You Heard It Right....It's All Free

Park visited: Field of Legends
City: Jefferson City, Missouri
Food of the day: Southern Style Chicken sandwich at McDonald's
iPhone song of the day: "Blank Sheet of Paper" by Tim McGraw
Miles traveled: 130

Has our society become so cynical and so negative by nature that the general public has lost its ability to accept things that are pure? It's one thing for us to have to explain to young children multiple times why we are at a certain location and why we are giving out so much free merchandise and so many free prizes. But when parents continuously circle our area with oozing skepticism all over their face and ask what the catch of our visit to their park REALLY is, it's frustrating that we can't convince them that we are truly there to provide a unique experience for all the kids in attendance that day.

But overall, despite several hesitant parents, our trip to the Field of Legends for a random night of league play in Jefferson City was another successful stop on our road trip. I even overheard one Mom attempt to explain to her husband on the phone what our set up consisted of, and she described it as "standing in the middle of a baseball carnival." I think that's pretty accurate.

Our morning started with a relatively quick drive from Kirkwood to a deserted area in Jeff City where the Days Inn we are staying at literally had no one in it at one this afternoon. It's since filled up a little, but we are definitely in the middle of a city that is the opposite of metropolitan.

The baseball complex where we were was something straight out of the movie Field of Dreams, as it was literally placed in the middle of hundreds and hundreds of acres of farm land. The nearest "building" was a run down while building that previously served as a woman's prison. Kohrs was trying to lead a "ghosthunter" trip into the structure, but it never came to fruition. The field did include a pretty cool sun deck on the top of its centrally-located concession stand, and though we didn't partake, they had the largest selection of draft beer I've ever seen for a little league snack stand.

Another interesting aspect of my "job" this summer, are the social scenarios I have a front row seat for. Tonight, I witnessed an exchange between a father and a son that I'm afraid is way too common in the world of little league baseball. The Dad, who was also the son's coach, stood scowling with his arms crossed in the dugout, and told his son (who had been warming up pitching down the left field line) to stop because he had "seen enough and he couldn't stand to watch anymore." The son sulked back to the bench, laid his glove down and innocently asked his Dad/coach, "why did you have to say it like that....why couldn't you just tell me to stop?" The father had no answer, and the son proceeded to stand silently at the other end of the dugout.

I obviously never saw how the rest of the evening unfolded, but how disappointing that a parent acts that way. I have had plenty experience of watching former teammates deal with the awkwardness of having their coach also be their Dad, and while it can indeed be a difficult transition, that double duty includes some fine lines, and it is extremely irresponsible for the parent to forget about the role that MUST come first, and that's being a supportive mentor and role model....not a grumpy monster who thinks he's playing Game 7 of the World Series in the middle of the Jefferson City cornfields wearing a baseball jersey and denim shorts.

Our stay in this town will end quickly tomorrow, as we make our way back to Columbia for the TBN World Qualifier. I'm ending this now as bad storms are on the way and I don't want the power to shut off and delete this very long entry! Thanks for reading folks.

Until next time,
Chris