I haven't been to a baseball game since I took my younger cousin to one when he was 7 or 8.
He's 48 now.
The game is just too slow for the world I live in now. Forty years ago, the world seemed simpler and slower to me, and it was relaxing to sit there (I think it was a doubleheader that day) and show my younger cousin a good time; payback for some of the kindnesses his mother gave me growing up.
However, yesterday, after one inning, I was ready to hurt someone. I began thinking of ways to speed up the action. At my age (got my new Medicare card) I look forward to boosts of adrenaline. Maybe change the rules to give a batter THREE balls and TWO strikes. Give the pitcher 20 seconds to throw the ball again, or the hitter gets a "ball" added to the count.
Also, since we're changing the rules, no more spitting or scratching crotches.
The reason I was at the game was the team was having a "Rutgers Night", and my beloved Court Club had a table in the food court trying to sell a few memberships, tee shirts, and yes, a few of my books. After most of the schmoozing was done before game time, a few of us (each no great fan of the game) decided to give it another try.
As I said, I started squirming in my seat after the first inning, and the home team losing already didn't help.
Then it happened.
What every young and old kid hopes happens to them at the ballpark. A high pop foul behind me, careening off the upper deck facade, one high bounce ten rows behind me, then a smaller one two rows away, right into my bare hand. Everyone clapped me 10 seconds of fame, while the game played on.
This treat got me through the second inning, but not the third. It was time to go. Besides, how much better was the game going to get for me?
Actually, almost a lot. While walking to the parking lot, another foul ball bounced on the street a half a block in front of me. I started to run.
"I can't believe it!" I thought to myself, how many fans have retrieved TWO ball from one game?
I think not many, if any, but I wasn't going to be one of them. I watched a younger pair of legs get to the ball before me.
Then again, I did get the adrenaline rush I look for at a sporting event.
Dear Yogi,
ReplyDeleteNice catch! Your baseball event brings back many memories of Yankee Stadium and the days when catching a ball would bring you neighborhood fame. You can now officially be titled as the “The Biggest Kid on the Blog”! Way back when, we all would know the entire line-up of the world famous “Yankees”, even the bench. After all, we lived with the constant hum of the mundane announcer’s voice on the radio and TV during the games, which we waited in anticipation for his tone to pick up an elevation of elation during a big hit, or better yet, a home run!
The “MICK” would ever be the “HUMBLE HERO” as he circled the bases with his head bowed in humility after knocking one out of the park to the thrill and roar of the crowds! Dem were da days! The 1950-60’s when the eye on the prize was we little guys, not the “Big Buck Buys”. I was privileged later on down the line in the 1980’s to mix it up with M.M. in Atlantic City before he headed for the “Eternal Dug Out” beyond the bleachers. Memories are golden …if you are old enough to collect them and young enough in mind to recollect them!
Speaking of which, do you remember the little baseball field right below my grandfather’s property and right next to your grandfathers? The boys would have a pick-up sand lot games there in the 1920’-30’s. By our time it was a rocky, weeded “Field of Past Dreams”. I have a vintage photo of it, and the all the gang! Da Boys!
Time does have a way of fogging the events of our past and creating an illusion of a fragmented picture show. It has been 25yr. to the day Aug. 31, 1987 when you and I last stood upon our ancestral land together, watching (as if through a time tunnel) our great grandfather tending to his harvest, plucking the plumpest fruit of his vines to mix within his “Barrel of Fun”!
Memorably,
Your deleted one …Wellative
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear about your book Ark has been published. I wish you all the best and keep on writing. There are definitely more books within you.
Ciao,
Patricia