Here at the Tyler Place we keep this most American of traditions alive with our weekly Staff vs. Guest softball game at the TP diamond. Every Thursday afternoon, dozens of Staff and Guests from across the TP assemble to compete in this timeless event. Kids of all ages cheer for their parents and play catch along the sidelines, while Moms and Dads alike square off against the young men and women to whom they have entrusted the safety and well being of their children. As the fielders squint in the Northern Vermont sun, and the first guest steps into the batter’s box and squares off, the pitch is thrown and the game is under way! For the next two hours, the world shrinks to a couple of acres of sand and Kentucky Bluegrass in a remote corner of Franklin County. Tense minutes of silence, as beads of sweat begin to form across the brows of the competitors, are interrupted periodically by the sharp metallic cling of a clean hit and the roar of a crowd shouting instructions. Bare feet pound across the grass as the throw launches into the air, heading for second and the third base coach yells “Down!” A cloud of sand and dust erupts, closely followed by the dull ‘thwack’ of the ball striking leather. “Safe!”It’s moments like these that make the summer what it is. As we approach the end of the season, the past weeks’ memories begin to take on the glow of a time not soon forgotten. I know that in three weeks’ time, today’s softball game will be added to the long line of summer games staged over the last 22 years of my life. Memories of my father helping beat the Staff, while I hugged the fence with my Mom, unable to sit down or look away. Of five years later, when I was old enough to understand the game and had begun to play in Little League back home. I manned the score board and brazenly called plays -- always in favor of the Guests. Of another five years, down the line, when I could finally join in, and despite a defeat at the hands of the Staff, I could walk away from the pitch knowing that I’d made no errors and brought in 2 RBIs. And then the memories of the last two years, when I joined the ranks of the TP Staff and was able to play, not just one hallowed game a summer, but every week for 13 straight weeks.
Win or lose, softball has remained one of the highlights of my summer. How could it not? Staff and Guests uniting over a friendly competition, enjoying a national pastime, reveling in the camaraderie and the rivalry, and later swapping stories over an evening of music and drink at the Inn. I would be hard pressed to envision a more perfect climax to any week. Though this summer’s season will soon join many others in the recesses of my memory, I know that I can look forward to seeing you all back on that diamond in a few short months.
