One Last Season - Richard T

With the right combination of certain factors, life can be a recipe for disaster. Just ask Charlie Epstein, perpetually itching for that next drink. But this mayhem doesn't necessarily come from abusing ingredients like rum and whiskey. For him, most of the aforementioned are merely prescriptions for dealing with it.

Charlie sleeps in his recliner way too often, and wakes up with a hangover more times than not. But who can blame him? It's hard enough being on the brink of fifty and working his life away. The topper comes from the fact that he continues paying child-support for his extremely idealistic, college-attending daughter.

And that's only the half of it. Currently a middle-aged bachelor, Charlie finds himself living next door to Marcus, who happens to be the nosiest, quirkiest gay man he's ever met. And for whatever reason, this Marcus fella insists on being Charlie's maid and gardener even though he's never been asked. In truth, his neighbor gradually morphs into a better friend and confidant than a housekeeper.

Meanwhile, Charlie's sweet and kind mother Gwenevere is still the most aspirational cook he knows, but she is slipping further and further down that dark, mysterious hole called dementia. And the heaviest blow of all comes the day his 'pops' is diagnosed with terminal cancer, shaking everyone to the core. For Glen, baseball runs in his blood nearly as deep as his Jewish heritage. Unfortunately, so does the big C.

Upon one of the many trips to the hospital, Charlie starts to become infatuated with his father's Japanese doctor named Karina. After she agrees to go out with him, despite the clash in cultures, their dinner date seemingly comes and goes without a hitch. That is until he meets her teenaged son who wants to pulverize him into a breakfast drink.

But instead of muddying the waters, this surprising new relationship has a way of making things clearer. Charlie discovers what's really important in this world, finally realizing that it's nowhere to be found at the bottom of a bottle.

As precious time ticks by, and with a dab of conscience and heaps of responsibility, Charlie is caught in a quagmire of choices. Pulled and prodded by social pressure, he gradually becomes sucked into trying to complete this crazy bucket list. The list is comprised of none other than traveling to every single Major League ballpark in the country.

Traversing America with a raging toothache and a dying senior citizen turns into an adventure not minus its snags. From rickshaws to rental cars and an RV named Shammy, all the way to the luxury of a private jet, this fantasy summer takes on a life of its own. Beyond the various forms of earthly transportation, sometimes it requires a leap of faith along with a broken nose. And these Epstein boys are determined to check mark every box on the map no matter the cost.

In the end, Glen may have been granted one last season, but Charlie was given another chance at happiness. This thing called life, although filled with the occasional disaster, can also be spiced with a flavor called love. And hopefully for Charlie's sake, this latest recipe calls for zero percent alcohol.