Shyzer.com

Something very tragic happened to me today. As The Shyzers were taking pop-up practice, a routine fly ball glided out of my glove. I then made some smart-ass comment along the lines of “it’s was the glove.” However, there actually was no way that it was the glove. For you see, my glove is the best glove in the world – well, at least to me it is. It used to be my Dad’s glove and for years it was one of those things that I held in awe. I was scared just to touch it because I was afraid of somehow breaking it and having to face my dad to tell him the reason his glove had been destroyed was because some little kid was messing around with it. Sometime in highschool, we were packing things up and I picked up my dad’s glove and told him how much I loved it. The pocket was huge and it seemed like it could catch anything. Years and years of use had made the leather nice and soft and the fingers bent almost magically to be able to catch those balls that seemed almost out of reach. He just looked at me and said “If you like it so much, you can take it.” I was speechless. What could I say?!

So here I was with the perfect glove. I’ll be honest though, I’ve been getting worried about it lately. The stitching is so old and dry that the leather is close to snapping. The tips of the fingers are frayed and close to ripping. And the entrance to where I insert my hand is so ripped, it chafs my wrist whenever I wear it for an extended peiod of time. But I don’t want to think about it. Every time I think about it, it makes me think back to the 10th grade where I had to make the choice as to whether or not to put my dog to sleep. I knew it was best, but after 12 years, you just can’t let go. I mean, it’s your dog. She was a part of me, not just some pet. But I knew it was best for her. I had to stop being selfish and do what somebody who truely loved her would do for her.

As I finished with my smart-ass comment, I punched my fist into my glove like I always do and it felt different. I glanced down and my heart sank as my eyes bulged in horror. Two of the fingers were hanging free after the leather stitching had finally snapped. I sat down and tried to see what I could do, but it was futile. I came home in a state of shock and jumped on-line to see what I could do. Turns out, there are those who have experienced my pain before and who can help remedy it. It turns out that with some minor surgery, I can hopefully restitch her and get her back to normal. And if that fails, for a mere $55, I can ship her off to a few places out west that can overhaul her and do everything in their power to help her. It’s gonna be a tough few weeks, but we can make it through it.

And sticking with my theme of baseball, I have to say that despite the hatred I still feel for my Mariners not making the playoffs, I have to say I am loving this years playoffs! The Marlins (who I’d picked to win it all) have come back from losing the first game to winning an awesome game tonight. The Cubs (who I thought would beat the Braves and lose to Florida) have had Kerry Wood and Mark Prior simply dominate and shut down the Braves. I love it! Oakland (who I think will make it, but lose the World Series) have taken a 2-0 lead on the team I hate most right now, Boston. And New York, is tied with Minnesota, who might pull the upset (though I think NY will win this series). So there you have it, my playoffs predictions that I made over on DMB. I really am loving this years playoffs. Watching players actually show some pure emotion is something that is unmatched. And there have been some damn good games so far this year =)

Oh, and everybody go give Angela some love. She too is trapped here in hell South Carolina and she is going crazy.