"Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it."That’s always been one of my favorite passages, and I’ve used it more than once — just as anyone in our office knows.Unfortunately, those were words I used to embarrass someone else, not myself.That all changed Saturday night when I brought my son down to Redbird Field to take in some of the Buffalo Days festivities.With the Luverne Baseball Association hosting an Alumni Game and skills competitions for kids, I thought it would be a good idea to make the trek across town to see what was going on.Thinking I could snap a feature photo for today’s paper and give my boy an opportunity to have some fun at the same time seemed to be a good idea in theory. In reality, it turned into an eye-opening experience for a rapidly-aging man.As a former baseball player, and covering area games on a frequent basis, I’ve found myself wondering on many occasions what it would be like to step into the batter’s box again. The way things panned out, I received the opportunity on Saturday. Somewhere between the drive from our house to the ball yard, the notion of taking some hacks at the plate crept into my mind again. Yapping at anyone who would listen, I finally found the person (Don Dinger, of the LBA) who could help me live the dream.Dinger, no doubt, grew tired of me bending his ear about making an appearance at the plate. And somewhere in between my frequent visits to the adult beverage stand he was running (who says you can’t drum up some courage from a can of beer?), my wish was granted.Then the public address announcer at the park released the batting order for a new inning. I can’t recall the exact order (I did say that I made more than one appearance at the beverage stand), but I was due up third after Dr. Crabtree and Dinger.While running down a foul ball, I missed the opportunity to watch Crabtree and Dinger take their hacks. I didn’t care. I was up next and stepped into the batter’s box with the vision of delivering a sharp line drive somewhere into the outfield.Maybe this would be a good time to establish an excuse.Since I did chase down (it was a fast walk at best) a foul ball prior to stepping into the batter’s box to face Devin Goembel, I didn’t get the chance to loosen up a swing that once produced two home runs in a five-day span in American Legion ball in the late 1970s.Those homers, by the way, were the only two I hit in a three-year career, but I’m sure anybody who witnessed my plate appearance would believe it.Seeing my first live pitch in more than two decades, I took what I thought was an energetic cut at what had to be a half-hearted fastball offered up by Goembel. The end result — a weak ground ball that stopped rolling before it reached the first baseman.Although my coveted at bat was a failure at best, I did learn a couple of things from the experience. No 1: The LHS alumni are a gracious bunch of young men who didn’t seem to mind three old men horning in on their game. No. 2: I’ll keep my visions of past glory where they belong, tucked away in my imagination.OmissionSpeaking of growing old, I’m beginning to think my mind is regressing after the oversight I’m guilty of committing in last week’s From the Sidelines column.At least two times in the column I mentioned how important a contribution five freshmen have made to the successful tennis season the LHS boys are experiencing.When I listed their names, I forgot to include Jamie Vickery. Vickery has been a fixture in the line-up throughout the season as a doubles player.Sorry about the oversight, Jamie.