If You Build It, He Will Come

One of the most memorable lines from one of my all time favorite movies. You may think it strange that a movie about baseball in cornfield would be one of my All Time Favorite movies. But it's not just about baseball. Of course, if you'd seen it, you know that.

It does have a field full of baseball history. It covers the infamous "Black Sox" scandal. It's full of vintage players and uniforms. Once you've seen it, you'll never look at walking in a cornfield the same way again.

Of course, it's good on the eyes. Young Kevin Costner plays the delusional farmer who almost loses his farm pursuing his dream, his field of dreams. He's such a hottie!

I have other memories of the "field". In the early eighties, when my two oldest boys were small, we were on our first family vacation, a camping trip in Wisconsin. Field of Dreams was filmed across the river in Iowa. At the time we didn't know that, but in our travels home from our trip, we were taking the scenic route through Iowa. We came across the filming of the night scene of the cars driving to and from the Field of Dreams, along a two lane highway in Iowa. We didn't know what was going on, until we got up to the security blocking traffic. All they told us was they were filming a movie. We knew a few years later when we saw the movie, which movie it was.

I love the line in the movie when Shoeless Joe asks, "is this heaven?" and Ray (Kevin Costner) replies, "no, it's Iowa". Well, if you've been to Iowa, (I was born there) you know how true that is. It's quiet, serene, relaxed, and all things seem possible there.

My other memory of the field is that it's a real place. Another family vacation, in Iowa no less, and we came across the Field of Dreams again. We were on our way to the Ertl toy factory in Dyersburg Iowa, when we found out we could visit "the Field". So over country roads and in the middle of nowhere, we found it. Truly, in the middle of nowhere. We drove up to the farm. I admired the window that was Kevin Costner's bedroom in FoD. We went onto the Field with our 3 boys and all the other people that were there. It was amazing!

Some people were in the field, playing the bases. Others waited their turns to bat. Everyone played baseball together. People from all over the world, took turns. They batted, then they took the field. There was no arguing balls and strikes, outs and safes, no arguing any calls. It was baseball as it was meant to be played. It was the closest thing to world peace I'd ever experienced. Everyone got along, everyone cheered everyone else. Some watched and smiled. Some walked into the cornfields....

Most of all, we felt that you can believe the impossible and follow that dream. If you believe it, you can see it and it becomes real. I think we all need a little of that, don't you?