Field of Dreams

According to today’s Sun-Times, work continues for an MLB game—Yankees and White Sox—at the “Field of Dreams” movie site in Dyersville, Iowa.  Build it, and maybe nobody will come, in which case, why bother?

 

A youth baseball organization runs the property now and has built eleven baseball and softball fields.  I can’t tell from the map on their website which one is from the movie, but I’m sure it’s there.  At least, I hope it is. 

 

I’ve now come to the point where I think certain places of cultural and/or natural importance should have restricted access, to be determined by a drawing.  Your name doesn’t get picked, sorry.  Try again next year.  If you think this is unfair, watch one of those monster cruise ships try to navigate the harbor at Venice.  The waves can’t be good for buildings that predate the Renaissance, and I doubt the constant flood of tourist helps, either.

 

I fear this is what’s happening in Dyersville.  It used to be a self-selective process; any crazy who wanted to navigate some backroads to get a look at a baseball field was welcome to try.  We did it three times.  I doubt if there was ever more than a hundred people walking about.  And nobody hurried me up to finish throwing BP to Clare.

 

I have a picture of the two of us standing in the outfield, the corn just behind us, my twelve-year old smiling from all the line drives she just hit.  It may be too late for an annual drawing to save that place of wonder and rolling landscape.