Back in FL

Football season has begun. I was on the road Friday and Saturday and was stuck listening to the Gator game on the radio rather than watching it on TV. I was actually driving back down to Florida. I don’t think I have seen a Florida license plate since I left here in June. It may sound like a dumb, obvious observation since I was up north, but with Florida being such a tourist spot there are constantly drivers from all over the place here. Anyway, it was good to see other Florida plates again, and other Gator fans. I knew when I left my hotel Saturday morning I was rolling dice on hitting football traffic. Of course, the smart thing would have been to leave earlier, but I opted to sleep in a little. As I listened to the game on the radio I kept calculating the approximate time left and the miles I had to go. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the sign for 20 miles to Gainesville and the clock was winding down. I was fortunate as I passed through; the fans were just beginning to pour out on the roads. I wasn’t slowed down, but I was surrounded in a swamp of Gator fans. Never mind the Florida plates I had not seen all summer, I was now surrounded by FL Gator plates, flags and other car gear. Of course, my little car fit in with its blue paint and Gator plate frame.

So, now I am back in Florida, still praying something will work out soon. It’ll all happen as it is supposed to. It’s not easy to trust that, but one has to through faith.

I got to go to Merritt Island yesterday to watch my second cousin’s baseball game. His younger brother, Jonathan is even more of a baseball enthusiast. His mom was telling me that every Ray’s game that is on he is stationed with his glove in front of the TV to run the plays. Their dad is the Chaplain for the Devil Rays, and baseball was always his sport as he grew up in Miami. After the game the team was having a meeting in the outfield. Meanwhile, Jonathan was playing a full-blown imaginary game on the field. He would race to first. He was so accurate I was sucked into watching as if it were for real. Under the park lights his eyes shifted back and forth between the pitcher and batter as he played with the idea of stealing second. After another hit he began rounding the bases and watched his invisible ball being played in the outfield so he would know exactly how far to run. My favorite was his homerun hit. His mouth dropped in excitement and he trotted around the bases. I love watching kids when their imaginations are activated. It was especially crazy to me as I watched him and I could remember holding him as a newborn at my high school graduation. Seven years later there we were on that baseball field under bright lights and the warm Florida night.