Why softball?

I get asked this question often. For me it's pretty simple. It's something I have to do. It's something that feeds my soul, the core of my being. Ever since I was first introduced to the game as a snot-nosed nine year old by a much loved aunt, I've been mesmerised. I love how through the sport I have formed and continue to develop life-long relationships with some pretty amazing people; how the discipline learned has influenced my thinking in so many other spheres, how it has aided in shaping me as a person; how it provides a platform for young children to reach greater potential - kids who if left to their own devices would otherwise succumb to society's ills; how it teaches that team work is much more effective than singular efforts; how it checks out of kilter egos; how it makes me feel alive; how it allows me to make a difference in a way that matters; how it provides a sense of accomplishment when a hard-won skill is finally mastered; how it brings people and even countries together; how it has a home for comic moments (and there are many, the first photo being testimony to how crazy and absurd it can become); how it rewards those deserving; how new rules and regulations keep emerging and evolving to make it a better sport, and the list goes on. Softball has always played such an integral part in my life, that it would be unthinkable to even imagine an existence without it. For what is life without softball?  Oh God, take me now before that happens as a life without the beautiful game would be inconceivable.