Civility In An Uncivil World - Part III

    How many times is this going to happen to me? I write something that is relevant, hard-hitting, even thoughtful (I always hope for thoughtful)! And then, something beautiful happens; something out of the blue that nobody could predict; something civil in this most uncivil world. Whether it's two young women in Iceland doing their best for themselves as well as for the world around them; or a book that's all about, well, Civility; or…the kindness and maturity shown by Little League baseball players. Which brings us to our story. 

    The preamble to this story happened last year in a game between two Little League teams, one from Oklahoma and the other from Texas. A big strapping kid from Texas is on the mound and he's firing away. Bringing the heat, as they say in baseball. The kid from Oklahoma is a tall kid with gangly arms and legs and long blonde hair who probably plays quarterback for his local football team when he's not swinging for his Little League team. Well, what happened next is every parents' nightmare. A pitch got away from the strapping Texan and caught the young Oklahoman right in the side of the head. He goes down and stays down for what seems like the longest 70 seconds in YouTube history. 

    But then something magical happened. After the batter got up and shook the cobwebs off, he trotted down to first. Standing ovation from the crowd, etc., etc. However, the pitcher...well, that was another story. This kid was shaken up. I mean, he's walking around the mound while the batter was down, and he's rubbing his baseball cap like he's the one who got hit. You didn't know who to feel more sorry for. His coach came out to talk to him and he's got his arm around him and the pitcher is shaking his head and taking deep breaths and you're thinking everything is going to be okay. 

    Well, he wasn't okay, and the kid who got hit knew it. Kids can tell these things. So, the young man who got hit tosses his batting helmet to the side and he starts walking from first base to the pitcher's mound. He gets to the mound and puts his arms around the pitcher, telling him that he's okay. The magic has now hit a crescendo, like the ending to Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Parents are crying, kids are clapping, the fans are on their feet like it's some kind of religious revival. Unbelievable...  I understand that the kid getting hit is a tough watch, but I encourage you (if you haven't already seen it) to click on the link above. It's well worth it. Civility in an uncivil world. And like I said, dear reader, this is just the preamble.

    Earlier today in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, they played the final game of the seemingly endless Little League World Series tournament. The game was between a team from Florida and a team from Taiwan. And may I pause to say that at least it's an actual "World" Series. I'm always slightly annoyed that Major League Baseball calls their season ending series the "World Series", when in fact, it's just a championship tournament for the United States and one team in Canada. Hardly a "World" Series, but I digress. 

    Anyway, the game is a tough and taut battle that goes into extra innings. In the top of the first extra inning the Florida relief pitcher looks like Mariano Rivera out there. "One...Two...Three...sit down!" The Taiwan kids hardly get a bat on the ball. This kid is great. So here comes Florida up to bat. And as I learned today, in Little League games, just like it was last year in Major League Baseball, you start an extra inning with a man on second base, in the hopes of speeding up the games. This is especially important in Little League because these kids have homework to do and classes to get ready for in the Fall, right? Right?! You're an idiot...

    So here's Florida now up to bat, with the kid on second. The batter bunts the ball in the hopes of moving the runner to third. Good, sound baseball. It's a good bunt, and the first baseman comes in to field the ball but the pitcher gets there first, fields the ball, whips around and throws it to first base for the out. But there's one minor problem...there's NOBODY at first to catch the ball. You guessed it, the ball goes sailing down the foul territory next to right field, and the Florida kid who was on second comes around to score the winning run! Thank you, that's a wrap! Florida wins the game and the World Series of Little League Baseball!!

    But it doesn't end there, faithful reader. Because no sooner does the winning run score than the magic returns. As you can imagine, the Taiwanese kids are in shock. And as the television cameras panned the craziness that was happening on the field (because all this is playing out to a world-wide audience), their shock has turned to devastation. These poor kids are on their knees, crying. If ABCs Wide World of Sports was still airing, this would be "the agony of defeat." Unbelievable. My heart went out to each and every one of those kids. And because I'm a jack-ass, I'm thinking to myself, "Isn't it bad enough that these kids have to return to Taiwan and go back to being ruled by Communist China, that they have to endure one of the most brutal losses in Little League World Series history?" Unbelievable...

    Then it happened...the magic...again. As the young Taiwanese players were in their collective 9th Circle of Hell, the American kids, as they were celebrating one of the craziest endings on any level of baseball, started walking amongst the Taiwanese players, as if they were searching for survivors on some ancient battlefield. They put their arms around those kids and did their very best to console them. It was heart-wrenching and absolutely uplifting all at the same time. They knew what had just happened, and they were probably just as shocked as the other team was. But shock is a lot easier to deal with when your team wins...and the American kids instinctively knew that. They talked to and whispered to them...just like that kid from Oklahoma did for that pitcher from Texas. I know it's going to sound trite, but I'll type it anyway. "Out of the mouths of babes."

    I have no problem saying that kids today have a lot to learn and more often than not, would be better off if they quit yapping so much and listened a little more. That said, there is an innocence that produces moments like these two I've described above. And these can be teaching moments for young and old, as well as moments of wisdom and civility that would make the ancients proud. 

    More than ever, we live in an uncivil world. I have no problems taking a lesson or two from the kids. Their innocence can be infectious. It's one infection I trust I can hold onto for more than a little while. I hope you will, too.

write to Peter: magtour@icloud