A Day at Greenfield Village, a Game of 1867 Baseball, and the Beginning of Something More

Had I not just hung up the phone with their daughter, I would have wondered if something had happened to her when a few moments later her parents number flashed up ringing on my cell. It was Lumi’s voice, her mother.

After a few pleasantries, she said they’d seen Maya’s photos from The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. They wanted to see it for themselves and added the best guide would be the one their daughter loves. She then asked if I’d like to go too. Adding there would be an ‘Old Timers Baseball game’ being played as well.

I said yes.

For the abundance of inland lakes Michigan likes to brag about, the couple retired here four years ago from their native Boston. That was a full year before I ever crossed paths with their daughter, Maya, aboard the subway.

Lumi was a middle school teacher while Mika was a college professor who taught history.

What Was I Thinkin’?

I woke up this morning with the song “What Was I Thinkin’” running through my head. After agreeing to go to Greenfield Village with Lumi and Mika, I suddenly wondered if I’d lost my mind agreeing to go alone with them.

Sure, the grilling of dating their only child had happened at just about every encounter we’d had during the long weekends I had spent with Maya at their home while she was visiting Michigan. But this was different.

This time, it would be me and her parents. Alone.

What would they ask?

They had already questioned me about several of the blogs I’ve written, my children, others that I have loved, my upbringing as well as political views. So, what could possibly be next?

That thought crossed my mind as I sat there drinking this morning’s coffee before getting ready.

What was I thinkin’? And just like that, what had sounded like a simple invitation to spend the day at Greenfield Village and watch an Old Timers baseball game suddenly felt a little more like an interview I hadn’t prepared for.

I had no idea what questions were coming.

But I was about to find out. I called Maya. She reassured me it was just as her mom had said—a day outing to watch a game and explore the village. Then, laughing, she told me, “Rest assured, they love you. Just be yourself like you always are.”

That helped.

Maybe I had been overthinking the whole thing. After all, this wasn’t an interrogation, and I wasn’t walking into some carefully disguised parent interview. They simply wanted to spend the day at a place they’d never visited, watch an Old Timers baseball game, and apparently thought I’d make a pretty good guide.

Still, as I finished my coffee and got ready, I couldn’t help but wonder what the day would bring. But I knew Maya had given me sound advice.

Just be yourself.

Heading Out to be Myself

I wore some Detroit swag. Dawning a Henry Ford hat and my progressives along with a Kronk boxing shirt was my little insurance policy. If this really was going to turn into another round of questions, at least I had a fighting chance.

And then there was one more thing.

I decided to turn the matching-pajama joke around.

Mama had bought matching pajamas for Maya and me on the second day of my first long weekend at their home. I took those pajamas as a pretty clear message: Boy, you better sleep in these when you’re in my home with my daughter.

So, I had matching Historic Base Ball shirts and hats waiting for Lumi and Mika when they arrived.

I figured it was only fair.

The Game

When they arrived, the day quickly moved away from everything I’d imagined over that morning’s coffee.

The baseball program explained exactly what we were watching: the 24th Annual World Tournament of Historic Base Ball at Greenfield Village, played according to 1867 rules.

I couldn’t tell you who was playing on the two fields today. I knew very little about the game I was watching as it certainly wasn’t the baseball I was brought up on.

But sitting there, watching players take the field without the equipment we take for granted today, I found myself thinking about one of my favorite lines from Field of Dreams, spoken by Archibald “Moonlight” Graham:

“We just don’t recognize life’s most significant moments while they’re happening. Back then I thought, ‘Well, there’ll be other days.’ I didn’t realize that that was the only day.”

I couldn’t give up what might have been my only chance to get to know Maya’s folks on my own. And now I was sitting there with them.

What Do You Want from Life?

The questions I’d worried about that morning never came. At least, not the ones I’d expected. Instead, the conversation turned toward what I wanted out of whatever life I have left.

When I said happiness, contentment and a loving relationship with their daughter, I could almost see the tears in Lumi’s eyes. As they both knew it came from my heart and wasn’t some made-up fictional movie line said to garner attention.

It was simply the truth, and they know after everything I’ve been through, I don’t give complicated answers anymore.

Memories on Four Legs

Later, we came across two horses.

When Lumi saw them, she told me about growing up on a farm, having horses of her own and how much she loved riding when she was younger.

For a few minutes, Greenfield Village wasn’t just about the history around us. It was about the history each of us carries inside us.

History Through Mika’s Eyes

Then we came to the Jackson Home.

The home is connected to the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the planning surrounding the Selma marches of the 1960s.

Mika found it inspirational which didn’t surprise me. He spent his career teaching history, and here was history he could stand in front of, rather than simply teach from a classroom.

For a moment, I wasn’t looking at Maya’s father, I was looking at the historian.

All Aboard

Then came the train.

We climbed aboard and rode around Greenfield Village.

This photograph may be one of my favorites from the day. Not because it’s perfect. Because it isn’t.

There are passengers behind us, including a little photo bomber who apparently decided he belonged in the picture.

It looks like what it was: three people enjoying a train ride.

More Than Sixty Years

As the afternoon went on, I found myself watching Lumi and Mika almost as much as I watched everything around us.

I saw smiles and giggles from both of them.

They held hands for much of the afternoon, almost as if more than sixty years together still weren’t enough and neither was quite willing to let go of the other.

That stayed with me because nothing was staged about it. They simply reached for one other.

Maybe that’s what a lifetime together looks like. A laugh, a shared memory and the decision to discover something new together.

What Mika Has Taught Me

Over these past few months, Mika has taught me more about being a man than anyone else ever has. Not by lecturing what a man should be. But by leading by example.

I’ve learned from him about love, understanding, caring and loyalty. Now I’ve watched the way he treats Lumi. I’ve watched the way they remain connected, and those lessons will forever stay with me.

Perhaps that’s one of the unexpected gifts of this relationship: I didn’t just get to know Maya. I got to know the two people who helped make her who she is.

What I’ll Remember

I couldn’t tell you who won either baseball game or every building we visited. And I can’t recall every conversation we had.

But I remember the important things.

The way baseball was played according in 1867 and the words of Archie Graham.

Most importantly I take home Lumi’s stories of horses from her childhood and Mika stopping to take in a piece of history. All the while watching two people who have spent more than sixty years together still holding hands.

Some Things Are Worth Love

There was a point during the day when I realized I wasn’t being tested anymore. Rather, I was being welcomed. And when I look at these photographs now, I don’t just see a day at Greenfield Village. I see a couple who have spent their entire adulthood choosing one another. And I see a day that, just hours earlier, I had been afraid might feel like an interview turn into something I never expected. A display of love.

Maybe that’s what Archie Graham was talking about. We don’t always recognize life’s most significant moments while they’re happening. Sometimes they’re simply happening right in front of us. And sometimes the best thing we can do is stop worrying about what comes next…

…and be there for the day we’re actually living.

If you’ve enjoyed what you read here, please subscribe to my email list at the bottom of the page. Consider making a small donation to help keep my website afloat at JustMeRic.

And check out my Amazon Creator Storefront. There you’ll see some of the awesome purchases I’ve made and recommend. Yes, I earn a small commission when you shop there.

You can also find all of my sites in one place on Linktree.

Real Talk