VIDALIA — An ice chest lid, a bush, a fire hydrant and an aluminum can: free.

A ball and a bat: Find them around the house.

An impromptu baseball game: Priceless.

These few things and the youthful spirit that children possess was all it took to take a group of youngsters out to the ball game on a sunny summer afternoon on Peach Street in Vidalia last week.

The ice chest was home plate. The bush was first base. Second base was the fire hydrant. Third base, well, the aluminum can.

All the “bases” were quite appropriate with the exception of the aluminum can.

The bush, gave Sam Cooley, 6, a soft target as he sped toward second.

The hydrant became a perch as 5-year-old Rhet McDonald watched the bout while waiting at second.

But the can, it just wouldn’t stay put.

Action, creative bases and heckling — you couldn’t beat that with a bat.