Batting Cage Karma

By Mike Johnson

I love shopping malls. I enjoy the sights, smells & people watching. And the unexpected.

Yesterday my mall wandering led to batting cages. In a mall!

It was a first-class operation. Totally empty. Damn Covid restrictions are killing millions of great small businesses.

I met the co-owner who married a former pro-ballplayer. They’d opened the business just before Covid hit.

I bought 15 pitches for $2, which seemed under-priced.

I told her at my age, I just wanted to see if I still had it. She smiled & credited the swipe card for 30 pitches.

Helping me get set up, she hung around for the first pitch.

CHING! sang the aluminum bat.

“You still have it!” she encouraged.

I finished my adventure & returned to her desk. A grandmother was discussing prices for her grandson.

I slid the owner $2 for the extra balls. As she tried to decline I slid another $10 & told her to credit that couple.

Instant karma for us all. It was the best money I spent all day.

Pass it on.

###