Stepping to the plate

It was a perfect summer day. You know the type warm bright sunshine, lite cool breeze, the smell of flowers and fresh grass, and the feeling that adventure could be around any turn. In a small town, in a tight knit cal-de-sac young Raymond Moore was kicking a can down the sidewalk. Raymond was deep in thought. How to earn enough money to sign up for local baseball league? His father thought this was a good time to learn the value of money. His mother thought he was ready for this challenge. Raymond thought his parents were being unfair but he really wanted to play so he'd get the money as soon as he had an idea how. This was his third time around the block so he didn't see what house he was at and was startled when he heard someone calling his name. "Raymond!" it was Mrs. Ruth Von Meter, everyone called her Grandma Ruth, she had lived on the street longer than anyone. Grandma Ruth was old, Raymond thought but she didn't look that old so maybe not.

"Having a good summer?" Grandma Ruth asked. "Yeah" Raymond replied, "except Mom and Dad said I have to help pay for baseball this fall and I've spent all my birthday money already." "Oh! Well if you're looking for work, I've been wanting to start a garden in the backyard and need someone to dig out the weeds for me. It's a little too big of a job for me." Grandma Ruth said, "I'd be willing to pay five dollars for that job." Raymond's eyes lit up. Five dollars digging up weeds was like hitting the jackpot for a boy of ten besides he dug in his mother's planter for fun. Raymond couldn't contain his enthusiasm. "I'll go ask my mom if I can!" he said. "Ok, just come over tomorrow around nine in the morning if she says yes." said Grandma Ruth. Raymond thanked her and ran home.

After discussing it, his parents agreed he could work for Grandma Ruth. The next morning Raymond got up early and went over to Grandma Ruth's exactly at nine a.m. Grandma Ruth had all the tools necessary for the gardening job. She told Raymond she would have a snack for him around eleven and anything interesting that he found in the yard he could keep it if he wanted. Raymond thought this was the best job ever. The backyard was very spacious with a little shed on the left and a row of sad looking rose bushes on the right side along the fence. The lawn in the middle looked pretty well kept. The garden was going to be in the right back corner. It was covered in weeds as tall as Raymond. This was going to be a bigger job then he had anticipated. He got a shovel from the shed and started in. It was hard work and halfway down he found a thistle bush that would have to be uprooted. Raymond had almost finished with the weeds when Grandma Ruth came out with a snack. "Oh, it's looking great out here. You are doing a great job!" she said. " I brought you a sandwich and fresh chocolate chip cookies and lemonade for a snack." "Thank you!" replied Raymond. He ate hurriedly as he hadn't realized how hungry he had become.

After finishing the delicious snack Raymond got some gloves out of the shed in order to tackle the thistle bush. With the shovel he dug at the bottom of the trunk, he could feel that the roots ran deep and thick into the soil. Raymond decided to cut up the thistle bush and then dig out the roots. After sawing the trunk and discarding the bush it took another hour and a half to uproot the trunk. As he levered the shovel against the roots and pushed the handle using the leverage to push the stump out of the ground. When the roots were finally out Raymond noticed that they were entwined together in the shape of a ball around something. He could see the sun glinting off something shiny and metal within the ball of roots. Curious he began to hack away at roots with the shovel. Once he got a good portion off he was able to pull a medium sized metal box from the encasement of roots. Just as he pulled the metal box from the roots Grandma Ruth outside with some water and another sandwich. "I thought you could use another snack and a break" she said. "Grandma Ruth, look what I found." Raymond said as he brought the box to the patio table. "My goodness! The time capsule! My brother and I buried that years ago when we were children." She explained "Why don't you get the pliers and we'll break it open." Grandma Ruth understood that Raymond was curious and this was like discovering a treasure for a little boy. She let him break the lock with the pliers and open it up. Inside the time capsule were some old toy trucks, tiddly winks, marbles, jacks, a porcelain baby doll and a baseball with some scribbles on it. Upon seeing the doll Grandma Ruth gasped "That rat!" I looked for Baby Dorothy everywhere. My brother must have put her in there before father buried the capsule. Oh but she does look so pretty still." Grandma Ruth explained that they had buried the time capsule at the end of the summer of 1920, she was ten years old. She told him about all the things in time capsule and why they put them there. She showed him how to play marbles and jacks. Then she came to the baseball and there was a story there. "My father took my brother and I to watch the players warm up for the big game the next day. He was friends with the owner of the stadium ." she said "After the warm up was over and the players were heading into the locker rooms, my father was getting us ready to leave. One of the players, Honey O'Henry came up to us. He asked if we enjoyed watching the team and if we were excited for the game the next day. After talking to us for awhile he gave my brother and I each a signed baseball." At that Raymond excitedly chimed in "Wow! Honey O'Henry was a great ball player!" Grandma Ruth smiled "He sure was, one of the best." Raymond was in awe "He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame." Grandma Ruth laughed "That game I watched him play that summer he pitched a no-hitter. After that I knew this ball was special. I put it in the time capsule for safe keeping."

The house phone ringing brought Grandma Ruth out of nostalgia and she rushed in to answer it. Raymond decided he had spent long enough away from the task at hand. He took a big swig of water and began hauling the thicket bramble to the garbage can. He finished cleaning out the garden within another hour. When he was finished Grandma Ruth came out to look at the progress. "It looks wonderful" she said "Thank you, now anything you'd like from the box is yours." Raymond was shocked "Really? Are you sure? You had a lot of neat stuff in there." "Well I did say anything you found" she replied. Raymond smiled "Just the ball then?" he scrunched his face "I don't want the doll." Grandma Ruth laughed "I'd be happier if she stayed here as well." Raymond took the baseball out of the box with great care. Grandma Ruth payed him twenty-five dollars. When he protested she explained five for the original weed removal, ten for getting rid of the pesky thistle bush, and another ten for reuniting her with her beloved doll.

Upon returning home and telling his parents about his exciting day, they decided it wasn't right for him to keep the ball so the next day he returned it to Grandma Ruth. She winked and said she would just keep it there for him. The years past, Raymond would often visit Grandma Ruth. She would tell stories from her childhood. He could come admire the baseball which she had placed on her mantel, whenever he wanted. After that first year of playing baseball Raymond fell more in love with the game. Eventually he earned a scholarship to collage for the sport. It was his third semester when he received a call from his mom one day. She was just chatting about this and that when she mentioned that Grandma Ruth had been moved to an old folks home. Raymond was shocked. Grandma Ruth had family who should have helped her stay in her house. According to his mom her family members were busy with there own lives and didn't have time to take care of Grandma Ruth. They had decided to sell her house and move her to an assisted living facility. Raymond was aghast. He couldn't help but feel sad thinking about how lonely Grandma Ruth must be. His head was still reeling when his mother mentioned that Grandma Ruth had left him something before she left. Curious Raymond decided to take the weekend and visit his parents. When he arrived home he saw the for sale sign in front of Grandma Ruth's house and a pit formed in his stomach. The cruelty to take her out of the home she grew up in, rip her away from the community who loved her, was heinous.

After a quick hello to his father and kiss to his mother, he went up to his room. He opened the door and looked around. Everything was how he had left it except on his desk was a large manila envelope. He sighed and sat down at the desk. He gingerly opened the sealed envelope and slid the contents out on the desk. It was a small black notebook with a latch. Intrigued, he unlatched the book and opened it. The contents was a series of dates and dollar figures. The dates started that summer day he had worked in her yard and ended a week before she had to leave her house. There was a thick envelope at the back of the book and the last page was a letter addressed to him. It read, "Dear Raymond, Thank you for the laughs and company all those years. It's been a pleasure watching you grow to be such a wonderful young man. I had to get my affairs in order so I managed to cash in on Honey O'Henry afterall. I hope it comes in handy for you."

Raymond opened the envelope and inside was an insane amount of money and a receipt. The receipt said, "Johnson Appraisal - one major league baseball signed by legendary player, Honey O'Henry. Appraised at $200,000" It hit like a brick to the face! Grandma Ruth had sold the special one of a kind baseball and given the money to him. He was flabbergasted, that was a lot of money for a young man to have. What to do with it? Raymond furrowed his brow, he had an idea.

A week later, he pulled up to the house with Grandma Ruth in the passenger seat. They got out of the car and walked up the driveway. Instead of a "For Sale" sign it now read "SOLD". Raymond left Grandma Ruth at the front door of her house but before he left he gave her a signed baseball and told her to cash in on it if he ever got to the major leagues.