Softball: Organic Renewal, Ceaseless and Inevitable
Dear People,
I am delighted to report that my team made savory mincemeat out of Ken’s, 19-9, in large part thanks to Art’s dominant role as pitcher, hitter and aerobic mensch. Beyond his raw athletic prowess, he clearly had an enormous advantage for this particular game; Since the Artster only shows up about once a year, he must have been the only familiar face on that field who wasn’t feeling nude, vulnerable and frightened by the presence of no fewer than five community newbies, a staggering and unprecedented 25% of the total roster that shook the recreational zeitgeist, challenged team cohesion, and, truth be told, drove down the per-game wages of every one of you reading this for at least the next two years. Yeah, the labor market is a brutal mistress and times are tough; Deal with it.
As a group, the rookies all performed with kinesiological honor, and yet I certainly picked up some anxiety and concerns. “They all look kindly and I know I shouldn’t judge,” one old-timer whispered to me, adding with a sheepish grin, “but I just feel so unclean.” In fairness, that’s an inevitable reaction whenever any biological organism undergoes transformative change (and if we as a recreational people aren’t the very essence of a freshwater amoeba in constant transition, then I don’t know what).
Still, I need to act quickly in order to assure the vitality of our communal evolution, for even as I write, no fewer than five of our core superstars are now out with injuries. I refer you to Jeff W, with a tweaked knee, Frieda, with a defiant shoulder, Chris Fure, with a bad back of tweaky defiance, and most poignantly, Frank and Kira, both of whom recently suffered grievous wounds of pure athletic magnificence.
Yes, Frank’s heroism left his mangled hand broken and splayed, but we can all be proud knowing how he got it—by falling off the third step of a ladder while changing his kitchen light bulb in a semi-inebriated state. Wondrous. For Kira, the incident in question was perhaps more puzzling, in that her decision to literally break her own toe with a croquet mallet seems unproductive at best. I myself would’ve swung for the croquet ball (one inch beyond the front of the foot), and yet these are deeply personal choices that are best to accept on their own terms.
The point is that I’m tired of having to troll for players on Saturday afternoons, if for no other reason than it makes me feel like the shameless tart that I know you think I am. Because of this, I have started to add a significant number of new people to the list (including those who heroically showed up this last time), and I will continue to do so until a new equilibrium is established. Without question, there are risks to our delicate social aerobisphere, and eventually, games may once again sell out too quickly. I have no doubt that this will cause many of you to revive your calls for my immediate dismissal, arrest and deportation, but for what it’s worth, I’ve always known that it ain’t easy being me. And therefore there will be a game at Codronices this Sunday at 11AM, IF I get enough commits by this Friday morning…Raymond
6/27/08
Softball: Healthy
Dear People,
There will be a game at Codornices this Sunday at 11AM, and as of now there are still five slots left.
Please bring $3 for the field, which for this week only includes a delightful baked Andante dairy goat cheese with garden lettuces, and I’m not saying that just because I love to pluralize nouns that have been singular since medieval English…Ray 845-7552
PS: Alan Brill, the greatest ballerina-pitcher in the history of our community, has been so shaken by the number of our superstar players currently in an injured state that he has decided to do something about it (or at least something about how they access health care, once their tiny little bones are put through the ringer).
A message from the Brillster follows below:
Hi,
Please join us for a house party to learn about SB
840, the California Universal Healthcare Act.
Saturday, June 28 (tomorrow), 3-5 PM
4377 Townsend Ave., Oakland
Home of Allan, Carol and Jenna King Brill
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Oakland&state=CA&address=4377+Townsend+Ave
SB 840 (Kuehl) is the only sane solution to our
escalating healthcare crisis. It guarantees
comprehensive high quality and affordable health care
to all California residents!
Come and learn how this legislation will work: how we
can cover ALL Californians and yet spend less on
health care. Watch the brief documentary explaining SB
840 and hear the latest on the statewide campaign for
SB 840, OneCareNow. Bring your checkbooks so that, if
you share our belief in this effort, you can help us
put this on the Governor’s desk this year!!
More info here:
http://onecarenow.org/
Enjoy delicious food and drink and a chance to visit with
others interested in universal health care! And feel free to
invite others who might be interested.
Please RSVP to brill@sbcglobal.net (510-482-1410).
Hope to see you on the 28th.
Allan