One of my favorite activities as a child was playing softball. I couldn’t wait until the weather warmed up and it was finally time to grab my mitt and hit the field. And although I was never that great at softball (I was usually the little kid you saw in the outfield picking flowers and chasing butterflies), there was something about the game and the atmosphere that I absolutely loved.

Whether it was singing the chants on the sidelines with my friends or playing catch with my dad in the backyard, some of my best childhood memories were formed participating in America’s favorite pastime. And because I have such a great love for this all American sport, it brought me great joy Wednesday to see city leaders gather in Ward 8 for the dedication of a press box in honor of former councilwoman Jannie Venter.

As we all gathered around the press box and several residents shared a few words about Venter’s diligent work, I couldn’t help but listen closely to what former Selma Mayor James Perkins had to say about the baseball field and what it means for Selma and Ward 8. Perkins told a story about a city that gave money to both its east and west sides to construct a baseball field. Both ends of the city used the money to build big ball fields for their communities. However, as months passed, the west’s baseball field was vandalized and its condition began to deteriorate. The east end, however, maintained their baseball field. After a year, the city again gave the exact same amount of money to each baseball field. The east side of the city used the money to update its field and make it better. The west side, because their field was in such bad condition, had to use the money to repair their facility. As the years passed, the west side began to look at the east side with jealousy. They wanted to know why their baseball field looked so much better than theirs. Confronting the mayor, west side residents asked why the city invested more in the east. The mayor simply responded that instead of using donations from the city to repair their field, they used the money to update it — because residents had respected the field and not vandalized it.

This story struck a chord with me. Investments are constantly being made in Selma, but for what? Are these investments made to repair or improve? Like Perkins’ story illustrated, I hope we become more like the east side. I hope we take care of our parks and baseball fields, as these are the places where positive childhood memories are formed.

Just like I look back on my softball days with fondness, I hope children of Selma can look back and remember summer days they spent at the baseball field — free of vandalism and destruction.