Play Ball

WINNER of the magical, mystical, mythical Gold Star for being the first to respond to this week's posting is ... Anonymous! Congrats, Anon, and (blush-blush) thank you for those kind words. Oh, and coming in a close second ... LOREE (Kansas) with an e-mail. What the hey ... let's just say it was a photo finish, and each receives a Gold Star ... on the attendance book, that is.
                 ---


PROFESSOR SQUIGGLEE ... cautious soul that he is ... frequently reminds me that mixing politics and ... well, almost any other topic ... generally results in an explosive mixture.


So I try to be careful.


I hope you won’t mind, though, if I report that it appears that Global Warming may be on the verge of resuming in Ohio. I detect signs of melting ... though that could be my sun-starved imagination playing tricks on me. 


I believe though that we’re about to witness the doffing of the Ice Cap in our direction, a sure sign that spring, if not just around the corner (always a question of WHICH corner, of course), is at least another day closer.


-S&G-


TODAY, for example ... that being a Friday, naturally, when I shift into high (or low) gear and start moving in the direction of pulling together another installment of these forgettable words ... 


TODAY, as I started to say ... the sun is shining brightly in Ohio. I’m pretty sure it’s the sun, though I didn’t recognize it at first (it’s been a long time).


It’s so beautiful here this afternoon that I’m tempted to go outside and lie in the sun.


However, my grandmother taught me never to lie ... especially in the sun (danger of a bad burn, you know) ... and I wasn’t even to think about chopping down a cherry tree so I could tell the truth about that. 


-S&G-


WORD from LOREE (Kansas) ... “I loved that poem (“My Three Loves, posted here last week), and it reminds me of my own third grade teacher ... her name was Miss Nelson. I think I loved her. 


“She smelled so pretty, she was pretty, and she read books aloud to us. I would hang onto every word that her lovely and expressive voice used, and she made the characters and the words in whatever book she was reading to us come to life for me. 


“I could see each character and enjoyed so much watching their antics ... Miss Nelson is responsible for planting, tenderly caring for, and promoting the growth of my imagination.


“Many years later I had a journalism teacher in high school who continued to prod my imagination.


“The exact opposite of Miss Nelson, who had been a slender beauty (really!) ... Miss Burkett evidently led a busy life, with no time for personal grooming.


“Short, stocky, her gray hair always askew, and daily, the same coffee-stained blouse with the ugly frill peeking out of the lapels of the same old suit!


“But what a great lady she was ... for she kept my writing interests growing. I owe a debt of gratitude to both.”


-S&G-


TODAY’S QUOTE: “I believe ... that we don’t have to change friends, if we understand that friends change.” - courtesy of RUTH (Ohio)


-S&G-


LOOKING BACK ... AGAIN ... all the way back to Monday, April 14, 2003:


“Two completely unrelated news items caught my eye recently:


“1. Our state, like a lot of others, is having money problems. Among programs that may be affected are our libraries, which receive a portion of their funding from the state. There is talk of having to cut services.


“2. There’s a waiting list of 4,000 people who want to buy season tickets to watch the local minor league baseball team.


“As I say, two completely unrelated items.


“Please don’t read any politics or religion into this. I religiously avoid the subject of politics. I do, however, religiously patronize the libraries ... around Christmas and Easter, certainly ... and almost weekly in between.


“And sometimes I wish people could get as excited about new books ... or old ... as they do about baseball.”
-S&G-


TODAY’S POEM ... comes to mind as I try to forget those ice-encrusted winter months and look forward to daily walks "in the neighborhood" ... past those ball diamonds waiting patiently for the crowds of kids ... or would-be kids ... to return to the base paths.




It also comes to mind with the onset of nippy nights and chilly mornings ... a reminder that the things of summer will soon be put aside while we search for the leaf rake ... and the dreaded snow shovel.




I like to store away sunnier memories ... something to tide me over in less inviting times, weather-wise. What better memory than a sun-drenched ball park?




There's one ball park in particular that holds a certain fascination. I guess it's because there's seldom anybody else around as we go strolling by.




I do pause there ... sometimes approach the backstop, and my fingers do grip the wire mesh like "some abandoned vine" ... while I think of days long, long ago, when I actually ran the bases a few times.




There's still that momentary urge to try it again. But I'm a little smarter now ... and a lot slower ... and I never do.




The poem:




Play BALL!


Standing behind
the sagging backstop
at the deserted field,
my fingers gripping
the wire mesh like
some abandoned vine,
I'm tempted to go
tearing around second,
sliding into third
in a cloud of dust;
instead, I linger
a few moments more,
enjoying the quiet,
just imagining that
roar of the crowd.
© 1998
(originally published in Capper's)


-S&G-


COMMENT? Feel free ... below, if you like. 


Or if you prefer e-mail, that's fine, too ... especially for more detailed observations, to


rbrimm@peoplepc.com


... and it helps if you put "Squiggles" or "S&G" ... something like that ... in the subject line (just remember, no religion or politics ... please!)


-S&G-


And if you’d like to see what’s up with my other ... DAILY blog ... here’s a link to it:


http://rbrimm.blogspot.com/

Thanks for paying a visit.




-S&G-


UNTIL NEXT TIME ... take care ... see ya!


-S&G-


©  2010