The scene: an “all ages” softball game at a friends and family gathering to celebrate a milestone birthday. The ages run from about six all the way up to geezers like me (those older than me were wise enough to sit it out).
The situation: me, the wily veteran, slow-pitching to all comers and even moving closer to the younger ones so as to present an even more gentle offering. Occasionally the youngsters would hit grounders back into my vicinity that I would field and then – carefully judging distance, speed of runner and accounting for the likelihood that the firstbase-kid could end up with a ball in the face – make an appropriate throw to first that could still result in an out. Sometimes it even worked, but the thing is I tried to make a play…for which I was branded a “big meanie” because I didn’t deliberately throw the ball away or play soccer with it so the runner could be safe.
Such is the lot of a compassionate conservative, I guess. Here I made all kinds of adjustments to the “playing field” to provide equal opportunity for all to compete, only to find what they really wanted was equal outcomes.
They will grow out of this, right?
I’m not talking to you. You’re a big meanie!
Hey, at least I didn’t brush ’em back from the plate!