Boardwalk and Baseball

This started out as something completely different. I had a very lengthy post to share with you. I decided it best left to my private journal…my actual handwritten, worn leather cover, close to my heart journal. So instead you are left with this; my thoughts after rummaging through the basement:

I found a keychain this afternoon. Dangling on the end of a chain was a green plastic thingy. It was long and square with a hole to look through at one end. It had been several years since I had seen this object. It was a picture-key fob from Boardwalk & Baseball; a local mid-sized amusement and sport park in central Florida. When you walked into the park you had your picture taken whether or not you bought it at the end of the day. Well…the last time my family was there we bought the picture. I held it up to my eye. I could see my grandparents, my mom, the neighbor kid I brought with me, and then there was this other guy. No clue. I had never seen him before in my life. He was taller, leaning into the picture, and looked out of place. I have no doubt that he saw an opportunity…good spirited or not…to be in our picture intentionally.

It made me wonder about other pictures I’ve been in – either candid or a public pose. Do you ever look at a picture of yourself and see a stranger in the background? It makes you wonder how many strangers have pictures of you, how many moments of other people’s lives have we been in. Were we a part of someone's life when their dreams came true, or were we there when their dreams died? Did we keep trying to get in, as if we were somehow destined to be there, or did the shot take us by surprise? Just think, you could be a big part of someone else's life, and not even know it. Just like “Fred” that day with my family at Boardwalk & Baseball.