Today I take a spring walk across the Sac State campus. Friday afternoon, March 5, 2021, and the sounds of summer waft through the air: Men cheering—What for? I wonder.

As I stroll along, I hear sounds of singing. I move closer to the music building, and outside, on the steps of the music building I see and hear an ensemble of opera singers, harmonizing and accompanied by a piano. In the background, I hear the mournful music of a tuba.

Up ahead, under a redwood is a young man playing a tuba, his masked instructor by his side, the haunting music rolling through the trees towards my awaiting ears. I continue walking along park-like paths enjoying the sun and the shade of the beautiful campus. I circle back toward the sounds of cheering I had heard earlier. On a tennis court I see a doubles match taking place, people cheering through the chain link fence. One team has just defeated another, and a great cheer arises.

I walk past the tennis courts and across an expanse of grass to where I hear the cheering of young women and an announcer through a loudspeaker proclaims: Now batting, the second baseman. I peer through a gap in the fence surrounding a baseball field and observe a fast-pitch softball game in progress, nobody in the stands, but the players in the dugout are loudly cheering.

I continue walking north across the field toward where my car is parked. As I look up, near the edge of the field I see a group of 30 young men practicing with their soccer team. I hear a thud, thump, thud, as feet connect with soccer balls, passing them from player to player as the players form a large square. As I get closer to the group the sound of the thuds gets louder; then as I retreat toward my car, the thuds get quieter and quieter, till I no longer hear them.

As when snow begins to melt and we begin to see blossoms appear on trees and in fields after a long winter, today I hear sounds of life that warm my heart after a long dreary collective refraining from the normal collective joyous sounds of life and play and excitement.

The sounds of life of the outdoor sports and music are back on the Sac State campus today, March 5, 2021; and as I continue along wearing my mask praying for the end of this Covid nightmare, at least I can see and hear the beginnings of liveliness again, of young people actively participating in their sport and song, hopefully safely, in the open air.

~ Bob Wissmath