Community & Clubs:

Springtime is baseball time! I always look forward to this time of year, with spring training and the start of the Angels’ baseball season.

I got hooked on Major League baseball when the original Washington Senators franchise moved to the Twin Cities 50 years ago and became the Minnesota Twins.

During the first two years that the Twins were in Minnesota, I often served as the club house guard, first for the Twins and the second year for the visiting team. I met and greeted the players from Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox and Indians.

For the past three out of four years, my daughter Stacy and I have been to Tempe, Ariz., to catch the Angels during spring training. We usually take in one game at the Diablo Stadium and then an away game.

When we arrive a few hours before the start of a Cactus League game, we can walk around the practice fields and see 100 players of all skill levels receiving instruction and working out. The major leaguers will even sign autographs.

This year Stacy wasn’t able to go, so her husband of six weeks, Kyle, with his Boston Red Sox shirt on, traveled with me. Kyle is a real Red Sox fan and knows his baseball history. It was a good weekend to spend with my son-in-law to get to know him better and to learn more about baseball.

On Monday night, a Rotary Club and the YMCA invited Stacy and I to join a group of more than 200 to present the American flag to 40,000 plus fans at the Angels’ home opener.

We have been in the stadium on opening nights when the flag has been presented, the National Anthem sung and a fly-over of a jet plane or two kicks off the Angels’ season. I usually end up pulling out my hanky and wiping away my tears as my heart is filled with pride for our flag, country and the Angels.

We arrived at Anaheim Stadium at 4:30 p.m., walked down the tunnel below the right field bleachers and helped assemble the 300-by-150-foot flag. Well, it’s not really a flag; it is a replica. It comes in 14 pieces and weighs 1,100 pounds.

We met a lot of neat people, many of whom have carried the flag before at the opening, Fourth of July or Memorial Day games. There was a sense of community as we shared our Angel and spring training stories and hopes for the new Angel season.

After the ceremony, we gave a round of applause and high fives to each other. I didn’t need a hanky. Just felt proud. We enjoyed the game, and the Angels won their opener against the Twins!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.”

— Margaret Thatcher

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK

TODAY

6 p.m.: The Rotary Club of Newport Balboa meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, 1601 Bayside Drive, for Craft Talks by Tom Walley and Peter Smith. Visit www.newportbalboa.org.

THURSDAY

Noon: The Rotary Club of Newport Irvine meets at the University Club at UCI, 801 E. Peltason Drive, for a presentation by Newport Beach City Manager David Kiff.

Noon: The Exchange Club of Newport Harbor meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a program by Bob Wood, “How I got involved in UFOs.” Visit www.nhexchange.org.

TUESDAY

7:30 a.m.: The Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club meets at Five Crowns, 3801 E. Coast Hwy., for a program by Dr. William Shankle. Visit www.newportbeachsunriserotary.org.

COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Wednesdays. Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655 or by e-mail to [email protected] .