Tuesday, August 11, 2015

No, it's Iowa

Field of Dreams

”Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.” - Terence Man, Field of Dreams.

Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams has been one of Owen's favorite movies since he watched it on a drive out to Iowa three years ago.  How could it not be, when it combines two of Owen's favorite things, baseball and Iowa?  Well, this year we finally made the pilgrimage to Dyersville with all the Zimmerman cousins to see the actual Field of Dreams. When we arrived there was even an actual actor from the movie dressed up as Shoeless Joe pitching to some kids (courtesy of the Make a Wish Foundation it turns out, not a regular feature of the site). The kids got to field balls and shag flies for a while, then Steve and I pitched for a while, so they could have their turn at the plate.  The clouds were starting to roll in, so we made a quick trip to check out what was really in that corn field, but then the skies opened up, and we rushed back to the cars and then home in the rain.  Heaven?  I could have sworn this was Iowa.

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