[Case12]

I couldn't wait till tmmrw to open the box.

Johnny Bench.

My first baseball glove I got when I was about 10 yrs old. That was about 50 years ago. My dad took me to the store and told me to pick out whichever glove I wanted. I wanted to be different than the other guys, so I picked a catchers mitt. Not just any glove. A Johnny Bench mitt!

For years I tried catching balls with that mitt. Tossing baseball with other guys using a catchers mitt was never easy for me. I didn't care - Mine was Johnny Bench! I oil it, flexed it, put a baseball in it, wrapped with a rubber band, and kept it under my mattress at night while I slept.

I never met Johnny, but we had a special glove to bond over. In a way I was his 10 year old "pal". Time went by, my mom probably sold my glove in a garage sale, I went to school, got married, got a job, had kids, and now grandkids.

I always wanted to meet him. Now this dang COVID thing is keeping us all locked up. So, I decided to send him a ball to sign, and sent him an email with this history. I asked him to personalize it to me.

I already had the holder and waited. Here it is. I got it in the mail today - 'To my pal, Casey' - Johnny Bench.

Screw COVID. One day I will meet him. But today I can feel like a 10 yr old boy has gotten closer to his great baseball 'pal' . Means a lot to me...