Dane never considered anyone but himself. Usually that’s the case for an only child but Dane was the youngest of 10 children even though his closest sibling was 15 years older than him. Dane was still loved by his mother as best she could until she died when he was 3 years old. Dane’s father was never a hands-on daddy unless Dane needed a spanking and his wife’s death hardened him even more so Dane was sent to live with one of his sisters.
Betsy was married and had children of her own but they were teenagers. Betsy took Dane in but loved him as only a sister could in that she looked after him and made sure he was fed, cleaned daily and went to school. Her children were too busy with their own lives to give much time to Dane either but they thought he was cute and that it was funny to call him Uncle Dane. For years, Dane thought his first name was Uncle. It wasn’t until middle school that he learned what an Uncle really was but it never really mattered to him. Dane lived in his own world and that world was baseball.
At 6 years old Dane played T-ball then Little League at age 9. He joined the team at school and all of his coaches through the years loved Dane’s enthusiasm for the game but they all agreed that Dane would never become a serious ball player - not with his pigeon toed feet. Dane would always be a life long fan.
Dane thought of himself as a true baseball fan too and not just because he loved eating hot dogs; he didn’t collect player cards or pennants or jerseys like most fans. Dane preferred to collect baseballs but more specifically, foul balls. There was less competition for that. Dane would go to games and sit only where foul balls were likely to come his way. The balls weren’t worth anything especially since Dane never got a ball autographed. He was too shy to ever approach any player including his all time favorite ball player, Bucky Dent.
