11/15/06

Softball: The Delicate Craft of Narrative Athletic Literature

Dear People,

Let the record show that my bosom filled with a compelling aura of certitude in the bottom of the 9th, when my team suddenly found itself guarding a taut 15-12 lead with two out, none on and Chris Fure’s contingent of demoralized aerobic desperados down to their very last strike. Even better, they had entered the fragile “bottom half” of their roster, and thus as I looked toward Ishtar at the plate, with her intense visage of fear, focus and raw determination, all I could think was “Even if she gets on, there’s some more chicks, and then, of course, Ehud. They are so dust.”

A quick aside: As you may know, I like to dabble in historical linguistics, and thus will occasionally look at brief, well crafted paragraphs in the modern tongue, just to calculate how much of it Benjamin Franklin would have understood. For this last one above, my guess is about 17%, although even this may be ascribing too much credit to the sagacious Colonial mind. Yeah, sometimes I ponder undeniably disturbing abstractions, but for what it’s worth, I make no apologies for that.

In any case; Ishtar’s shocking double to deep center-right left me unexpectedly shaken, and when the Huud himself singled to left, I felt the saliva drain from my eyes. Indeed, with two on and the tying run now at home, even Tom O suddenly looked flummoxed, vulnerable and weary of the very mound from which he pitched. Tensions mounted and time froze, when all of a sudden, a feral muscovy duck brayed in the distance. Feral muscovy ducks so rarely bray. This one did.

And then. Ramona singled. 15-13. Dave K singled. 15-14. Ruth singled. 15-15. Our bleeding temporarily stopped at parity, but a short inning later we were beaten for good, 16-15, and as I looked into Jonny’s moist, shell-shocked eyes, we both knew that this was an experience to be savored like a fine hot cocoa, bitter as it was. For yes, we had been bested by those they call the bottom half, and in their improbable triumph, they spoke for all of their ilk—incessantly scorned, for sure, but in the end, worthy, sassy and fair. And therefore there will be a game at Codornices, this Sunday at 11AM, If I get enough commits by this Friday morning….Ray


11/16/06

Softball: Trips

Dear People,

There will be a game at Codornices this Sunday at 11AM, and of now, it is full. Lest you forget the routine, please let me know ASAP if you committed and need to cancel, and feel free to contact me later if you are looking for reopened slots.

This week’s field fee is just $3, and that includes a rare Norwegian-Vietnamese Bilingual Dictionary, from my personal collection of indispensable travel gear…Ray 845-7552

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