Annual Nahant softball tourney: Good fun for a good cause

NAHANT – On June 30, Nahant residents will “pitch” in for the 15th Friends of Earl Hanson One-Pitch Softball Tournament, an annual fundraiser for the Hanson family first held in 1998 after Earl Hanson was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on February 14, 1994.?We made a joke after that first year that if we did it for 10 years we?d be lucky,” said Dan Fiore, family friend and tournament organizer. According to the National Medical Library, only 25 percent of ALS patients live more than five years with the disease.Cindi Hanson says that her husband is unable to breathe on his own, and has been relying on a tracheotomy tube and a ventilator for almost 14 years now. He uses a wheelchair controlled by small head movements since he has no control of his neck muscles, and though he cannot speak, he talks using Easy Keys technology on a computer, and eats via a feeding tube. “But he can feel,” said his wife, Cindi Hanson. “And he?s got a great smile.”Fiore says he will most often “bust your chops with his computer.”Cindi Hanson says her husband?s limitations do not stop him from boating, going for strolls around town, enjoying time with friends with a beer or two, or even paying the bills. “He loves the sun,” she said. “He has the best tan by August.”According to Fiore, friends, family and residents of the town plan their vacations around the annual softball tournament, which always take place the weekend before July 4, just to see their friend.?Earl comes and stays the whole day,” said Cindi Hanson.Typically, 300 to 500 people participate in the tournament event, where there will be popcorn and food from the grill, a raffle, a dunk tank, and music all day. Fiore says participants have such a good time that “by 2 p.m., no one really cares about the tournament,” often playing in their bare feet by the end of the day. “It?s a fun time and people look forward to it,” he said.Event organizers will present a quilt to Earl Hanson that will include a T-shirt sewn into the blanket from each year the tournament was held. Nahant resident and quilter Molly Conlin, along with nine other quilters, is putting the quilt together as a surprise for Earl Hanson, along with another quilt to be raffled off for the cause.?It?s not going to win any prizes for the county fair, but it?s the thought that goes into it,” said Conlin. “Anybody that has been involved in that tournament will appreciate that quilt.”The quilt going to Earl Hanson will be backed with a fabric that anyone who participates in or sponsors the tournament will be able to sign. “It will be a nice memento for him,” said Conlin. She and her group often make raffle quilts for different organizations in Nahant, and that accepting the task of making this quilt was a “no-brainer.”?It?s changed everybody?s life because of what [the Hansons] have done with bad circumstances,” said Conlin. “They handle it with grace and humor and are an inspiration to the whole town. Almost every day you see him around town – he doesn?t miss any activity because of his disability. What his friends and family are able to do is amazing. He doesn?t miss out on anything.”Cindi Hanson says her husband is weaker than he used to be, but he has been pretty stable for the last five years. “He?s doing really good,” she said. “A cure will not help him at this point, but the community getting together is so heartwarming.”Fiore says Earl Hanson “wouldn?t be alive without Cindi,” adding that the network of family, friends, and community has “reinforced his will to live.”?We don?t anticipate him going anywhere for awhile,” said Fiore.The tournament will take place Saturday, June 30 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on the softball field behind the Nahant Fire Station at 67 Flash Road. The cost to play and receive a T-shirt is $30, and teams and single persons can register before or during the event. To pre-register, call Fiore at 781-581-0935. Raffle tickets will be $5 each, or three for $10. Those who sponsor or participate