You learn something new …

I noticed the mural on the side of a building as we pulled into the parking lot behind Nashua City Hall.

It was of legendary Brooklyn Dodgers Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella, commemorating their time playing minor-league ball in the city.

I thought it was interesting, and made a mental note to check it out when we came back, but we had another matter to attend to first.

Advertisement

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.

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.

Anything is possible, until it isn’t

First the was the flight — overnight, over water, over-tired me at the end because I didn’t sleep.

Then there was the train from the airport to the hotel, keeping an eye on our luggage so it didn’t roll away.

Then, before everything else, there was this view out the hotel room window.

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.

The week gone by — Jan. 26

Suzi was out with friends, which meant I was on my own for dinner.

I was in the mood for Chinese, and since it was just me, I got all three fortune cookies.