We learn a great deal about this nation as we look down on it from airplane windows. Corn and wheat fields beyond the dreams of the psalmist spread below, as do the great cities that pulsate, in their broad avenues, skyscrapers and churches, with America's pragmatic material and spiritual energy. A unique revelation of America's soul is found in what we see tucked and burrowed in every lot and cranny in and around these cities and these plains.
Baseball fields sun themselves everywhere, as crowded and as democratic as beaches.
Most of the infield skins are as dry and scuffed as western saddles from everyday use. The angular white geometry of football and soccer fields can also be seen, but they lack the lopsided diamond shape and the asymmetrical outfields that are reflections of us. Most of us come in used, indifferently maintained condition, too. Life, like baseball, is easier to play at home, where our steps are sure and we know the distance to each outfield fence. Like a baseball team, we go on road trips regularly, leaving home in our version of the hero's mythological journey the national pastime reproduces.