In all of my previous years at the Moorpark Acorn, this was the time when I would contribute my annual baseball column. It was usually a story about the dreams of the coming season and the anticipation of the first Moorpark High School league game. Although I still look forward to the start of the baseball season, it's not going to be the same this year, since my son graduated.

I am proud to say that in the four years that my son played for Moorpark High School, I never missed a regular season game. I'll probably go see a few of the home games this year, since I still think that it is more fun to watch the Moorpark games than to drive all that way and pay all that money to watch the big leaguers play. Now, I firmly believe that baseball is baseball, no matter the level of play, but there is less whining and more smiling in the high school game- at least at the Moorpark High School game.

One thing that I'll miss almost as much as watching my son play is the camaraderie I shared with the other parents. As I mentioned in a few earlier columns, Moorpark may not always have the most wins, but they always have a great group of parents. When I wasn't busy taking pictures the last couple of years, it was always fun to stand at the snack bar and exchange stories and anecdotes with the other folks out there. Just between you and me, I suspect that they may have graduated my son just so no one has to listen to my stories anymore.

But all is not lost. My daughter is involved in cheerleading (more on that in a future column), and we spend quite a few weekends away at these competitive events. It's quite different than hanging around the baseball diamond, but, in some ways, it is still very much the same.

For one thing, there is a whole new crop of parents who haven't heard my stories. Cheer parents (that's what we're called, and it's better than some of the things that I've heard baseball parents being called) don't seem to tire of my stories as quickly as the baseball folks did. This may be due to the fact that these cheerleading events are so loud no one can hear a single word that I say. But they seem to enjoy the anecdotes just as much as the baseball folks did.

If you are not familiar with the sport of cheerleading, a typical event will last one or two days and will consume about eight hours each day. To some folks, a baseball game, which only lasts two hours, seems like it lasts two days, but they don't understand the game. When my daughter started with this, I didn't understand cheerleading, so you can do the math and see how long these events seemed to me.

Fortunately I'm learning, and I'm really beginning to enjoy these events. The more I learn, the faster time seems to go by. But I still need my camera to keep me occupied during the slow times. About halfway through the second day, when someone looks at the camera and asks if I'm still at it, I'll usually reply, "It's either take pictures or take my own life." I am seldom smiling as I say that. Besides, it is usually so dark in the arena, the pictures don't turn out very well.

I once asked if the entire sport could be reworked so that all of the competitions could be held outdoors in the sunlight, like baseball games are. (Remember, never stop asking questions- yours may be the one that makes a difference.) I haven't heard back on my suggestion, yet. I guess they're still thinking about it.

Somewhere during the eight hours, my daughter will appear on stage for about two and a half minutes. I'm pretty much used to that, and it doesn't really bother me since my son pitched for Moorpark, and he would on occasion appear for only two and a half minutes himself.

But two of the things that cheerleading and baseball have in common for me is the look of pure enjoyment on the faces of the participants and the spirit of sportsmanship instilled by the coaching staffs. At least that's the way it's done here in Moorpark.