What is there about the alchemy of sports that can so easily change men into boys? Two weeks ago I was told at work that “The Red Sox have called” and assumed immediately that my brother-in-law was playing a joke of some sort. In one of Life’s magical moments, it turned out that the Red Sox did indeed call…to inform us that they had selected the Stern Center to receive $2,500 as one of their 100 Acts of Kindness celebrating the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park…and, that we would receive 4 tickets to a Friday night game..AND that they would present the check to me on the field between home plate and the pitcher’s mound in a pre-game ceremony. Seriously, does it get any better than that? Maybe meeting the players, or sharing a few minutes with Gerry and Don in the NESN booth, but this was really cool even without those extras! Lots of “Personnel Only” access as we were greeted and toured by a series of marketing staff getting ready for the on-field access time. Chatting with the VP for marketing I asked if I could take some souvenir grass. Tongue only slightly in cheek, he told me I’d probably be tackled by security, but that the infield clay was another matter, so I scooped up Fenway clay into my ticket envelope. Once announced we went out toward the pitcher’s mound (I consciously tried to act like I’d done this before but some of the photos reveal the inner 10-year old’s grin of disbelief as we were displayed on the huge centerfield screen, and the announcer described the Stern Center and introduced me to receive the check. Boston lost to Toronto that night, but for about 30 minutes before the first pitch, I was a kid again, win or lose.