A REFLECTION

Somewhere in America on an empty ballfield in the early 1970’s……………….

“Dad!! It’s gettin’ wicked dark! I can’t even see the ball anymore! Can we go home now?”
“Yeah, OK let’s go guys!”, dad would yell to the three lanky boys. One of them is at the backstop/homeplate afraid he’s gonna get hit by a pitch from dad ‘cause he can barely see the ball anymore, and two in the field who get a little nervous when they hear the ball hit the bat……for the same reason. They’ve been at this for an hour or two now and all three of them are exhausted from chasin’ endless hits from one another as well as hitting endless pitches from dad. They all pile in the car and go home. No doubt there are more than a few lost baseballs scattered over the outfield this time. It just got too dark for the boys to find them. I was one of those three boys……….
Cat Stevens wrote a now famous song around those times called, “The Cats in the Cradle”. It tells the story of a father who is too busy to spend time with his children. He is too busy doing what he considers important. Unfortunately, he forgets to spend time with his son. The neglect of the son does not change the fact that the son exclaims with great pride as his father walks away, “I’m gonna be like HIM, ya know I wanna be like HIM”. The song ends many years later as the dad tells the son, quote, “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind.” To which the sons piercing reply is, “I’d love to dad if I can find the time”. When listening to the song, all fathers’ hearts ache with the closing realization: “As I hung up the phone it occurred to me, he’s grown up just like me…..my boy is just like me……..”

Somewhere else in America year-2006…………………
“You guys simply cannot beat me.”
“Yeah sure dad…..we beat you before!” Says one of the three teenagers as they finish a board game at the dining table. They’ve been playing a couple different games all afternoon together. A song comes on the cd player. It’s a mix of many different songs by different artists. A familiar song comes on:
“A child arrived just the other day, he came to the world in the usual way, but there were planes to catch, and bills to pay, he learned to walk while I was away………………….. Everyone knows the words and they are singing along or mouthing the words…..it’s a classic. Dad grabs his son as he is walking by and playfully says to him with a hint of concern in his voice, “I hope I’m not like the dad in this song. Mike, is this song true for you?”“No of course it isn’t dad”. Says Michael…………”Well it is true that I wanna be like you!”………………………………………