It was a pleasant day despite the cold, crisp air cutting through the November skies. As my mom drove from the ice rink to the Gethers’ house, Eric and I talked about school, hockey and secretly whispered about girls. We were both ten and could not have been enjoying life more. Throughout the drive I noticed a grin upon Eric’s face. He knew something that I didn’t, and he could not control his emotions enough to hide it. I kept questioning him but to no avail. “Patience, patience, you’ll find out soon enough,” Eric responded. As we reached his house the anxiety overwhelmed me. His smile, joy and my ignorance had reached a boiling point. I had to know what was going on, I just had to.

When the car came to a stop, I opened the van door and jumped out. To my disappointment nothing immediately caught my eye. Granted, I wasn’t expecting a circus, but a new basketball or hockey goal would have been nice. Puzzled, I looked back at Eric who could hardly contain his laughter. “Not here dummy, try the back yard,” Eric said. Before his sentence was complete I had started to sprint. “No way, is that the …” “You bet it is,” Eric stated proudly as he cut me off. Wow! I can’t believe you got the,” I was so stunned that I couldn’t finish. My best friend, the greatest guy ever, the man, had just delivered in the clutch. Eric Gethers was the new owner of a T-Ball Catcher 3000.

Unable to restrain myself, I grabbed a bat, set up the ball, and started my swing. All through the swing I could think of nothing but how cool this piece of equipment was. I could swing as hard as I wanted and it would not only catch my ball, but hold it there until I wanted it back - that was mind-boggling! A loud and distinct CLANK echoed over the lawn. But it wasn’t the usual sound of a solid line drive. I watched my ball rise as if it were traveling toward the fairway in golf. It’s not a big deal, the top of the equipment will catch it. I grew worried as the ball continued to soar over the catcher; praying it would not have enough power to clear the entire yard. Nevertheless the ball continued to climb. That enjoyable, cold, crisp November day happened to be the same day I broke my first window.