'Tis the Season...for Baseball

While I'm not particularly a baseball fan, it was a part of my life when I was young.  How many of us can there be who don't recall the crack of a bat hitting a ball?  Or the feel of the hard, flat surface of a bleacher in the hot, afternoon or early evening sun?

One of my earliest memories is of my mother, sitting in the old (and I mean old) recliner, with a clipboard in her lap as she watched the World Series on the black & white TV, while she kept a detailed running score of the game.  I don't know what teams played in those games, but I know for most of my growing up years, I was a Roger Maris fan.  Mickey Mantle was a close second.  I also remember Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Johnny Bench, George Brett, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, and Don Drysdale.  Those were the days of baseball.  Of course there were hundreds more, but those were the ones I remember best.

My mom wasn't the only one who watched baseball.  We lived not far from Lawrence Stadium, now Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, which was built in 1934 and has been the home of the National Baseball Congress World Series since 1935.  On summer nights, my dad would attend games there.  My mom would take me, usually in my pajamas and very sleepy, to pick him up when the game was over.  Across the street from the ballpark was a Dairy Queen.  Not the fancy brazier kind there are not, but one where you walked up to the window and ordered.  My mom was a banana split person, and my dad usually ordered a sundae of some kind.  My favorite was a chocolate malt...that I rarely finished and was put in the freezer for the next day.  Frozen DQ chocolate malts are great!  The DQ has been gone for years, but I'm always reminded of it when we go watch my oldest granddaughter perform in the annual ice show or we go skating at the Ice Center (upper left of the stadium in photo), built in 1996.  I've had the pleasure of attending a few games at L-D Stadium over the past 20 years and enjoyed every minute, including the beer that was accidentally dumped down my back by a zealous fan. ;)

Childhood became teen years, and we'd moved to a small town.  I became a Dodger fan.  In fact, like former manager Tommy Lasorda, I've been known to bleed Dodger Blue.  Third baseman Ron Cey was my favorite during those years, but was closely followed by Steve Garvey, Don Sutton, and others.  If I still watched baseball, that would be my team, in spite of KC Royals being only 3 1/2 hours away.  I'll root for the Texas Rangers, too, just because.

When I finally grew up and became a real adult, I went to slow pitch softball games, usually two to three games a week and several weekend tournaments, for most of 20+ years.  I learned to keep score and swore that my backside had to have been as flat as the bleachers I sat on, game after game after game.  There were lots of bleacher tans: shoulders and arms, upper chest and back, and tops of thighs and feet, not to mention my scalp if there was a part in my hair.  I made friends with the wives and girlfriends of players and enjoyed spending time with them on the bleachers.  I learned the rules of baseball and softball, not by playing, but by watching, listening and cheering on the team.  And, oh, the stories I have of those crazy times.  If I had to choose between watching softball or baseball, I'd choose softball in a heartbeat, even in spite of Maris, Koufax and Cey. ;)

So here's my salute to baseball and the boys of summer, complete with a super, upbeat tune and old-time photos that bring back those childhood memories.  Thank you, John Fogarty!

Baseball is the only place in life where a sacrifice is really appreciated.  ~ Author Unknown

PLAY BALL!!! 

Who'll Stop the Rain?

Yes, I'm a Credence Fan.  No, this is not about CCR.  This is about the rain that has been coming down since late Sunday.

Oscar Wilde once said, "Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative."  My response to that?  Oscar had his own set of problems. ;)

Normally, rain doesn't bother me.  I rarely see the need for an umbrella or raincoat or slicker of any kind.  Getting a little damp from raindrops doesn't spoil my day.

We need rain now and then to settle the Kansas dust.  And I'm sure that sometime mid-July or August, we'll be wishing it would rain.  But 4+ days of it?  Isn't that a bit of overkill?

And just why did this sudden drenching of our area have to happen during Spring Break?  It's too cold and icky to send kids out to play.  Mud brown would be the color of the day...all week.  Then there's the risk of them getting totally drenched and coming down with this season's worst bug, just in time for break to be over.  That would be punishing me, because guess whose house they'd be sent to when they're too sick to go to school?  Yeah, that's right.  If truth be told, five kids under the age of 10, cooped up in a small house for 4 days, is an invitation to bloodshed.  I'm just not sure whose blood will be shed first.

Let's face it, I wouldn't have survived the 40 days and 40 nights of the "Great Flood" of Bible lore.  After the first week, I'd have offed myself.  I probably wouldn't do well in Seattle, either, although it's on my Top 5 list of places where I'd consider living.  Still, I like a little rain, and after last summer's drought, it really would be nice to see the river at higher levels.  The wide expanse of sandbars is disturbing.  The benefits of rain, in addition to dust-settling, is nice, too.  Daffodils are in abundance, while the plethora of flowering Bradford Pear trees are breathtaking and something that usually don't happen for a few weeks farther into the year.  At least those things can be enjoyed.  This incessant rain can't.  I should be happy that it isn't snowing, because it's been known to do that...as much as 12 inches.  Ahhhhh, Spring!

Summer will soon be here--the temps did hit 80 before the sky decided to open up and drench us--and there's no doubt I'll complain about the hot weather then, just as much as I'm complaining about the rain now. Honestly, if I'd had the pleasure of just returning from a long vacation in Tahiti (does that still exist with that name?), I'd be jabbering on about the beach and the sun and the weather.  With my luck, it would be raining there, too.

Back to CCR and Who'll Stop the Rain...

Stay dry!  Stay warm!  And wait out whatever weather has befallen you.  It'll change.  On that we can count. :)

Bad weather always looks worse through a window. ~ Tom Lehrer

Put On a Happy Face ☺

There's no doubt that the winter holidays are the most stressful time of year for everyone.  Even if you're at the best and think Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's are the best thing that every happened to man--and woman--kind, something unexpected can come along and change that.

Sometimes life comes along and takes the joy out of, not only holidays, but far too many other things, too.  Whether it's seasonal depression, doldrums, the blues, sadness or any other feeling or emotion that's keeping you from not only enjoying the holidays but day-to-day life, there's help.

The key to feeling better lies within each of us.  We can't expect others to make us feel better.  It's something we have to work at ourselves.  So if this holiday season is starting to get you down--or if life in general just isn't what you'd hoped and dreamed it would be--it's past time to do something.

We're lucky to live in the age of technology, where help is at our fingertips.  Here's a list of websites that may help lighten your load or at least get you on the road to a little sunshine in your life.

• Ten Ways to Beat the Holiday Blues -- from Beliefnet.com  • Common sense help on how to deal with the holiday blues.  Beliefnet encompasses all religions, faiths, and beliefs, so it doesn't matter whether you're celebrating the season of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Saturnalia, Yalda, Diwali, Winter Solstice, Festiva, "other" or none at all, it's a site that welcomes all.
• Ten Ways to Beat the Holiday Blues -- from Oprah.com • If you're an Oprah fan or follower, here's a slideshow rendition of how to get you through the holidays.
• 5 Ways to Beat the Holiday Blues -- Self.com • So who needs 10 ways when 5 might work?  Let Self Magazine online show you how to feel better when those holiday blues hit.
• Beating the Holiday Blues -- PsychCentral.com • Who better to turn to during these frantic times than those who help people deal with depression year 'round? 
•  How to Beat the Holiday Blues: The Gift of Giving -- iTriage.com • Sometimes the best way to deal with feeling low is to give of oneself.  iTriage can show you the way to feel better about yourself and your life during the toughest season of all.

So now you're wondering why today's picture is a happy face with musical notes.  That's easy!  I've been working on being more positive and putting negativity behind me.  What I've found works especially well for me is music.  After all...

Music has charms to soothe the savage breast 

To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.

William Congreve, The Mourning Bride, Act 1 Scene 1

English dramatist (1670 - 1729)

Here's a short list of what I'm humming, singing, or listening to these days:

• Ding Dong Merrily on High (16th Century French)  Who can feel bad when humming this one?
• Sleigh Ride (composed by Leroy Anderson)  At the top of the list of my favorites and also my Christmas season ringtone. ;) We played this each year in band at my high school Christmas program.
• My Favorite Things (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II) Brings a smile to the lips as well as to the heart.

Blessings to all for a happy and wonder-filled holiday season!

I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.

George Eliot (1819 - 1880)

Cooling Trends = Winter

Back in July and August, when we were setting record high temperatures, the idea of a frosty winter day sounded delightful.  Yeah.  That's when it was 111+ degrees and the AC couldn't keep up, culminating in a call to the repairman...for me and countless others.

Be careful what you wish for...

It's winter.  No ifs, ands or buts, the cold and frosty season is upon us.  Although it isn't quite noon, the temp is now 18.  That's Fahrenheit.  The first thing I did after sitting at my desk was to look out the window.  There's a dusting of snow on the ground---the first to stay stuck and visible for more than a very short time this winter season.  There's also a thin layer of snow (and ice?) on the windshield of my car, which means that at some point today I'll be scraping.  The bright sunshine may be making it sparkle, but it isn't helping in the melting department.

So I'm looking around, wondering what I should do.  There isn't a room in the house that couldn't stand some straightening, if not some downright cleaning.  But there are other things calling to me.  A just-started book proposal that I hope to have finished by the end of the week is clamoring for attention.  A YA story I began a few weeks ago and was given a thumbs-up by my youngest also awaits.

Instead, I have a cup of green tea I'm enjoying while writing this blog post.  When I've finished, I'll probably do whatever strikes me, as long as it keeps me relatively warm and happy.  There are countless things I should do and even more things I might want to do with this day that's spread out ahead.  Whatever I choose, I'll find a way to enjoy it, just as I will Winter, as it continues to settle in until Spring arrives in the far distant future.

“The hardest work of all is to do nothing.”

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It's pretty obvious by the picture on the left that one of my favorite things is Autumn aka Fall.  What's not to like about the freshest and most invigorating season of each year?

While driving to pay my car insurance this morning, I decided to start making myself more aware of the things around me.  Much better than focusing on the driving habits of others. ;)  The weatherman said to expect a beautiful day in the 70s, and at 61 degrees right now, it's hard to imagine better.  The only small drawback is the wind.  There's a stiff breeze (23 mpg) coming out of the northeast.  Still, there's a positive to even that.  The breeze is stirring the leaves that have fallen, sending them skittering and swirling across yards and streets.

There are no clouds in the sky, just a bright, azure blue that is breathtaking.  The air has a whisper of crispness, making it completely comfortable outside.  As I drove, I noticed two men making small repairs on a church building, while at another location, others were raking the multi-colored leaves into piles.

But the one thing that really made me smile was the two small children, a boy and a girl about the ages of 3 and 4, who were playing in the leaves in their yard.  The boy was standing and throwing leaves over his head, while the girl sat in pile of leaves and swirled them around her.  I couldn't hear them laughing, but it was clear from the joy on their faces that they were having the time of their lives at that moment.

I'm beginning to realize how important it is to look for these moments of enjoyment, whether mine or someone else's, and make memories that will always bring a smile.

This evening I'll go to a Porch Party given my a dear fellow author, who is eager to share her new enclosed porch with friends.  If, as the weatherman says, our high tomorrow is barely 40 degrees, I wouldn't be surprised if the party moves from the porch to the inside fireplace.  Wherever it is that we all eventually gather, it will be another memory to hold close.  I can't wait!

Friendship is love with understanding.