One of the greatest days of my childhood was April 8, 1974. I was 12 years old, the new baseball season was just a few days old, and the Atlanta Braves were hosting the LA Dodgers in a game that was broadcast on network TV. I was allowed to stay up past my bedtime to watch my hero, Hank Aaron in hopes that he would hit career home run number 715, thus breaking Babe Ruth’s all time career home run record. Early in the game, he put an Al Downing pitch over the left field fence and into the Brave’s bullpen. I’ve been a Braves fan my whole life, initiated by Hammering Hank’s pursuit of the Babe.

As great as Hank’s career was, his team was always at or near the cellar of the National League Western division throughout the 1970’s. So in 1991, when they won their division and were in the post season playoffs for only the second time in my memory, I was every bit as excited as I was as that 12 year old boy 17 years earlier.

The Braves were in game six of the playoffs on Wednesday, October 16 at the same time Sue and I were scheduled to do a show at a church in Rockland, Maine. Because of the distance, we took personal days from our jobs so that we could spend the night in Rockland and have a leisurely trip home the next day.

I remember very little about the Rockland show, but I remember Thursday the 17th very well. I had set our VCR so I could watch game six when we got home, after which I would see game 7 broadcast live. The anticipation of these games added an underlying excitement to our day together (for me, if not for Sue), and we worked hard not to hear the results of the previous night’s game.

Before all that baseball, though, we had a casual, romantic drive home down Route 1 along the Atlantic coast. It was a cloudless, crisp, autumn day, the sea was stunning, and there was little to no traffic. I remember stopping somewhere along the coast to have a sea food lunch. It was as if no one else existed but the two of us. It was a glimpse of heaven on earth.

Upon arriving at home, I cued up the VCR and watched the Braves win game six to tie the series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then I watched game seven as Sue sat patiently by my side pretending to be interested in the national pastime. The Braves won game seven to send them to the World Series for the first time in my lifetime.

Of course, I’ve had even better days in my life than this: our wedding day, learning we were expecting our first child, the birth of all three of our girls, graduations, Christmases etc. However, if I had to choose from the ‘normal’ days of our marriage, this one certainly would be among the best days ever.