Time flies

I know what you mean.   I was just thinking about it today when when I saw tweets about teams starting their seasons this week.   My son is 27.....and this June will be 10 years since he graduated HS.....and 6 since he graduated college.   Seems like I was just going to watch his games a couple years ago........guess not lol.   I found this site when he was a freshman or soph in HS, so it's been 12 or 13 years

I deeply appreciate both of you for staying on here actively. The experiences, wisdom, and insight I've gotten from y'all is priceless.

Wow.  I still remembered my password.  

Been a long time and I recognized all those names RJM noted.  Still remember meeting Riley’s parents when DBU played at Clemson.  Son is 27 this year and is going to do color for DBU road broadcasts this year.  Time definitely flies.

My time here has been filled with much happiness, learning and yes, some sadness.  TRHit was a good guy.  He brought a lot to this site.  I recall his struggles before his passing.  He is missed.  Remember when we lost bbscout?  That was tough to take.   @gotwood4sale was one of my favorites.  He brought a lot of humor to this site.  His wife, @play baseball was a hoot.  Their daughter played against my daughter in college and so, we were able to meet and talk a few times.  My wife and I had a blast each time.  Coach Laboets shared a lot of good stuff with those who wanted to go into coaching.  I have some of his stuff.  Bulldog 19 and I still stay in contact.  Fungo was yet another poster who contributed so much to this site.  Remember @itsrosy ?  Itsrosy was a classic member I think everyone admired and liked.   @Coach 2709 had great insights from the coaching perspective.

As I have mentioned before, for some of you long-time members, go read some of your old private messages.  You'll find some great memories there.  Unfortunately, I have had to clean some old messages out and now realize the error of my ways.  I wish I had kept them all.

I had to edit this to add @Coach_May. Who could ever forget what he brought to this site?  Classic! I could say the same about @Bighit15, @justbaseball, @infielddad, and @PGStaff.  I was able to meet Bighit15's son and watch him play. 

I liked the pg guy. Was said when he went.

Hey Coach!  I got an email since you tagged me. Good memories.  I miss a lot of folks here too.   I should visit again.

Brief update - all good. Older baseball son is married with 3 kids in Boston and they’re now starting to play themselves. Younger baseball son is married too but no kids yet. Living in Raleigh.  All 4 other kids married too. We’re up to 7 grandkids!!

We moved to Cary NC - home of USA Baseball. Go figure. Still working although I think about retirement nearly every week.

I’ll try to stop by more often.  Hope everyone is well.

I met TR when he was in town. He wanted to recruit my son for his travel team.  He didn’t look anything like I expected. Picture singer/songwriter Paul Williams in a baseball uniform. And try not to laugh.

Love all of this!

Time flies is an understatement.  Like most, I came to this site many moons ago trying to learn as much as I possibly could about high school baseball, college recruiting and college baseball options for my sons.  Thanks to those that came before me to take me through the options and process.   I've learned a lot and tried my best to share those experiences with others.  It is fantastic to connect and hear from folks that haven't heard from in a while that shared the same experiences.    There is part of me that wants to hang it up, and there is a part of me that sticks around to keep up with old friends and stay current on college baseball and college sports in general.  The last 5 years have been nothing like the previous 20 years, and I really feel those folks are challenged like never before.

My wife and I remain very active (her more than me), and I've been sucked into this mental vortex they call "golf".  I blame my college roommates for getting me hooked on golf.  Thankfully, my sons are sharing that golf cart with me.  My wife and I have a few trips planned as my employer has recently announced "unlimited PTO" at the beginning of the year.   Pinch me.   Nobody was more excited than I was!

My oldest graduated 11 years ago from college and my youngest graduated high school 10 years ago.   I'm over the moon on the paths my sons have chosen, and the men they've become.  We're expecting our first grandchild in mid-May.  My wife and I are over the moon excited.   I can't wait.  I'm truly a blessed man.

As for "time flies", I wish I could nudge the clock a little bit forward (only on work days) just for the next 2 years, 4 months, 4 days, 1 hour, 48 minutes and 59 seconds.  ;-)

Enjoy your time!

OMG Fenway, I am literally 15 days behind you.  And, of course, I have been proclaiming the count to my wife in the same manner and same level of detail that you so eloquently stated.  And I'll be connecting with Cabbage this coming week, catching up over golf and pickleball.  Have you made that tennis conversion yet or is the "P" word  still a dirty word?

I miss playing Dice Baseball!

Oh CoachB25, this appeared in my email, and so of course, I clicked on it and read all of the comments.   Oh the memories…… And CoachB25, your comment made me cry.  It is so nice to be remembered from so many years ago….. thank you so much.  Yes, it was great fun to meet you in western Illinois, and also when UMSL played in Louisville.   So many wonderful memories and meeting so many wonderful posters—either in person or via phone. 

Our oldest son, Nick, played in Jackson, TN, where Fungo lived nearby in Spring Hill.  He and his wife, Gloria, graciously invited my 11 year old daughter and me to stay with them when we drove down from suburban Chicago to watch Nick play.  Imagine the shock and incredulity when I told friends that we were staying with a man I met on the internet!  Fungo and Gloria were exactly who I expected them to be…absolutely so warm, with incredible southern hospitality…..  We attended Fungo’s funeral in 2017.   I still mourn his loss.

My youngest daughter was playing softball in a tournament in the Twin Cities the day that tragedy struck the I-35 Bridge, with it collapsing in the summer of 2007, resulting in 13 deaths and over 100 injuries.  MnMom and I had planned to meet for dinner that night---and we did get together (another wonderful treat), but it was very scary because she had not been able to get in touch with her husband.  Thank God they finally connected and he was safe…..

In 2010, I posted about the last time that my son played college ball due to an ACL surgery.  He got in for one inning and did really well.  The old adage, “play every game like it is your last, because one day it could be” is very true.  For our old hsbbw friends who knew of my son’s ACL surgery in 2010, an update.  Since the surgery in January, 2010, he has had 6 more knee/ACL surgeries.  It has been quite a 15-year journey……for him and for us.  All I can say is to never take your body for granted.

I know I’m not writing like the “hoot” that CoachB25 described me to be!  Sorry about that! I’m just overwhelmed with memories--- good and bad……and gratitude that someone remembers “gotwood”/ Woody and me.  Oh—one of our daughters has 2 little kids and is due any day with a third--- the grampa name for him is “Woody”!  Thank you to whoever named gotwood4sale “Woody!  It stuck!  It may have been Tx-husker who first called him that, but I don’t remember because I am “old and senile”…. according to my kids.  I use it to my advantage….. I just looked at the main page to see if I could try to see if I was correct—there are 26,542 members of this website!    Holy Cow!!!!!!!!!!!!  That is awesome!!!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gotwood4sale and I moved to the Willamette Valley in Oregon about 5 years ago…..if anyone lives anywhere close,  I mean "close",  please let me know!  We would love to meet you!  And we would love to connect with anyone who remembers us….. Thank you again so very much for the memories…….

With love,  Annette

@cabbagedad posted:

OMG Fenway, I am literally 15 days behind you.  And, of course, I have been proclaiming the count to my wife in the same manner and same level of detail that you so eloquently stated.  And I'll be connecting with Cabbage this coming week, catching up over golf and pickleball.  Have you made that tennis conversion yet or is the "P" word  still a dirty word?

P,

Awesome!  Let's set up a "virtual party" when THE time comes.  I've hinted at trying to retire earlier, but my wife is keeping me on date and task which really isn't all that fair.   She's in finance and  works part-time just to stay busy.  She will be retiring in May when our grand-daughter is born, as she plans to watch the baby 2-3 days a week.  I offered to watch the baby 2-3 times a week, and she can continue working but that went over like a fart at church.

Over the last couple years, I guess I've changed my positioning on the tennis vs pickleball conundrum.   A wise person shared with me that you have to have at least 6 activities or things that keep you busy for retirement.   I'm following every word of that advise.  Last Sept 15,   I temporarily stopped playing tennis (my primary life activity) to focus on fall & winter golf in hopes of lowering my golf index after 2 years of picking up golf.  This is the first winter in my adult lifetime I have not played indoor winter tennis, and I didn't miss it.   Enter golf and pickleball.

The more fall/winter golf I played the better my scores until I hit the wall about a month ago.  I've reached a point where I need to take golf lessons (and play more often) if I want to get into a single handicap range.  While the golfing shenanigans were going on, some of our neighbors got us into a social pickleball league that plays every Sunday 11am.  Its fun, very social, and easy on the body.   I've always played tennis competitively since I was a young age.  I'm definitely not dropping golf or pickleball to accommodate tennis.  Tennis will be social and not so competitive as in years past.   This is the promise I've made to myself as I turn over a new leaf in 2025.   Hiking and travel are a constant, and that isn't changing.   Bottom line is I have my 6+ activities lined up for retirement, and I can't wait.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.   My oldest son was going through a similar life event as your oldest son went through a few years ago.  He's over it now, but it was tough at first.  All is good.     

Let's count those retirement days down together..... ;-)

W

I feel bad for you "workers". I retired 27 years ago, and play a lot of pretty good golf with the grandkids.

Enjoying my guys last year of college baseball.

Ps some days I do regret teaching Seth golf ( he hit a 303 yd par 4 hole in one this summer)

The worst part about this time of year is the daily Facebook memories.  Yesterday was the anniversary of my son getting to start on the mound at Texas A & M his sophomore year.  Also had one come up of him going 2-3 and a save his junior year.   Dang, this time of year is tough for an old baseball dad lol

@Good Knight posted:

I feel bad for you "workers". I retired 27 years ago, and play a lot of pretty good golf with the grandkids.

Enjoying my guys last year of college baseball.

Ps some days I do regret teaching Seth golf ( he hit a 303 yd par 4 hole in one this summer)

"Playing pretty good golf with the grandkids".   You've just given me a lot of inspiration to do exactly that.  Thought never occurred to me.   At this point in life, it is all about experiences.   Thanks!

Enjoy that last year of college baseball!

I took the grandkids one at a time to first tee program when they were young. Then the gr daughter and I always play the 2 boys. We were killing them until Seth started driving the ball 300 yds.

It is always a hoot!