Canzano: Monday Mailbag hits Big Ten Network, Ohio State tickets, Civil War name, ticking Pac-12 clock, Week 1... and more
Canzano: Monday Mailbag hits Big Ten Network, Ohio State tickets, Civil War name, ticking Pac-12 clock, Week 1... and more
Your questions. My answers.
I loved the summer as a kid. It was my favorite season. The whole thing belonged to me. No school. No job. My lone obligation was playing an 18-game Little League baseball season and going to pizza parties afterward.
I savored those three precious months, playing wiffle ball in the backyard, building forts with my brother and two sisters, and pedaling my bicycle to the nearest video arcade with one pocket sagging off to the side because it was filled with quarters.
I organized my baseball cards in the summer. I’d put them in alphabetical order, then numerical order, change my mind, and reorganize the cards by team. I’d hang out with friends and we’d throw together football, baseball, and basketball games. And when nobody was around, I’d hit the ball off a tee, playing solo baseball games while performing nine innings of play-by-play broadcast under my breath.
Near the end of every summer, my Italian grandparents would invite me and my siblings to spend a week with them. Each grandchild got to visit alone. I loved that time. It’s where my grandmother taught me how to make her homemade spaghetti sauce and I raked leaves in the backyard with my grandfather.
One morning at breakfast in the summer of 1983, I studied the newspaper and mentioned to my grandpa that the Giants and Cubs were playing that afternoon at Candlestick Park. I figured we’d listen to it on the radio. Then, I went to use the bathroom. When I came out, Grandpa said: “Get your shoes on — it’s a double-header.”
The Giants swept the Cubs that afternoon. I had a hot dog and a chocolate malt with one of those spoons made from wood. I still have the game program. I savored every pitch and when we got back, my grandmother feigned excitement as I bounced about the kitchen explaining that Jeffrey Leonard hit a home run in the first game.
The first day of school begins on Tuesday for the two youngest daughters in our household. One will be in the third grade. The other is now a fifth grader. They’re excited about their teachers and seeing their classmates. But I’m clinging to the last 24 hours of the summer with them and wondering what they’ll remember.
A trip? Board games? A backyard barbecue?
I’ll remember sharing it with them.
It’s like Brad Paisley sings: “You only get so many summers...”
College football is here. I love that, too. And I suppose it makes the transition from summer to fall more tolerable. Fans start the season in short sleeves and sunglasses. They end it, bundled up. Week 1 kicks off this week. I can’t wait, but first, we’ll drop those two little kids off at school, knowing we only get so many of those moments, too. The older daughter will be a senior in college this fall. It feels like I just dropped her off at the dorms.
If you’re already a paid subscriber, thank you for your support. You’ll have access to all my work. If you’d like to share with others please consider a gift subscription for a friend or family member. And thanks to all who donate subscriptions to seniors on fixed budgets.
Onto the mailbag…