Softball: Ten
Dear People,
For the last game of the first decade of this inimitable recreational community, Jonny’s team barely held off my own, 19-18. Obviously, I have no one to blame but myself, although if Anthony had not inexplicably placed a miniature battery-powered trampoline inside the webbing of his glove, Franklin’s 7th-inning blast to centerleft would’ve been a routine rally-killing catch, rather than a two-RBI jumping-bean that bounced from Tony’s mitt directly into the air five feet above, before pointlessly plummeting to the ground below. 19-18. You do the math.
Curiously, the Capeman missed his chance for redemption just two minutes later, when he charged a solid grounder up the middle, authoritatively scooped up the ball, and then, rather than tossing it three feet to second for the easy out, inexplicably threw it 10 feet past third. Oh sure, he could’ve played it safe, yet that’s not what Tony’s all about, and indeed, his courageous choice of the path less taken is an utterly fitting metaphor for everything about this league that is glorious, Zen and somewhat shy of logical.
In any case, a special note: Jonny’s triumph was particularly joyous, for it came just two days before 9:43AM yesterday, when, with several hundred others in downtown San Francisco, our little South African mushroom took the oath of allegiance and became a US citizen! Yes, perhaps this does indeed mean that the bar for naturalization is frightfully low, and yet in the end, that’s the risk we take in a vital, free and aerobic society.
Finally: Starting this Sunday at 11AM at Codornices Park, there will be a 10-Year Anniversary Double Header Pot Luck Barbecue. The games will start at 11:00 and perhaps around 2:00, and the barbecue will probably start toward the end of the first game, around 1:00. You are welcome to commit to both games, but please give me your order of preference since I want to try and make sure that everyone who wants to play has the opportunity to play at least once. I will be taking commits in order, though unlike other weeks, it’s possible I won’t send back the first confirmations until late this afternoon. Stay calm.
Also, everyone is invited to the Barbie, including non-community friends, family and embittered ex-lovers. So that I can tweak the final product, please let me know what you’ll be bringing beyond your own meat/veggie equivalent for the grill. Very much appreciated would be actual barbecues (we’ll need at least three!), coal, lighter fluid, card tables, beach towels for sitting and coolers filled with ice. Beyond the infrastructure items, consider contributing soda, beer and other drinks, garden salads, chips, fruit, raw and grilled veggies, yummy home-made desserts, fine breads and cheeses, more drinks and ice, exotic foreign fare, pretzels, brownies, a variety of buns and condiments, and if feeling really inspired, a Spit-roasted loin of organic Estonian pork with wild fennel and fava beans…Ray
PS: Lest you think it was all a dream, 10 years of athletic excellence…
http://eslnotes.com/ray/6.html
6/6/07
Softball: The Recreational Science of Caloric Homeostasis
Dear People,
There will be a glorious 10th Anniversary double-header and pot-luck barbecue at Codornices this Sunday at 11AM, and as of now both games are full. However, everyone is invited to the barbie and I suspect a slot or two may reopen right before the second game starts. This is because certain individuals could find themselves really sleepy— their tiny little gullets filled with sausage and wine.
In any case, I am hoping that those people planning to skip the first match will still get to the field by 12:30ish. This way they can start setting up and preparing the grills for an efficient Game-1-ending rendez-vous with culinary destiny. If all goes as planned, Game 2 will start around 2:00, but it could be delayed if I sense the stirrings of communal vomiphobia. And if the will is still there, frisbee will follow.
Please remember to bring your own meat or veggie equivalent as well as your yummy contribution for the frolicking whole.
This week’s games are on the house/Happy 10th/See ya Sunday…Ray 845-7552
PS: A couple more memories from the early days…
http://eslnotes.com/ray/081498.html
http://eslnotes.com/ray/122899.html