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Time flies even if you don’t

The passage of time is something a person has no control over.

A couple of recent things clearly reminded me of that.

First, there was the news that Hancock’s Shane Burcar had been hired for the men’s head basketball coaching job at Northern Arizona University.

One, I had just a fleeting recall that Shane had gotten into coaching at the high school level.

But to land a Division I coaching job is a significant achievement for anyone — much less someone from the Copper Country.

I recalled the time I had to take Shane to the Portage Hospital emergency room after he sustained a broken arm playing in a Little League baseball game in South Range.

He was a member of the Chassell LL team that season, one that included my son.

Has the time really flown by that quickly? I have a clear memory of the oldtimers who always sat behind the backstop at the Tapiola ball diamond.

Those oldtimers always told us playing that time has a way of flying by, and that it would accelerate the older we got.

We just nodded, with all the self-assurance a person has when they’re in their late teens.

Secondly, I was asked a question by another person about the Karvakko’s Invitational that used to be one of the staples of the slow-pitch softball season in days gone past.

The person wanted to know if crowds approaching 5,000 spectators really showed up on championship Sunday at the event.

I assured him that was the case and pointed to the year we (I was a co-manager of the event) had 28 teams entered. Some came from as far away as Minneapolis and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

And yes, there were usually overflow crowds on hand for the final day of the tourney, which ran for 22 years.

When he asked how long ago that was, I had to stop and think.

The year was actually 1977 — and that made me stop and reflect: Was it really more than 40 years ago.

I remember asking the late Keith Karsama on that long ago day if he ever thought we would get a crowd that size to Tapiola.

He just shook his head in wonderment, the same I am doing today as I wonder where all the years went ….

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