[71buc]

I think baseball is far too ingrained in our history and culture to worry about it. My third grade daughter came home from school today asking me about Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Branch Rickey. She is learning about the Negro Leagues and was very interested to know more. She also asked if I had any Toni Stone cards. I said who? She then explained to me that Toni Stone was a female second baseman who played for the Clowns after Hank Aaron left the Negro Leagues. I learn from my children everyday. She asked if she could take my Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Paige cards to school to share with her class. I swallowed hard and agreed to let her do so. I showed her the cards and she asked me why the Paige had brown stains on it unlike the others that were in much better condition. I explained how I had traded three chocolate milks for it in the fourth grade and accidently spilled my own milk on it. She immediately said that made the card much better. I asked her why and she said because it came from when you were a kid like me. Baseball is a large part of who I am and she knows that I am passionate about all things baseball. Because of this she knows that the game and it's history is important to me so she is interested as well. I doubt she knows a homer from a touchdown. However,she does listen with interest to my incessant ramblings about Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. Thankfully she knows more about who they were as men more than who they were as players. If you ask her she will tell you Aaron was brave in the face of prejudice and that Clemente died helping others. It is up to those of us who love the game and it's history to share our passion with the next generation. Nonetheless, I will likely tag along with her and my cards for my own peace of mind as she habitually loses her own shoes