[AZTarHeel]

Timmy Zarzour, the little brother of LA Dodgers starting pitcher Andrew Zarzour, was having the summer of his life.

It all began in early June when Zarzour's high school baseball team, the Bunn Wildcats, went on a surprising run to win the 1A state championship — something Andrew never got to enjoy. The younger Zarzour had roared to life in the playoffs. He batted .581, including hitting a three-run homer in the finale against East Surry. Bunn won 5-2, playing in front of a packed house at NC State's Doak Field.

From there, the contacts and letters started coming in from college recruiters and even a few pro scouts. Some knew who is older brother was and some, to Timmy's delight, did not. Zarzour had a long conversation with an assistant coach from UNC-Greensboro, and several JUCOs turned up their sales pitches.

Timmy's hot streak at the plate continued during American Legion ball. He hit well over .500 during the summer stretch, though his team wasn't nearly as good as his high school squad.

After Legion ball ended, the soon-to-be-high school senior became Timmy the jet-setter. He spent more than a week in New York City as a guest of his friend and mentor, Ed Scalfani. Big Ed introduced him around at his Brooklyn fire house and showed him the inner workings of big-time department. Scalfani even took him out on a few calls, including a five-alarm fire at a high-rise apartment building. Timmy was amazed with the skill and proficiency that Ed and his new friends used to save lives and limit the amount of property damage. They were fearless, and tireless, in the face of danger.

Zarzour, a country boy by upbringing, was smitten with all the lights and glitz of the Big Apple. He took it upon himself to explore Brooklyn and Manhattan when Big Ed wasn't around. He was proud that he mastered the subway system, and even spent an afternoon by himself in Chinatown, learning to say hello and count to 10 in Mandarin. He pondered what it would be like to go to college in the City or to work there as a firefighter — or maybe even be a businessman on Wall Street!

Timmy's NYC trip brightened even further when he met Kara, the 16-year-old little sister of one of Big Ed's firefighting buddies. The two hit it off immediately. She took him everywhere — to Yankee Stadium for a game, to Macy's, to the top of the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building, to the Statue of Liberty and even to several spots not on the typical tourist's radar. On their next to last night together, the two went to Coney Island to hang out — and ended up making out a little as well. It was a special summer memory, kind of a Wonder Years type experience for Timmy.

Before he left New York, Kara gave him a 5x7 copy of a picture that a tourist took of the two of them with her camera. The shot was taken during the "sweet light" time of late afternoon, with the orange sun creating a neat effect on the gleaming World Trade Center towers that stood proudly in the background.

"E-mail me or call me anytime," Kara told him. "I definitely will," he said. And he aimed to keep his promise...

From New York, Zarzour took a train to Boston, where he met up with an old childhood friend, Davey Johnson. The two boys had been best buddies in elementary school before Davey's family moved to Bean Town for his dad's job.

The Johnsons were doing quite well financially and spoiled Timmy rotten. Restaurants. A golf outing. A country club party. Even a couple of Red Sox games (too bad the Yanks weren't in town).

After now, Timmy found himself in Boston's Logan Airport. It was early on a Tuesday morning in August — Timmy had lost track of the date he was having so much fun! — and the next leg of his journey would take him to Los Angeles.

The last big adventure before school started again would be a six-day stay with big brother. The Dodgers, in the midst of a pennant race, had a long home stand, and Timmy would get to be around for some important games. Andrew even promised some informal lessons for Timmy with catcher Mike Piazza. Wow!

Since Andrew and a few teammates had an apartment in Redondo Beach, Timmy figured he'd be a beach bum for much of the week. Maybe he'd even learn to surf. Though his mind was pretty occupied with Kara's big brown eyes, flowing sandy blond hair and sly smile, Timmy couldn't help but think of the number of California babes who would be out in full force while he was in town (hey, he's 16, what do you expect?).

"Life is just too good," Timmy thought as his flight was announced. He picked up his USA Today, his copy of the latest Sports Illustrated and his Starbucks coffee — yes, he ordered a coffee — and headed off for the last leg of the greatest summer of his young life...