In the Blink of an Eye

It was ten years ago Thursday, April 28, 2012. Michele and I drove 3-1/2 hours to Appleton, Wisconsin, for a nonconference doubleheader between Lawrence University and Elmhurst College. It was the Saturday of swinging at first pitches. By my count, Clare did it a minimum of five times in eight at-bats that rainy, cold, Saturday afternoon, and she made an out seven times. The first game, it didn’t matter; Elmhurst won without their star right fielder contributing. Ah, but game two, that’s when the Blue Jays needed the kind of clutch power their sophomore could provide. Down 7-1 after four innings, the Blue Jays clawed their way back to within one run in the top of the seventh. With a runner on and actually waiting on a 2-1 fastball, Clare hit a ball that went 260 feet, per the dad (not me) who walked it off. Elmhurst wins, 8-7. The next day, the Blue Jays faced off against Illinois Wesleyan, needing a split to get into the postseason tournament, and they got it. Five days later, downstate Bloomington as warm as Appleton was cold, when Clare hit a ball against Carthage that literally silenced the crowd. We’re talking in the neighborhood of 300 feet. I’ve never seen a ball hit harder or farther. And now my daughter is married with a husband; nine-month old; and a house she and Chris placed the winning bid on this week. Mom and dad went to a John Mayer concert last night. The grandparents watched the baby, who cared not at all that the White Sox lost for the tenth time in eleven games, 5-1, to the Angels. The South Siders could’ve used a hitter like the one I saw, what, just the other day.