A Hero's Welcome: Ken Griffey Jr.'s Return to Seattle

For most people, the end of childhood comes gradually. The final stroke of this elemental phase of your life usually takes time to develop, and most people are often unaware of the measured, minuscule changes that land them in the throes of adulthood. There is rarely a defining point, a singular moment where you can pinpoint the conclusion of this primordial stage of your life. For most people. For me, my childhood had an exact expiration date: Feb. 10, 2000. Had I been more prescient, I would have seen it coming, for it was only a few weeks after Ken Griffey Jr., one of the greatest outfielders the game of baseball has ever seen, had demanded a trade from the Seattle Mariners.  After a full night of parsing my Legos, I awoke on the 10th to a morning that seemed instantly seemed gloomier than most. I'm not sure if it was my Dad's somber look or my Mom's condolences that originally tipped me off, but I knew that this day, for all the wrong reasons, would not be a fond memory. And in a ... (link)