Over the weekend, the Beautiful Windy and I were watching the Tribe game on TV, and we saw Delino DeShields Jr., make a GREAT catch in the outfield. Big dive, full speed running, laying out for it.  Tribe announcer Rick Manning says, "That's just a fantastic catch!!!"   I've heard that saying about a thousand times, but for some reason this weekend it resonated.

When I was 11 or so, me and about 3 neighborhood kids would gather in our backyard and play a game we called, Fantastic Catches!  What we would do is, get our baseball gloves and a ball, and we would throw the ball high and away from one of the other kids, and you would have to run after it, and make a "fantastic catch."  Or not.  LOL.  We would dive, and lay out for the ball.  Jump high, and run at full speed to this.  It was a blast.  I'm not so sure our moms thought so with the grass stained jeans we came home with.  There was no point system, or winner, or time out to take pics.

THE PICTURE ABOVE WAS ME AT 11, DURING A GAME OF FANTASTIC CATCHES - FOOTBALL EDITION.  MY SISTER TOOK IT FOR HER SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS AT BEREA HIGH SCHOOL!

We would do the same thing during football season. Throw the football high and wide and we would have to dive after it to make a "fantastic catch."  I think we played this game more than an actual game, because you could do it just a couple of guys. We wanted to be like our heroes on TV, and this was a great way to do it.  Funny, all the hours we played this game, diving at full speed, crashing on the grass, sliding feet or head first, I don't remember anyone getting hurt.  It was just fun, and we did it by the hour.

I shared that story with Windy, and she laughed and so did I.  It was great to look back and remember a made up game from a thousand years ago and it seemed like yesterday.  Maybe you made up games like that too.  If so, take a minute right now and remember.

That memory which has been in my mind for decades finally made its way out.  My brain, with a Fantastic Catch!!!