To use a baseball analogy, it sure feels like we’re in the “dog days” of this pandemic, doesn’t it? The “dog days,” of course, refer to the hottest, longest days of summer. Now, of course, summer is over, but the analogy still feels right to me.

When I’m in those “dog days” of a baseball season, it’s helpful for me to remember the joy and hope that comes with walking up the concrete steps of Wrigley Field, looking up into the clear, blue sky — looking around at the stands and still-change-it-by-hand scoreboard, the ivy starting to grow on the outfield wall, and smelling the freshly-mowed grass and first hints of popcorn, while waiting for my Chicago Cubs to take the field.

But, since I can’t currently do that with everything going on, the next best thing is watching the Field of Dreams, a certified tearjerker for every guy I know, though they likely won’t admit it, especially the final scene where Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) plays catch with his Dad, John Kinsella (Dwier Brown).

(Hold on, I need a tissue.)

So, in the movie, James Earl Jones, who plays reclusive writer, Terrence Mann, gives a famous speech to Ray about the power of baseball to heal a nation and its weary people.

I thought we could all use the speech right about now.

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