Bristol — In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure a year in the life?

You may recognize that lyric from "Rent." The song: "Seasons of Love." And now in this season of love for a bunch of Little Leaguers from Waterford, they have answer for how, one day, they'll measure a year in the life. The answer: with each other, for each other, by each other. Always.

Just look at the grown men who used to be Little Leaguers, now 40 years later, who still have each other. Always. Imagine the symmetry in the 06385: the last Little League state champion came 40 years ago this summer, 1975.

"Jack (teammate Jack O'Keefe) and I knew each other in the first grade," Tom Sullivan, the shortstop for Waterford South, 1975, was saying Monday, the day the 2015 edition took their first swing at Williamsport. "But on that team is where I really got to know John (Ryan) and Gig (Tim Gigliotti). Here we are 40 years later. Still going to games together. Kids' birthday parties. We were in each other's weddings. Jack is (Tom's daughter) Nora's godfather. But that's only because I ran out of brother-in-laws. The kids on the team now may not realize it, but they're developing relationships that will go on forever."

And what they'll remember. O'Keefe and Sullivan took some time to reflect — and bust each other's chops — Monday at Sportee's, the O'Keefe/Tom Harrington production at Utopia Plaza that makes what feels like every t-shirt and outfits every team from here to the Rhode Island border. The 1975ers won the state title at Mitchell Woods. O'Keefe, Sullivan, Ryan, Gigliotti, Frank DeBartolo, Wayne Patterson, Tom Irvine ...

"It pains me to say this," Sullivan said, "but O'Keefe was a dominant Little League Player."

O'Keefe: "The running joke is that Gigs had to pitch the toughest game: Windsor Locks in the semifinals. He got hit in the ear with a line drive. We call it the greatest display of courage in history."

Sullivan: "We lost our first game in the regional to Vermont with our supposed ace (taking a playful jab at O'Keefe). He couldn't beat bleeping Vermont. We had good middle infield defense. We needed it when some guys were pitching (taking another playful jab at O'Keefe). But not when Gigs was pitching."

O'Keefe graduated from Little League and became one of the great coaches in Waterford history. He coached the baseball team to four state championships. Faithful assistant: Sullivan. Beloved by their players. A daily floor show. But if you ever needed to see how a team should act, you just needed to see what the O'Keefe/Sullivan Lancers happened to be doing at the time.

"You could tell that Timmy (coach Tim Burrows) and his coaches have put a lot of time into this," O'Keefe said. "They run on and off the field. Classy group of kids. We were taught that by people like (Tom's dad)."

The late, great Leo "Joe" Sullivan, one of the region's enduring characters, coached the 1975ers with Joe Carey, Anthony Gigliotti and Fred Rolfe. Joe Sullivan was the cleanup hitter around here among all the people who have ever answered to "Sully."

"I started thinking about it," Tom Sullivan said, "and I realized, 'My God, that was 40 years ago.' I see Tim (Burrows) coaching his son, (assistant coach) Eric (Tonucci) coaching his son and now I know what it must have felt like for my father. When you're mired in it, you don't realize it. But looking back really stirs that emotion."

They could have talked all day. And that was the point. Maybe some neurologist can explain why some of us can't remember what we had for breakfast, but can recall the shapes and forms of 40 years earlier. And how one summer could create everlasting relationships. How fortunate are the boys of 2015. One day, they'll realize the blessing bestowed.

"Forty years later," Sullivan said, "and you still feel attached to it."

O'Keefe: "There's nothing like winning it for your town. You can win all the AAU tournaments you want. But it can't match doing it for your town. And the town is proud of them."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius