MEMORIAL: Keep field of dreams

I stopped by Memorial Field one evening recently, walked up the ramp and observed every worn piece of board and all the cracked wood, the soft patina of the old paint, and I wondered when and if a high rise might replace this feeling of emotion that swelled up inside of me.

I saw ghosts of small children down on the field stirring up dust as they slid into home plate. The cracking sound of a bat rang through my ears, while cheers of the crowd echoed. As I climbed up as high as my legs could carry me, I looked down on the field and saw those “little” no longer boys but men in their 60s and 70s cracking those bats and balls flying high in the air. Some were running with all their might, given a bad knee or back, but they all had the spirit. Their hearts were young again. They lined up and shook hands as they passed their apposing players.

Please, Coeur d’Alene, let’s keep this place intact in honor of the past, the young and the old who still can slide into home plate. Keep Memorial Field a memory and intact.

JUDITH YANCEY

Coeur d’Alene