BUY ME SOME PEANUTS AND CRACKERJACKS

So goes the line in the song, TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, sung during the seventh inning "stretch" at major league baseball parks. I began singing that song as a youngster playing pick-up games on the city commons.

During those early years, my dad would occasionally get free tickets to major league games, from a firehouse neighbor. That allowed the two of us to buy peanuts, crackerjacks, hot dogs and soda, while we watched baseball greats like the Yankee's Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey and others, playing the Philadelphia A's, at Shibe Park.

In addition to playing ball, I amassed a collection of bubblegum baseball cards, each card showing a player's picture and statistics. I also made scrapbooks containing newspaper articles of sporting events. When I left home to be married, I put them in my mother's care for a later pickup. The day arrived to pick up the cards and books, only to discover that my mother thought I no longer wanted them, so she had trashed them! I cried inwardly, while chalking up an error on my mother's scorecard of life.

Playing and collecting are no longer options, but as sports fans, Dear Wife and I enjoy a variety of televised events and occasionally attend a game, so join us to cheer on your favorite teams.

More, later.