Where your riches lie

MACON, Ga. -- Friends and family.

That's where it's at, man. Don't let anybody tell you different.

Here in Macon, the home of Otis Redding and Atlantic soul, we're whiling away a Saturday night with Dewayne and Bridget -- and their new son Jacob. He's a sweet kid.

Jacob snores gently, in that cute newborn way, while we talk about high school, and college, and how the weather was. He's a cute kid; he takes after his mother.

We took in a Braves game on the way down I-75. Justin Verlander of the Tigers pitched a beauty. He mixes his fastball, change-up and curve to create the purest of baseball poetry. The Motown boys win 2-1 in a pitcher's duel for the ages. It's hot, but that gets lost in Verlander's art.

The guy beside us sports a Brooklyn Dodgers hat. He tells Drew where to find it. We chat baseball. He and his wife drove over from Aken, S.C. She's celebrating her birthday by rooting on her home state Tigers. She goes home happy.

Real reason for the trip is to see Jake. He's a dandy. Bridget says he's a good baby. Sleeps till nine, barely cries.

Life takes its turns. Folks come and go. A generation cometh and a generation passeth away.
But when the sun sets, like it did tonight on this red Georgia clay, all that matters is friends and family. Even baseball, that beautiful, wonderful first love, is just a game.

Take it for granted. Take the air you breathe, the sun, the moon, the freedom of America, for granted too. Act like it's ours by birthright.

But don't ever overlook family and friends. Therein lies your riches.

Just look in a newborn baby's eyes if you don't believe me.