"Little Petie"

Every year at this time, "Little Petie", the "kid" inside me, becomes absolutely impossible to deal with. He is obnoxious, and overbearing, is determined to get his way and will not take NO for an answer. He is banging on the walls, jumping up and down, rolling around on the floor and even hollering, "Open up! Let me outta here! Open up already!" So, whatever is his problem? Well, it is baseball. He knows that opening day of the major league baseball season is less than a week away. He also thinks that he still lives only six blocks from Yankee Stadium.

He does not understand that things have changed. He still has this crazy notion that he and his friends can run over to the Stadium, hang out by the players entrance on 158th Street and see the "Mick" and "Yogi" and the "Scooter" and the "Moose" and the other guys. He thinks that if I let him out he and his buddy, Stixie" will be able to somehow have, by the 2nd inning, wangled their way into the ball park and will be sitting in the Mezzanine watching the Yanks slaughter the Red Sox. After the last out he and Stixie will jump the fence near the dugout and, with hundreds of other kids and grownups, run onto the field, tearing around the base paths and running around the outfield. He will make believe he is Mickey Mantle running and catching A "Ballantine Blast" off the bat of Ted Williams then throwing a strike to the plate from the the very same spot that the "Mick" had thrown from only moments before. He also knows that if he gets out he will be able to do this all summer long, right up until school starts in September.

Well, as a parent to the little guy, I have to be hard hearted and tell him, unequivocally, "NO!! You cannot leave. Discussion over." Simple as that. Being a parent is tough work. Sometimes you have to disappoint even if it breaks your heart.

It will be okay. "Little Petie" will get over it and by May he'll be tucked safely back in his little world, quiet and content until next March. In the meantime, he'll join me in rooting for his new team, the "Tampa Bay Rays" (Who ???--in case you never heard of them they beat the mighty Yankees for the division title two of the last three years) and for some of the new guys like Longoria and Upton and Price. Maybe we'll catch a few games at Tropicana Field. Will we get to run onto the field? Yeah, right? " PLAY BALL!!