El Grande reads it to Franny and Bo. Mrs. Prim gets on the phone and reads it to her granddaughter. Walt and I take turns reading it. It’s one of those times when a good voice breaks out and helps just about everybody. Walt leans against the refrigerator to help his back and begins: “‘What Really Happened in Hillcrest? by Mark T. Inslow. For as long as I can remember, Hillcrest has been a baseball town. Winning. Losing. Winning. Losing . . . and then Coach Perkins came. And we stopped losing. We won. Big games. Big championships. After a while, you forget about losing. Being the best year after year means you’d better stay there. Nothing short of it is acceptable. “‘I wonder if I should have been asking more questions. I’d come to expect nothing short of winning from this team of champions. The truth is, the team—and many in our town—became addicted to winning. It was good for the boys, for the town, for the school, for . . .
