In baseball, I love playing “catch”. As a kid, I played catch with my friends east of San Francisco for hours on end. We “were” always Juan Marichal pitching, or Willie Mays making that great throw…or…we were simply playing catch getting updated on what was happening as we were listening to a Giants game on the radio.
As my first son was born, “playing catch” with him was the quintessential father-son activity, as we would toss that perfect sphere forEVER! In fact, he went on to play baseball in college. The conversation during these “catches” for a father-son are amazing…the same is had when fishing, or hiking, or………………..
I played catch with my dad, but we did one thing better. He built a small home in 1950. I was not born yet, so I could not help him build it. But, when I was 10 or so, he built a workshop in the back yard. That was the beginning of my dad and me doing woodworking projects together. He then bought some commercial real estate and I helped with those chores, all the time learning about woodworking. Just like when playing catch, or fishing, or hiking, the wonderful conversions between a father and son when working with wood are WONDERFUL. Similarly, my younger son had no interest in baseball BUT any project I was doing around the house he was right there building it with me…from gates to doors to bookcases….and this son got his degree in Theatrical Design and Construction and is a master carpenter.
The perfect fit of a mitered edge rivals that of a perfectly placed curve ball! I am lucky that each boy was interested in one of my passions!
