1/13/99
Softball: Your Recreational Bridge to the 3rd Millennium
Dear People,
As you probably know, this Saturday, January 16th, is the 37th anniversary of the death of William "dummy" Hoy, the esteemed Center Fielder who is considered the reason why umpires to this day raise their hands when calling balls and strikes, for good 'ol dummy couldn't talk or hear. It's people like dummy that so poignantly remind us that political correctness in monikers is a relatively recent development.
In any case, I remain somewhat saddened by last week's dismal level of community commitment to the aerobic good. While an occasional game cancellation is perhaps the organizational bloodshed upon which to nurture the seeds of future athletic revolution, I cannot help but wonder if an obsession with internet stocks and tawdry Washingtonian scandals has replaced the inherent goodness of playing ball for the mere sake of playing. And isn't that what it's all about? To play not for the "fame," or the "money" (and yes, I admit that I give you both of those in only modest quantities), but to play for the simple pleasures of being able to gather with cherished friends, swing for the fences, chew gum while focusing on that once in a game triple play, and of course, feel your tiny naked little toes squeeze the pristine rubbers of our beloved Astroturf homeland.
That being said, there will be a game this Saturday, January 16th at 1PM (not noon), at Kleeberger Field North, IF I get enough commits by this Friday morning. I need not tell you that it is now 1999, and that as the millennium approaches, your need for a sense of kinisiological community will grow with every disconcerting story about market bubbles, returning messiahs and Elvis sightings. So keep the cohesion and make that commit. Do it for William "dummy" Hoy, whose legacy of semiotic clarity in umpireship has brought reassurance to a troubled world for all of this century...Raymond
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