<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">The Perfect Game<br><br>It was perfect<br>while it lasted.<br><br>Oh sure, a few<br>called strike 3's<br>were probably balls<br><br>and that was a lucky<br>diving catch<br>out in centerfield<br><br>We weren’t hitting <br>either. Our runs <br>came on overthrows <br>and balls through the legs.<br><br>Playing second base<br>in the rock-filled dirt<br>I was fortunate<br><br>that no balls came<br>within 50 feet of me<br>although in between<br><br>innings I flawlessly <br>played catch<br>with the first baseman<br><br>Then the game was over<br>and my friends here and gone<br>went home<br><br>I pulled off <br>my dirt stained uniform<br>with its images of birds<br><br>playing baseball<br>and threw it <br>into the laundry hamper<br><br>while my mother,<br>who was still alive,<br>made tuna casserole.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- David Handsher</div></div></body></html>