What Yankee fan wouldn’t love the opportunity to win two free tickets to watch the World Series at the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, New Jersey — with the added thrill of watching the game with the famed Mr. “It ain’t over til it’s over” himself?  If you were impacted by the tragedies that struck New York City on September 11, 2001, you’re eligible to win those tickets.  Here’s why.

On that fateful morning in 2011, two brothers prayed fervently that their mother, employed in the World Trade Center, was spared the horror of the terrorists’ attacks.  After eight hours and numerous unanswered voice messages, Jeff and Greg Vrecenak’s prayers were answered: their mother was alive and well.  But they were well aware that 3,000 other families were not as fortunate.

Never forgetting their blessings, the two brothers searched for a way to give back to the community, particularly children who love spectator sports but cannot afford the high price of tickets.  In 2009, while enjoying a live Yankees game, inspiration struck.  The brothers formed Baseball Santa Claus (www.BaseballSantaClaus.com), a charitable organization that gives free baseball tickets to deserving children.

As of this writing and incurring the bulk of the costs themselves, the Brothers Vrecenak have awarded more than 450 tickets to major league and minor league games.  They’ve also instituted a $500 college scholarship fund and plan to give away free seats to NFL and NBA games as well.  Donations from organizations and individual donors are welcomed, to help spread the joy that Baseball Santa Claus brings.

For the two tickets the brothers are giving away to the World Series, they’ve joined with the Yogi Berra Museum and Mr. Berra himself to make the event extra special.  To enter the contest, there are two simple rules.  Your life must have been affected by 9/11, and you must write and submit an essay on that topic.  The Yankees’ “Bald Vinny” is one of the contest’s judges.  Simply visit the website to learn more about the contest and the mission and good works of Baseball Santa.

The expression attributed to baseball great Yogi Berra is a humorous take on a subject that many people find disturbing, if not frightening.  Déjà vu is a French term meaning “already seen.”  The experience of déjà vu is an overwhelming sense of familiarity with a place or situation.  It differs from simple confusion as to whether or not you have visited a place, had a particular conversation, or been involved in a particular activity in that the sense of déjà vu is less an intellectual than an emotional exercise.  And, the depth of emotion can be very profound.

Consider, for instance, a traveler to a foreign land.  He enters a restaurant or a museum and immediately senses that he has been there before, even though he has never previously visited that country.  Or, take the case of a person sitting down for a meal with friends who suddenly has the uncanny feeling that he has previously had this same meal in the same location with the same friends discussing the same topics.

We have all had experiences similar to these.  And, experiences of déjà vu are often accompanied by feelings of strangeness and dread.  Are these experiences fragmented memories of past experiences, stories dimly remembered from childhood, or evidence of experiences in past lives or parallel universes?  Or, are déjà vu experiences proof that the nature of time itself differs from our own conceptions?

These are all questions for another day, because the effect of the déjà vu experience is firmly rooted in the present regardless of its trigger.  If you find the déjà vu sensation worrisome, you might try one of two different techniques to short-circuit it.  One approach is to move from the present to the future.  That is, try to predict the next things to be experienced.  It is highly unlikely that you will be able to do so.  Or, simply forget about it and say to yourself “It’s déjà vu all over again.”