Domed Stadium

 

 Many people from theater say, “The most important ability for an actor is not saying lines. The ability to listen is more important.” There are many ways to describe this concept. Acting is reaction. An actor has to react to his or her co-actors and the atmosphere of theater. Therefore, most theater actors have an insight into the human mind. They can read people’s minds through movement, tone of voice, facial expressions, and so on. Some of them are almost psychics.

 By the way, we have a domed baseball stadium in our town. When I take the subway, sometimes I encounter masses of baseball fans. The trains are so crowded especially after a game.

 Then I imagined that I was an actor and tried to read the atmosphere of the baseball fans and guess whether our home team won or lost.

 In those days, I believed I was a good actor. So I tried to guess every time I saw a crowd of baseball fans. After guessing, I would check the result of the game on TV. I would also check my insight as an actor.

 The results were terrible. In most cases, I guessed our home team won, but when I checked the news, sometimes our home team was beaten really badly. I lost my confidence. My ability as an actor could be lower than that of average actors.

 But I recently thought of a different idea. I had been a caregiver for my mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease, for over 10 years. I had become seriously ill. I had experienced many kinds of misfortune.

 The baseball fans who were on the way from the ballpark to their home were special people. They had enough money to buy tickets. They were physically tough to watch the game, which took three or four hours. Baseball’s rules are complex. They have the intellectual power to understand and enjoy ballgames. Most of all, they love baseball. The result of the game was not important. They had just enjoyed their favorite sport.

 I was not completely wrong. I read the happy atmosphere, the happy people. They were always winners.

 Now, I have left my mother in a nursing home. I have recovered from my serious illness. I am kind of well-off. A few months ago, I visited the stadium and enjoyed watching baseball with my wife. There were tons of happy people in the stadium. I was a one of them.

 Dear friends! Let’s go to a ballpark to affirm our happiness.

Picture by jimsy