Who knows what this is?

[NCASAUmp]

Okay, I'll tell you. I was going through some old boxes that still remained at my parents' house, and I came across this indicator. I knew right away what it was.

It was the very first indicator I ever used when I first started umpiring in 1993.

You see, my dad used to umpire in the league I played in as a kid. I later offered to volunteer as an umpire for the same league, and my dad had an extra one laying around - the very one in this picture. We called some games together, and I was terrible at it. But we still had a good time.

I used this indicator for about 3 or 4 years until I was able to snag his 4-wheel model when he retired from calling ball. I tucked this one away and completely forgot about it until this weekend. The wheels are tough to move, but they still click. Some numbers are almost completely erased, but I can still read them.

I still have that 4-wheel indicator, and now, I've put both of them in my daily gear bag to remind myself of where I come from, and how far I've come as an umpire.

This story may not mean much to you guys, but I think it's good to remind ourselves now and then of how we started, especially after a tough game or three.