Baseball brings people together! Even rivals can find common ground in baseball. Even Cubs and Cardinals fans can come together for a game of catch! Today I met with church member and friend Jason Acquisto. After a long day on the road and meetings, Jason greeted me with, “I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” as he donned a Cards championship shirt and a St Louis hat.
We started right into our game of catch talking a little about our day. I asked him about his work and his podcasts. Did you know that Jason is a podcaster? I thought that was pretty cool, so I asked him about his podcast called Daddy Issues, which he hosts with Larry Smith, President/CEO of The Fathers and Families Center here in Indianapolis. The Center’s mission is to assist fathers in achieving self-sufficiency and in strengthening families. Jason shared that they have talked about some heavy and important topics like racism and policing among many others. I applaud them for sharing their conversation and dialogue about hard topics with others through their podcast.
Jason is a dad, whose son is about to head back to the University of Louisville for the fall semester. They are a sports family that enjoys baseball of course. Jason grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky, but had family in St Louis. I learned that he has family not just in St Louis, but in the Italian neighborhood known as The Hill. His great aunt Janet Gualdoni even knew the famous Yankees player Yogi Berra who lived with his Italian immigrant parents in The Hill.
With all of these connections, it was obvious that Jason would be a Cardinals fan! I would be too with his family history. Remember when I said baseball brings people together? That was true not just for a game of catch, but even for Jason’s marriage. His wife, Sheri, is a Cubs fan! And they still enjoy baseball and each other! When he pulled up in a car with a nice Cubs decal on it, I was kind of confused until he told me that it was his wife’s car and she’s a Cubs fan. I bet there’ll be a nice “STL” sticker on it before long.
I feel like our game could have kept going and our conversation just scratched the surface. Hopefully, this won’t be the last game of catch with Jason and maybe we could include a baseball game or a cup of coffee or two to come. It’s been great to get to know members of the community and my own church as we have played catch. Tossing a ball really does give you a chance to get to know someone. I feel like I left today’s game of catch knowing Jason and his family a little better. For that, and for the joy of baseball, I am deeply thankful.
A quick update on the financial fundraiser for Gleaners. As of this afternoon, we are over $15,000. My goal is $15,420. We’re almost there! In fact, maybe we should increase the goal to $20,000. Is that too much? Why not? Let’s keep it going!
If you feel moved to share a financial donation for my Gleaners fundraiser, use the link below.
https://give.gleaners.org/fundraiser/4739257
Get outside. Play catch. Find something that brings joy and a smile to your face.
Thank you for supporting Gleaners and following my 30 days of catch!