I squatted behind home plate and flashed one finger down - the universal signal for a fastball.
The pitcher - my best friend - shook his head slowly.
Ok, then. Two fingers, a curveball.
Slow head shake. He could throw only three pitches, a fastball, curve and changeup, so I called for the change.
Again, a slow headshake. Obviously, he was messing around, perhaps wanting to make the batter think he could throw several pitches.
I ran through the signals again and he shook them all off. Again.
So I did the only reasonable thing I could think of - flipped him off where no one could see but me and him.
He broke up and stepped off the rubber with his back to the dugout so the coach wouldn’t see him laughing.
Too late. The coach was trotting out to the mound, calling time on the way.
Catchers are supposed to join discussions on the mound, so I walked out slowly, keeping my mask on in case I couldn’t keep a straight face.
The coach was a funny guy with a sense of humor, but he was all business about the game.
“What’s so funny out here?” he asked. “I don’t know, Coach,” McSwain said. And then came up with a line about how it had just hit him that here we were getting to play this wonderful game and how much he enjoyed the competition and representing the school.
Incredibly, the coach bought it and trotted back to the dugout.
Sadly, McSwain died of cancer earlier this year. The next-to-last time I got to see him, we talked a lot about old times and one of the stories we revisited was that one.
The other day I realized that there’s no one else now who was there for that shared experience. Just me. Now it’s just an anecdote to tell, not a moment to be relived.
Such is the sadness that comes with losing loved ones or relatives or friends.
When they’re no longer here, the experiences you shared with them transition into memories.
The memories are treasures, but not quite the same as being able to say: “Hey, do you remember the time...”
It’s a good reason to check in with people you haven’t seen in a while.
Revisit some old times and moments you have shared. Before the experiences become memories.