Today the Little League team from my adopted hometown, Cumberland, RI, has made the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA, representing all of New England in the tournament.
As of this moment I am watching them thank the crowd for their support, not two minutes after the final strike was recorded, and I find myself watching this spectacle with a big, goofy grin on my face.
I've lived in Cumberland for 11 years and some change now, still not nearly long enough to be considered anything but an outsider to "real" Rhode Islanders, but that doesn't matter. It's nice here; it's quiet here. The houses that make up my neighborhood are nestled in the middle of a giant oakwood and the cutting down that took place fifty years ago was done with great care, so that we are surround by giant oak trees, some hundreds of years old. There's a great breakfast joint a few minutes down the street; the guy who runs the butcher shop I go to lives right across from me. It's a wonderful city, and its fathers and mothers now have the privilege of watching their children vie for the title of Little League Champions.
So congratulations to the 12-year-olds of Cumberland, Rhode Island. Kick some ass if you can! But win or lose, keep your heads held high; you've already covered yourselves in honor and glory.
Well done, kids.
Congrats to the kids from RI. I was living in North Providence when the North Prov West girls won the Girls LL championship. My sister and brother both played for NP West.
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