Softball

I just found out that Dan, my old softball coach, died. I'm pretty sure he was under 50, and he was still very active in the "softball community." It made me really sad to hear, especially since we used to be so close and yet I haven't seen him in probably 7 years (except at a restaurant a couple years ago, oddly enough).

What makes it all the sadder that we lost touch is that he used to come to our house and give me and my sister free pitching lessons, since we were his star pitchers and part of his start-up team called the Queen of Diamonds (which my mom actually named, if I remember correctly). Dan would sit in our back yard watching us pitch and helping us perfect our curve balls and change-ups as my dad took a break from his shop and caught for us, with our backyard shed as the backdrop for wild pitches. Dan often mentioned that when he died, he hoped to be buried - or have his ashes buried - in our backyard, because that is where he was the happiest. It was his little escape from the rest of the world as we enjoyed the summer weather and spent a couple days a week just enjoying throwing the softball around.