Japan-Pony Baseball

When I began my sabbatical, I knew that much of my travel during the six months would be as I accompanied my husband on his business trips. Our friends and I always tease him that it is hard to distinguish his work days from his vacation days. After twenty-five years of marriage, I finally understand that travel IS work. Most people couldn't keep up the pace of checking into airports, going through security, dealing with luggage, enduring long layovers and weather delays, renting cars and staying in hotel after hotel.

Most of what my husband does is a job like any other. The perk, however, is that the end result of his work is helping kids. During our trip to Japan we had a chance to visit three baseball leagues and see their facilities, coaches, parents….and the kids. It would be an understatement to say that this was the highlight of our trip.

At each field, the kids were in full uniform waiting outside for us to arrive. The team captain was the one to greet us…in English! Most of these boys were about thirteen years old and their English was limited. They read from a piece of paper the speech that they had prepared. After my husband greeted the players and shook their hands, the teams presented us with gifts and in some cases hot tea and small cakes.

It was a great afternoon out in the suburbs of Tokyo. Looking at all the parents who came out to support their kids, I realized their lives are very much like ours back in the USA. On our way out of town, we even found PONY vending machines in the area!