"Hope is a Thing with Black and Orange Feathers" (by Laura Orem)

Today is the home opener for the Orioles. I grew up near Baltimore, and I am old enough to remember the glory days of Brooks and Frank Robinson, Boog Powell, and Mark Belanger, and later Jim Palmer, Cal Ripken, and Rick Dempsey. (I actually went to high school in the same county as Ripken - we are the same age, and I saw him play several times when we were both kids.) I saw my first game at the now defunct Memorial Stadium - my big brother took me. We sat in the $3 bleacher seats and he bought me cracker jack and a miniature souvenier bat. The O's played either the Royals or the Twins - I can't remember - and lost. That should have been a sign.

It's been a long time since those days. A long time. A very long time. But like a true Cubs fan, a true Oriole fan never gives up hope. The season has just started. We're 3-0. Things are looking up.

Here are two things to get you into the baseball mood. One is...well, of course you know. The second is the stellar Buck O'Neil singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

Batter up!