The week gone by — Feb. 21

I’m not a particularly religious man, but …

The shortest day

I had to get out. Right then.

There was no time to wait … literally.

It was 4 o’clock. It was going to be dark soon.

Dreams, but whose dreams?

Updated Nov. 1

I saw an article on parents obsessed with getting their children into an Ivy League school that had me wondering when children’s desires stop being their own and start being their parents’ … and what that means.

I did a whole podcast on it, but the article was retracted because of numerous issues. Therefore, I deleted the podcast.

The week gone by — Sept. 27

Shivam is a 10-year-old boy from the West Midlands in England, and is mad about cricket.

According to his mother, Rosie D., Shivam watches regardless of the format or who’s playing, and also loves women’s cricket.

Shivam started playing cricket a couple years ago, and while he was a little behind the other kids, he’s learning … and he looks pretty snazzy in his cricket gear.

Here we go … baseball season

Well, it’s finally going to happen.

Barring any unforeseen problems in the next 24 hours or so, Opening Day is tomorrow.

Sure, the season is only 60 games and for all we know, the Blue Jays could be playing in the park down the street from my house if it weren’t all torn up (or, failing that, maybe Pittsburgh), but Opening Day is tomorrow.

Finally.

Could it be … baseball I can see?

Worcester, Massachusetts, is about 30 miles from my house.

The city has a team, the Bravehearts, that plays summers in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League … a league that, assuming it gets the official sign-off, will not only have games this summer, but games fans can attend.

Can you see what I’m getting at?

However, I’d still want to see what the rules are before I think about thinking about it. They’d better have a plan to require and enforce social distancing, for starters, and I’d be OK with masks, too,

The week gone by — May 31

The Little League I played in is refunding fees, but hopes to have a delayed season later this summer if it’s safe.

Other leagues, however, have already cancelled their seasons.

I am trying to think of what I would have been like if, between the ages of 8 and 12, my parents had said I wouldn’t be able to play baseball that summer.

Great baseball, poor service

The Boston Globe asked its baseball writers to share their favorite and least-favorite ballparks. On Sept. 25, 2016, I wrote about Dodger Stadium, which would rank higher on my list if the customer service wasn’t so bad.

Dodger Stadium is still a beautiful ballpark. Yes, it’s more than 50 years old, but it’s not a relic. Instead, thanks to a little work, it’s still an amazing sight.

And it’s all the better when it has a game to match, like today, when Charlie Culberson hit a 10th-inning division-winning homer, giving Vin Scully one last great Dodger Stadium call.

But …

Let’s go to some games

C’mon in, there’s no social distancing here.

I know it looks like the sports room in my house, but once I close that door, it’s going to be something else.

After all, if someone is suggesting escaping … you know … by sleeping in the guest room and imagining it’s a trip, we can turn a room full of sports books, pictures and other memorabilia into a portal to where sports haven’t changed.

Just ignore the scratching. Our cat Sasha hates when I shut the door.

Treasures in the basement

Time has not yet begun, not without Opening Day, and we don’t know when it will.

And with the exception of those praying for more time for themselves or their loved ones and the heroes racing to save the lives of others, most of us seem to be losing all sense of time in a month that feels like it may never end.

But even if baseball is way down the list of what’s important, it’s still the (hopefully temporary) loss of a constant companion.