What is your “Field of Dreams”?

One of my favorite films is “Field of Dreams.” I love this movie. I cry nearly every time I see it.

Sure it’s a little creepy, with people just walking in and out of the corn fields. Plus there are eerie voices whispering, “If you build it, they will come.” Yet something draws me into this film every time and it has nothing to do with a young Kevin Costner.

Actually I prefer James Earl Jones. I could sit and listen to his voice all day long. The speech he gives toward the end to Kevin Costner’s character gives me goosebumps,

“Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come Ray. People will most definitely come. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America is ruled by it like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come. “ (said by character Terence Mann, played by James Earl Jones)

It may sound silly, but I find words like these so uplifting. I’ll be sitting on the edge of my seat just hanging onto every syllable.  The notion goes beyond baseball (or amazing ballpark foods like nachos, peanuts, hotdogs and beer).  I love the idea of people coming together for a glimpse of their dreams. I want to believe that rookies like Archie Graham in the film really get that last wish that they wondered about their entire life.

Who writes these kinds of wonderful lines? I’d love to meet the person who wrote such great words. I want to meet the writers of films like “Mr. Holland’s Opus” and “Scent of A Woman,” – two other movies that always make me bawl like a newborn baby, in a good way.

Often a movie (or book) is like a sermon for me. I long to feel uplifted and inspired.

There is something magical about a baseball field too. The sense of American family and fun comes to mind when you go to a ballpark. I’m lucky to live in a city where we have a beautiful new field, Community Maritime Park, that is doing amazing things for our community.

I’ve been wondering recently…. if I could choose my “team” of people to inhibit a field, who would I choose? …. If I could bring back people from my past, who would I want to spend moments with again?

The first people that came to my mind are my two grandfathers and my grandmother who passed away. I’d love to hug them all again – to have a simple conversation with each of them.  They left too soon, before I could ask them for more stories and more wisdom.

I thought of a girl I went to school with who passed away while I was in college. Our friendship drifted and I really wish now that I would have told her that she was a good friend to me. I wish I would have stayed in touch with her after high school through her last days.

Great actors, teachers and musicians would be invited to my field of dreams too. I’d love to sit in the bleachers to speak to Audrey Hepburn or have a conversation using sign language with Helen Keller or listen to Bono and U2 sing the lyrics to their classics like “One.” There are many others I would love to converse with but these are just a few that came to my mind.

I don’t have confirmation if heaven is for real.  I won’t pretend to know what powers exist out there. I have many, many questions.

But I can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy when the Field of Dreams character Ray says to his father, “Maybe this is heaven,” after he looks at his wife and daughter swinging together on the porch. If there is the possibility of it being like Iowa’s baseball field and that I could be surrounded by all the people I love and admire (my husband, my two daughters, etc.)…. Well then that is a “heaven” I can support, plan for and even throw a baseball for…