I haven’t written many Johnny stories recently. Many of you write to tell me that these are your favorites. It’s not that Johnny hasn’t been producing exceptional material. Just that his mother hasn’t devoted as much time to writing recently.

So let me tell you about our recent outing to Target.

I stopped into Target with Mary Frances, Johnny, and Becky on a quick errand. If such a thing exists. Mary Frances had the Daddy Daughter Dance and we were looking for some flashy size 11 heels. Angela suggested Target as a potential source of footwear which is why I found myself roaming around on a Saturday afternoon. Mary Frances and Becky went in search of the shoes while Johnny and I looked for a drinking fountain.

As we walked through the aisles, Johnny suddenly shouted out, “Mom! You have to come look at this!”. I followed his voice and saw him standing with a pack of baseball cards. He thrust the package towards me and declared, “They are selling baseball cards. AND JACK IS ON THE FRONT!”

For those of you new around here, Jack is my nephew who was recently drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. He begins his first year in earnest in a few weeks. But, in Johnny’s mind, they are already minting his rookie card.

I hated to disappoint our devoted fan but it wasn’t a picture of Jack. It wasn’t even the right ball club. Johnny did a double take and said, “Seriously? It looks just like him.”.

Well, it was a male human, dressed in a professional baseball uniform, throwing a pitch. But the similarities ended there. Johnny tossed the baseball cards to the side and began darting through the clothing stacks.

Jack has a bevy of fans and supporters. But Johnny is a believer. His baseball faith is pure and simple: he has confidence in what we all hope for and assurance about what we do not see. To paraphrase Hebrews 11:1.

Later in the evening, I texted our family group chat. I told them the story and nominated Johnny as President of the fan club. Fittingly, Jack had the best response.

“Let him drive the bus!”