THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: A few favorites on my mind

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

“Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.”

Lovely, yes?

Almost everyone can fall silent — just for a minute — and hear Julie Andrews singing, “My Favorite Things.”

Your age doesn’t matter.

That tune from “The Sound of Music” was timeless when first performed 65 years ago, and remains so today.

Tomorrow, as well.

Not only that, but your favorite things don’t have to involve cozying up with some hot cocoa in a little Swiss chalet.

They can be, well … anything.

For instance, my own line of work routinely tosses out new “favorite things” that don’t require yodeling in the Alps.

Sigh.

As hard as it might be to match Julie Andrews’ voice, I’ll take whatever makes me smile.

Petting Addison the Cat, for instance.

In fact, you’d probably be surprised at how often an email makes it on to the “Julie Andrews List.”

Seriously.

Our readers are amazing.

It rocks to realize how often I’ll get a question or comment, and feel an immediate urge to tell Addison: “Roll over, kiddo, and I’ll stroke your chin.”

IF YOU’RE guessing that I’ve recently received a message that was puzzling, challenging, even slightly bizarre — you’ve got it.

The more I read this email, the more I wish the author hadn’t sent it anonymously.

I’d like to go have a coffee (or something else) with my new correspondent.

I’ll have to paraphrase the email, ever so slightly, for the issue of length. There are also a couple of phrases that would be close calls in a family newspaper.

So, here was the gist of the thing.

As sports fans of the current (or past few) generations, we look back to eras we never saw in person.

There is black-and-white film of Babe Ruth trotting around the bases, and shots of the Bambino grinning at the camera during spring training.

But there just isn’t enough video history of Babe hitting, running the bases — or as a dominant pitcher in Boston, for that matter.

We’ve talked about this before, but live shots of the Negro leagues are almost impossible to find.

And that’s just baseball.

One sport.

Plenty of college and pro football games — dramatic battles involving superstars — belong solely to conversation or the written word.

Despite all that, we’ve now lived in an era of technology long enough that we can actually SEE historic boxing matches.

There are limits on us, though.

What about Jack “The Galveston Giant” Johnson facing James J. Jefferies in the Battle of the Century in 1910?

We’d have to sit around and let a few old-timers recall their grandads talking about Jackson’s combination of speed and power.

SO, NOW we get to my email, and a really fascinating question.

Let’s cut down to the heart of it.

Go ahead and dream of living a few generations ahead.

What athletes, or sports events, would you want to go back and see?

The breathtaking moments of today, in other words.

Who would make you say: “Oh, man, I wish I’d seen him (her) in person, instead of just watching a documentary on Netflix or ESPN?”

Here’s something to make you wonder: Would non-stop access to our stars and events leave future viewers amazed, or would we simply take spectacular deeds for granted because they’ve been seen so often?

Who would fans HAVE to see, whether they were part of this generation or not?

Shohei Ohtani and his magic bat?

Don’t laugh, but the red-hot romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce might be movie stuff for decades?

They could be our era’s version of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio.

In another world entirely, how long will it be before we look back and wonder how the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia swallowed up three or four entire sports?

OK, now I’m going to leave it all up to you.

That’s how this quiz started.

What’s going on in the world of sports that will last and last and last?

Who would you pay to see?

For what it’s worth, BILLIONS would answer that last question by saying: Leo Messi.

This is a fun exercise.

Go for it, and be sure to tack on a WHY with each answer.

It’s all yours.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”