Verla, my mom’s cousin,
wrote that her nephew, Chris,
played baseball for Arizona.
Sport aficionado, I sought him
on their website.
Pleasant surprise.
They were playing here in April.
Dashed off a quick e-mail to their coach:
“Could Chris come to a family dinner?”
Out of the blue, Verla called.
Arizona wanted to know
“Were we really relatives?”
… before giving permission.
Days before the games,
a cell phone call …
“Hi! This is Chris!
Can we meet for lunch?
I have time Friday.”
Mount Ranier in the backdrop,
my brother, his son and I sit
sun-drenched in stands
hardly containing our pride
in the young left-fielder.
Autographing balls for kids,
doubling off a runner.
We watch a rising star in our family,
no matter how many galaxies far removed.