A little league field needs a scoreboard. How can you tell who’s winning without a scoreboard?

Background.

Last Saturday, I had a wonderful Date Night. Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory – spoiler alert: they sell lots of cheesecakes – then an afternoon of gambling at Rivers Casino. And surprisingly, both of us left with more money than we brought (she hit 5-of-a-kind on a Joker Poker machine and had no idea that she had actually won until she saw the prize voucher to confirm it).

I tell this story because, well, I have a little cash. Not enough to go buy a sportscar, but a few dollars that I can spare on something. And that “something” came up in my local newsletter.

More background. I live in the Town and Village of Green Island, and we receive our electric bill from the Green Island Power Authority, our municipal power provider whose energy comes from the hydroelectric generators along the Hudson River. That being said, the bill also includes a local newsletter of events around the Town and Village. And one of the event notices involved the installation of a new scoreboard at the Little League field.

See, the original scoreboard was not visible to the entire park; so this new scoreboard will appear in the outfield for all to see. And anyone who purchases a sponsorship, whether corporate or individual, will have their names on a special attached acknowledgement plaque.

So more background. I’ve lived in the Town and Village for nearly 12 years. It’s a peaceful community, it’s quiet and the residents are quite helpful and friendly. And for someone who’s moved around all his life, it’s nice to find a place and live in that same place and not feel like I have to relocate my life.

So I contacted the Little League organizers, and gave them a portion of my winnings for the installation of the new scoreboard. And hopefully by Opening Day, the scoreboard will look fantastic at the Little League park.

Let’s put it this way. There are times when I need to feel like I’m part of a community. Part of an organization. Part of a club. Part of a group. Part of a family. And as I’ve said in this blog countless times, if you treat me with respect, I will give you that respect back seven times over.

It doesn’t matter that my best position in baseball is as a spectator. What matters is that I’m part of the community.

And that, for me, is a bigger win than making a slot machine light up at Rivers Casino.