Why?

I really don't know how it happened. I have four very active boys, and while they have been to a baseball game or two, for some reason, none has ever been at the precocious age of seven, when the questions are never-ending. Until Jeffrey.

We took two of our 4 boys to a Fishercats game last night. While I am not your biggest fan, I enjoy going to a ball game and watching the boys play. The Fishercats had a Golden retriever, which I presume is their mascot. That's how the conversation went from mammals to canines.

"Dad, where do whales come from?" Jeff asked during the drive to the game. "How did they become whales?"

While the players were warming up before the start of the game, their mascot came out onto the field. Of course, once the game started, the dog was no longer visible. "Where's the dog?" We told him the dog was taking a nap. "Where's he sleeping?" We told him he was napping in the Fishercat's dugout. And from there, it was one query after another, interspersed with some statements.

Imagine sitting at a baseball game with a 7-year-old sitting beside you, who apparently has taken a newfound interest since he last went to a game two years prior. "I want to be a baseball player. I could run around this whole field two times. Are they going to do that T-shirt thing again? What are they saying? What does 'charge' mean? Why do they say that? How many players are on the field? When is the inning over? It's getting dark. When's Chris coming home? Hey, can we go to the golf course two times tomorrow? Hey, what are they doing? (Smoothing the sand.) Why are they yelling that? I hope they do the T-shirts again. I might catch one. I got two-hole-in one today. Joey didn't even get a single hole-in-one. Why is he throwing that? (Player tossing a ball into the eager crowd.) I wonder who was that guy video taping? Where's the dog? Is he still napping? Is the dog going to come back? That grass is perfect right there. Not the whole thing. See that part right there that says 'Delta'? Why are they launching balls out? Come on, dad, you said a ball was going to come over here. Is the game still going? Why are there people going in? What are those kids doing? (Mascot chase.) Why did they only invite them? How do they ask you? Do you have to be in a costume? There's a lot of 'empires'. (Probably meant 'umpires'.) Dad, you said a ball was going to come over here. How can he catch that? Is the game over? Dad, why is everyone clapping? How come those people are up there? (VIP section.) How come they're important? Even those kids are important? Do they not care about us? Joey, can I hold the ball? (After I had caught one tossed into the crowd.)

And that is how I enjoyed the game last night. And it is one of the best memories I'll ever have of my youngest boy.