarding life-enriching educational trip. He assured me that the only island he wanted to be on was the one with a mound on it. He did mention that a little turtle soup would hit the spot.

I enjoyed visiting with the family and hearing how things have changed since the last time we were there. My brother has a terrific job in Tempe. He is the school architect for Arizona State University which is, apparently, a very prestigious job, but let’s face it, how hard can it be being the architect for something that has already been built? He assured me that there was still quite a bit of work to do yet.

One of the jobs of the school architect is to oversee the construction of new facilities and this requires several trips across the campus every day. As we were walking over to see his new office, he mentioned the school was good enough to supply him with a brand new Segway Scooter. In the spirit of the holidays, I asked if I could take a ride on the scooter.

My brother asked me if I remembered what happened when I rode his brand new Sting Ray bicycle on a certain Christmas Day many years ago. I told him that I did remember that day and what happened was a terrible accident that was not my fault. As we reminisced about Christmases past, he decided that not only could I not have a ride on the scooter, but it might be a good idea if we didn’t go anywhere near his office.

At the ballpark, we met kids and parents from all over the United States and exchanged stories about the different ways the folks in different parts of the country play baseball this time of year. We take it for granted that we can go out almost any time we want and toss the ball around. The kids from places like North Dakota and Minnesota still have three or four more months to go before they can get out of the gym and play on a field.

It was very satisfying to see all of these kids out there together sharing the experience. Don’t believe all of the things that you read about the death of sportsmanship and the selfishness of today’s kids. There were about 200 young folk all vying for a chance to prove that they deserved a chance to play at the major college level. Now, there was quite a bit of competition out there, but there was also a camaraderie that you don’t often hear about these days.

Each of these young men were more than willing to pass on a few pointers and tips to any of the other players who would listen. They ate and played and joked together, just as if they had been together for years. When it was time to say goodbye, it was not easy for some of these guys who had made new friends during the week.

It was a perfect ending to the season of friendship to see that the spirit of friendship and camaraderie is alive and well with our young folk. I’ll bet that if anyone of these kids had a new Segway, they would have let me ride it.