Softball: Ours
Dear People,
After seven long weeks in exile, we finally returned to our cherished Codornices homeland, and frankly, the pristine beauty of her towering redwoods, voluptuous succulents and delightfully ubiquitous rodentia left me a bit verklempt before the first pitch was even tossed. Maria added to the drama of it all by making her long-waited coaching debut, and while she showed a steady managerial hand that galvanized her peeps with just the right blend of charm, tough-love and garden herbs, my team still crushed hers with a certain callous efficiency, 14-10. To be sure, it was a bittersweet introduction to the perilous reigns of raw aerobic power, yet she could at least take comfort in knowing that it took place on such storied and hallowed ground.
Indeed, every player marks their return to the athletic womb in their own unique way. For example, Alan Shabel's 5th-inning rocket to deep and distant left was one of the most jaw-dropping I've ever seen (just to be clear, at Grove it would've gone way over the fence and been ruled an out before obliterating the blender on the counter in the kitchen of the stupid house across the street). Saadia, in turn, partied hard with a breathtaking catch of that very orb by darting a full five yards into the thick yak-laden gorse where light itself is swallowed whole. And finally, Anthony, inspired by the Saadster, feted his own return by dropping a genteel 2-out 2-on 7th-inning blooper to shallow center right that the basset hound in the house with the stupid blender would've likely caught in her sleep. Curiously, the Antman then double downed with an utterly pointless throw to the stately oaks behind 3rd base, though in fairness, perhaps it was his subconsciously tacit shout-out to the surrounding forest that now nurtured us anew.
The point is that we're a hearty and resilient folk, so if they ever force us to play again on Grove or San Pablo or Highway 80, then obviously that's what we'll do. But we'll always come back to our ancestral roots, and unlike the BAGSL or Berkeley Lacrosse Youth or whatever other “official” leagues the city shamelessly favors, we'll be there as an integral part of the ecosystem itself-joyous, topiary and fair. And therefore there will be a game at Codornices this Sunday at 11, IF I get enough commits by this Friday morning . . . Raymond
11/15/13
Softball: Homes and Gardens
Dear People,
There will be a game at Codornices this Sunday at 11, and as of now there are still four slots left.
Please bring $4 for the field, which for this week only includes a complimentary no-fee quitclaim deed for the sloped hillside beyond deep center left, right where the grass abuts the Hayward Fault (really*) . . . Raymond 845-7552
* http://walkingthefault.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/walk-1-google-earth-overview-xxx1.jpg
PS: Do you need house sitters for the week surrounding Thanksgiving, or at least part of it? If you do, you're in luck, since a great friend of mine from Portland is coming down with his wife and two high school aged kids, and I can totally vouch for their reliability and general familial awesomeness. If interested, please let me know!