Wednesday. Hump Day. Whatever you want to call it, but whatever it
is, you can now call it September. Funny
thing is that I see so many people happy to change out the month. A lot of people wanting to celebrate the
nearness of the Autumn season.
I took yesterday off to rant, so I want to get back to a more positive tone, but I will have one rant.
Happiness. Today I heard something that really struck a chord with me and that was this – a news person asked an owner of a hot dog stand what felt people in his town wanted, and he said without missing a beat “I think people want to get their happiness back.” Now I never wish to speak for anybody else, but that comment was something that makes so much sense.
Wipe out. Yesterday, I took my grandkids to the Strawberry patch and it was a fun time. But hell, I decided while holding my nine month old that I would slip on some mud and fall down. It was funny, but boy did it hurt. The baby is fine thankfully.
But falling into a patch of mud and getting filthy dirty while taking a Strawberry Plant with me didn’t dampen my spirits. Again, I speak of simple pleasures, and here is something that I just enjoyed so much. I just knocked the mud off of me, and walked over to the market and got some tremendous fruits and veggies. My grandson absolutely slammed down some blueberries and strawberries, while we bought Peaches, Bell Peppers, Honey, Lemons and Limes, and so much more. To watch my three year old grandson have so much fun picking strawberries and grubbing down, it just made me feel so great.
The Moon. Speaking of things I enjoy, the other day I spoke of Corn and this morning, we experienced the “Corn Moon.” It is an interesting sight for us here because of the smoke, which makes it look red. Incredible.
Baseball. We haven’t paid attention to Baseball and I wonder why. Is it the slow pace? What is it? How did we get from how Walt Whitman described it here to what it is now:
"Sports take people out of doors, get them filled with oxygen, generate some of the brutal customs (so-called brutal customs) which, after all, tend to habituate people to a necessary physical stoicism. We are some ways a dyspeptic, nervious set: anything which will repair such losses may be regarded as a blessing to the race. We want to go out and howl, swear, run, jump, wrestle, even fight, if only by so doing we may improve the guts of the people: the guts, vile as guts are, divine as guts are!"
Or, are we just such an “I want it now” society that Baseball, a game that is deliberate, is passé, except in certain parts of the country?
Baseball is about the game, don’t get me wrong, but as the song goes, there is so much more. It’s about being out in the fresh air (mostly), enjoying a beautiful Summer day, it's the smells of the food, it's just plain fun. The proverbial "slice of Americana" what little of it is left. It's too bad we are forgetting simple things like this.
MLB. So the trade deadline came and went and San Diego went buck wild and did their best “Trader Jack” impression. Ok, that’s great, but at what cost? From what I can gather, San Diego gave up prospects. I get it, you want to generate excitement in San Dawg, and the fans are loyal, but you are trying to go after the LA Water Thieves? I can’t see it. Wild Card? Yeah, sure but they still gotta go through LA.
I get the deals, but somebody explain to me what Cleveland is doing? Yeah, they get rid of a headache and gain prospects for the future, but how does this help in 2020?
Oakland did their usual trade deadline stuff, picking up Mike Minor from Texas and getting some pitching depth. Minors contract is short, and Oakland is doing well – this really helps them.
Final Thought - Portland. Jerry Springer might have been what Greg Giraldo referred to as a "cultural sodomite", but one thing he said at the end of every show was so on-point: "Take care of yourselves, and each other." A simple line, but we really need to strive to that, especially in Portland.
When I was a kid growing up in South Florida, I always dreamed of traveling to the Pacific Northwest, and fortunately, I got to visit Seattle and Portland. Loved Seattle, was very disappointed in Portland. It was dirty and creepy.
There’s a saying in Portland “Keep Portland Weird.” Memo to Portland: You ain’t weird, you’re mean and you’re vile. How in the hell do you have the energy to go 90-plus days of rioting? I 100% support the right to protest, but what you are doing in Portland ain’t that. Lobbing fireworks into an apartment complex was not only stupid, it was tantamount to trying to kill people, had it set a fire in there.
C'mon Portland, you gotta be better than what you are showing, you just have to be.
Comments