Dear Henry

Your brother Joe is playing on Uncle Andrew's Babe Ruth team in Takoma Park with cousins Josh and Sam. How great is it that all three cousins are teammates. The team and the competition are mostly 9 year olds, so Joe is both way younger and smaller than everyone else. But his level of play is right up there. I went with him on Saturday morning and he hit two balls out of the infield on the fly and ended up with a double each time he was at bat.

The game was at a field in Takoma Park right next to the fields where I used to umpire for Uncle Andrew back when you were alive. That was the Babe Ruth league too. I had forgotten that I used to do that. I wore a chest protector but I don't think I wore a blue shirt or uniform.

Uncle Andrew is a really good coach and teaches Joe and his teammates well. In addition to playing for Coach Seth and the Pirates in CapCities Little League, this will be a positive experience for Joe.



One of the coaches who works with Uncle Andrew on the Takoma Park team is a guy named Alan Kanner. There is a photo of Joe with Alan when Joe was on third base. I used to work with Alan at a law firm back in the early 1990s.

When Joe and I were leaving the game I ran into a guy named Vivek who I worked with at VarsityBooks.com in the late 90s. His son had a game on the same field right after Joe. We hadn't seen each other in years. I think you were alive the last time I saw him.

It is a small world, and I like it that way.