A Moment of Silence

Amid all of the noise and excitement of a four way race for first place comes a moment of silence on behalf of one of our MWL baseball players in Coos Bay.

Marshfield senior Josh Perkins lost his mother to cancer on Thursday. You may recall that I wrote about the four seniors at Marshfield and what great kids they are. I got to know them during my five years in Coos Bay. Josh is a huge guy. Looking at him, he's meant to be a shot putter, or a football lineman. But Josh loves baseball and he loves band. He'd rather be in the spirited Pirate marching band than in the trenches.

I used to see him in the halls at Marshfield and I noticed that he hung around with his band friends more than his jock buddies. As a former trombone player myself in Marshfield's pep band and also a baseball player, I could relate. 'When the Saints Go Marching Home' is among trombone player's favorite songs. So maybe I'll pull the t-bone out of the garage and play it for Josh.

Josh's mom was a fixture at the Marshfield baseball games. That's not always a pleasant time, as you know if you've been to one of those games in pea soup thick fog. But, there she was, always encouraging Josh to do his best. Now she won't be at games anymore.

Josh is going to take a few days off. You see, he lost his father a year ago. I imagine it would be tough to go out on that field and look in the stands and not see the family there after all of these years of support. So it's likely that there will be a moment of silence before the Willamette at Marshfield game on Monday for Josh and his mother.

Sad events like this make us remember that life is about relationships and not baseball.

Good Luck Josh