Tony (Mario) talked me into taking some batting practice on a warm Saturday afternoon in early May 2020 before a hopeful softball season that ended up being a no go due to the pandemic. He kept telling me he wanted me to meet his friend, Donny. Tony promised me his friend would be in his military uniform as he recently returned from a deployment. As I was still thinking about attending, I went on a 7 mile hike in the early morning. My daughter talked me into going to the fields as she wanted to hit as well. So, we showed up. We took our turns batting and meeting each other. After, we all took our turns the kids took their turns. Watching Donny interact with all of the kids and the joy on their face had me reaching out to him thanking him. The rest was history.