The GHOST and Charlie Dusenberry

PG. 27 TGACD R. ZEIS

Thirty minutes after Zeph Yarnell flew out of his classroom, Charlie Dusenberry packed up his briefcase, stood up and stretched. He liked to think of it as a “well done, you survived another day at school kind of a stretch.”

Waving goodbye to the school’s secretary who was seated near the front door of the school, Charlie walked out to the parking lot. As always, it took a moment for Charlie to remember where he parked his Honda. With things on his mind in the morning he would just blindly pick a parking spot while racing through what he faced that day in his classroom. Today he found his ride parked next to a vacant school bus.

As he walked towards his car, Charlie thought he saw something move underneath it. “What was that?” he thought. After opening the driver’s side door and tossing in his briefcase, Charlie got down on his hands and knees to peer under the car.

About a foot from Charlie was a baseball. He easily grabbed it and then stood up to examine it. The ball was definitely very old and very used. Scuff marks dotted the leather sphere. Charlie wondered how it got under his car? For some reason, the ball felt very comfortable in his hand. Shaking his head, Charlie tossed the ball into the back seat of his car. He would show it to DD tonight. What kid couldn’t use another ball?

Charlie climbed into the Honda and pulled out of the parking lot. As usual, Charlie turned on the car’s radio to catch up on the day’s news. Being a typical teacher, Charlie focused all of his attention on his students during the day and let the world take care of itself until he was headed home. A comet could be headed their way and he wouldn’t know about it until he turned the radio on.

“The New York Yankees are expected to be part of a three-team trade today as the Yanks prepare for another run at the pennant…”

Listening to the radio Charlie thought it was strange that a sports story would lead the news. He glanced at the radio and noticed it was not on his regular local news station. It was on ESPN. Switching the radio to WBAP he hoped to catch one of the leading news stories.

“…it’s a trade that could put the baseball world in a tizzy! The Yankees are offering their first baseman, Gus….” Charlie cut the announcer off as he changed channels on the radio again.

“Baseball tops today’s news as the New York Yankees are rumored to be involved in a major trade…”

PG. 28 TGACD R. ZEIS

Charlie switched off the radio. How strange three radio stations would be covering the same story at the same time. Must be a big trade he thought. Charlie decided it might not be a bad idea to drive home in silence for once. Besides, he had a lot to think about. He needed to ponder his promise to this son.

Could he possibly be any help managing a little league team? DD assured him he could help his father with the basics…things like giving signs to the batters, filing out line-ups, scoring the game, etc. But, there was more to it than that.

Fear of disappointing his son was his main concern. Fear. Baseball and fear. The two seemed to go together.

While Charlie mulled this over, he turned the Honda onto Fifth Avenue and began to pass the little league field. He slowed the car and then pulled over to the curb. This is where he might have to battle that fear. Charlie shook his head from side-to-side. Cripe, he thought, I’m a grown man. Get over it!

The sports complex he was parked next to consisted of four small fields for the little league and one large field for the older kids. Even Charlie had to admit the fields looked great this spring. Lots of green grass. And then there was that small patch of fog….

Fog? Charlie was no weatherman, but fog now? On a clear, warm afternoon? There was no humidity to speak of and the sun dominated the sky. But, again, he was no weatherman…

A figure stood in the middle of the fog. There was no doubt that it was a man. Was he carrying a baseball bat? Charlie wondered what he was doing out there. No one else was on the field. Maybe he was a coach? Maybe a ground’s keeper?

As he stared at the distant figure, the fog seemed to thicken and the man was enveloped by it and disappeared.

“Man,” Charlie said out loud to himself, “that looked weird.” Figuring it was just someone working on the field, Charlie put his car in gear and pulled back onto the road. He looked forward to getting home and was glad he was almost there.

Checking his rearview mirror, Charlie noted that the fog, and man, were not visible anymore.