This past summer I worked for ESPN covering the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. My job was to cut highlights and recap packages, keeping them all to less than 20 seconds. It was a lot of work, but was also great fun. My colleagues and I managed to have pleny of laughs while still getting it all done.
Omaha is a big-hearted place, combining the friendly relaxed nature of a southern town with the hearty mid-western strength necessary to survive tough winters. The ups and downs of a tournament and the sincerity of the young men who come here to play seem particularly suited to the town. For some, their last organized game will be played here, at Rosenblatt Stadium. Constructed in 1948 in South Omaha, Rosenblatt has hosted the College World Series since 1950. It will continue to do so until 2011, when a new downtown stadium will be ready, and old Rosenblatt will be torn down. The land will be sold to the near-by Henry Doorly Zoo.
There is something about baseball that brings out the joy in many people, myself included. The sounds and smells of the park bring us back to other times. The heavy thwack of wooden bats is replaced with the high pitched PING of aluminum, causing me to remember stinging hands and playing softball with my dad. The young men's voices and laughter remind me that my son, now thirteen and preparing to play on the full sized diamond this spring, is more than half way to manhood.
On my first night in town, June 11th, a series of tornadoes blew through. As I stared at the strange swirling dark green sky outside my 14th floor hotel room window, the phone rang. A polite voice suggested that I join them in the storm shelter on the basement floor. There, I and several hundred new best friends relaxed together below ground, watching the news and waiting for the all clear. It became a bit of a party, and I found myself a bit disappointed when the hotel staff told us it was OK to go upstairs.
The next day we learned that one of the tornadoes had ripped through Little Sioux Scout Camp in near-by Iowa, killing four boys. I imagined their terror, and thought of my son and daughter at home. In the coming days it became clear that many of the boys had acted heroically. The scouts' courage framed the walk off home runs and dramatic catches I would enjoy in the coming days.
The best things and the worst things in life, like tornadoes and home runs, can rest right next to one another. I returned home determined to embrace every day I have.
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