BASEBALL: SHRINKING THE WORLD TO SIZE?

The man sitting across the isle from me, on a recent trip out of St. Louis, was wearing a baseball cap with the letter "A" on it.  He was reading a book written in Japanese. I asked if he lived in St Louis. He did not, nor did he speak much English. Yet, we were able to communicate in a limited way.

He was a fan of Ichico Suzuki the Japanese baseball player.  He was on his way to see a game between the Yankees and the New York Mets.  Since 2007 he has been traveling to this Country to attend major league games. He has made a list of 30 games he wants to see.  So far he has seen. 14.

He drew a map on my small notebook to show me where he lived.  His home is in Fukuoka a city and port in Japan on an inlet of Tsushima  Inlet.  Then he wrote his name in English block letters and in Japanese characters.

Somehow, our limited conversation about baseball seemed to shrink the world to a smaller size.