Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Once upon a time, on a remarkably pleasant summer evening in Durham, North Carolina, a girl and her mother went to a ballgame. They sat in the stands munching peanuts, drinking beer, cheering for the home team, and reminiscing about the good old days when the whole family, all six of them, sat in the Old Bull Park with the creaky wooden bleachers, the one they filmed Bull Durham in. Remember how the kids waited eagerly for the giant wooden bull to blow smoke out its nose and wave its tail up and down? They talked about the people they loved and their plans for the future, and what they had for dinner last night as the Bulls slugged in some home runs and that same old giant wooden bull delighted a new generation of wide-eyed children. At least they kept the old Bull when they built the newer, shinier ballpark. The fans started doing the wave, vendors shouted out about their snow cones and iced cold lemonade, and the mascot led them all in a rousing rendition of "The Old Ballgame." And as the sun set over the downtown skyline and the sky turned pink and orange, the girl and her mother sat there touching shoulders, thinking how nice it would be if neither one had to get on an airplane to spend time like this together.