Softball: A Semi-Dharmic Perspective
Dear People,
Jonny and I led our teams to a noble but deeply dissatisfying 14-14 seven-inning tie that was brutally cut short by the arrival of other mysterious field-reserving softball-lovin’ folk. Moral of the story: For an 11AM game, everyone should really arrive by 10:59, which is just like 11:22 except that it’s actually 23 minutes earlier.
In any case, this particular game had a tacit but deeply mystical moral beyond the self-evident lessons of good cheer and punctuality, and I for one think that we as an aerobic truth-seeking people are being called upon to grapple with it. If you’d be so kind, allow me to explain:
With one out in the bottom of the first, Enid faced her opposing pitcher for the first time. Out of professional courtesy, she tossed a gently lingering knuckle ball that Allan Brill immediately smashed right up the middle, as in the middle of her lower left tibia. Needless to say, a tibia is a really stupid bone to use as a mitt, and sure enough, Enid was sidelined for the day. It was a ghastly start to the game, and as Peter took the mound and Allan hung out at 1st, I couldn’t help wondering about the random allocation of justice in a broad athletic context.
Oh sure, the Brillmeister didn’t “mean” to assault anybody and he truly felt horrible for what he’d done, but he was still giggly as he stood safe and sound on 1st. Such is the base-runner’s nature, of course, and I for one accept this as the Faustian bargain that all athletes embrace. I have no idea what I mean by that, but I do know that as soon as Kira smashed a line drive to left, Allan took off for 2nd and soon prepared to slide! Time seemed to freeze as ball, defender and runner converged on that cherished square of high industrial rubber, and once the dust settled, Allan himself—his tiny little feet reduced to mush—hobbled off the field to join his victim.
Now I obviously don’t want to overstate my case, but I happen to think that the temporal proximity of these two yucky incidents actually mean something. No, my friends, there is no criminal justice system within the framework of softball itself, but if we learned anything this past weekend, it’s that the inscrutable gears of cosmological karma are easily set in motion. And therefore there will be a game this Sunday at 11AM, IF I get enough commits by this Friday morning…Ray
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Softball: Your Maternal Appreciation Sport
Dear People,
There will be a game at Codornices this Sunday at 11AM, and as of now, there is still one slot left.
Please bring $3 for the field, which, in honor of Mother’s Day, includes EITHER a fresh bouquet of burgeoning red roses OR any dental procedure of your choice with nitrous oxide sedation…Ray