Baseball is back, and the rhythm it brings has our little beach house humming. The Professor is in his glory with night after night of games being broadcast, some back-to-back, to get in what remains of the actual season after the forced Covid-19 halt.
I must admit, I am not a sports fan. However, I am an adoptee into a family of rabid fans of every sport ever played. This self-imposed integration into this family had me up against of wall of either sink or swim. I chose to swim (sports pun intended here!) So, I commune with sports running in the background of my desired lyrical life. That being said…if I had to pick a sport to play on as a backdrop, it would be baseball.
Even though baseball games are long in duration, they are quiet. Now, I do not mean quiet in the sense that they are now being played without the attendance of their fans; I mean there is quiescent sense to the game of baseball itself; it is a passive almost peaceful battle to the bottom of the ninth inning. There is also the comforting narrative of the Professor’s favorite announcers, F.P. Santangelo & Bob Carpenter, and the backdrop of a lovely summer evening. It must invoke childhood memories in one; it is no wonder it is called America’s game, it is agreeable.
There is something soothing that comes to a person who commits to watching a baseball game on the screen. It’s a 3 to 4-hour respite from the political ads and the harsh reality of our country’s current strife. The viewer can let his or her mind wander all the while concentrating on the batting line up and emitting audible shouts at the Ump behind home plate. Heck, the Professor has even taken to putting names to the cardboard cutouts of the fans, and this little aspect always provokes hilarity in him. Huh?
So, if you want to envision me in my current habitat, for whatever reason, see me as happily curled up on the sofa with my uke beside me and a paper and pen nearby. And, in that picture, put a soft blur onto the huge TV screen in the background! Those boys rolling in dirt ARE part of my reality, and while they were not exactly invited to my party, they ARE in attendance.
Secretly, I really don’t mind!
“The thing I like about baseball is that it’s one-on-one. You stand up there alone, and if you make a mistake, it’s your mistake. If you hit a home run, it’s your home run.” — Hank Aaron