Friday Night Lessons

This past year I have had mostly good Friday nights,

few of them bad, if at all.

That is good, for beginners.

I cannot recall many bad ones.

This past Friday night I spent it eating and visiting with mostly septuagenarians,

And maybe even more octogenarians.

For those without extensive English vocabularies, that means

Old People. Seniors. Citizens that are up there.

And still very much alive. And witty.

At least two served in Vietnam.

In the post pandemic times, that is rarer and rarer.

I thanked them for their service, and thought about places that are free,

Like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia.

That is good, can we agree?

Shortly after this sharing time I met more seniors with a son who has a wife from Indonesia, 

They have children, healthy and sound.

That is good.

A lesson for me, anyway.

Coincidences.

There have been 51 other Friday nights this past year, for me.

Some of them included bidding farewell to my wife and children,

For many months.

Others were going to military chow halls, and later relaxing.

Talking with battle buddies in the barracks.

Reading a book, or playing chess.

Writing in a blog, or reading from the vast Internet.

Some Friday nights I may have watched a show, or a game.

But not most of them.

I may have gone to a library on base, and taken a nap.

Or, I attended a fine Shabbos service, and ate and drank with friends from the

Searing summer of Kuwait to the cooler, darker Shabbat dusks,

For those without extensive Hebrew vocabularies, like me, that means

Friday around or after sun down.

Dusk.

My favorite time of day.

Friday is like the dusk of the week, if you think about it.

Fridays are good.

Mine were, this last year.

Some Friday nights, I might think about the Arabic that I had been exposed to,

that morning at the mosque

The Friday sermon, of my friend.

How to value women, our mothers and our sisters and wives.

Our daughters.

I thought about them all.

Living and dead, they are all great blessings to me.

That is good, for finishers.

This past year has been good to me, not to all.

Some Friday nights we sat in hospitals.

Some were spent praying and mourning for those sick and dying

Some Friday evenings we spent lamenting our losses and missed opportunities.

But, most 

Friday nights

Were very good, very refreshing.

I cannot recall 

Any bad ones.

And I am alive, and I have my health.

Next Friday night should be good, I am confident to say,

I, we, are blessed. Do we not learn?

To contemplate God, and His people, and his languages, and delights,

Share food, a cook like Renee, or Jon, or the ones from India and Bangladesh.

A line full of food, full of drinks, 

Endless options, endless blessings.

These are some of my lessons from the last year of Friday nights.

I remain grateful.

Writers Solve Problems

    I was thinking about what I write, why I write. Why does anybody write what they do? I think that most of us write to solve problems. Problem might be a simplistic heuristic to express. Or, in other words, an easy general explanation of what we all write about.

    Most of us read more than we write. I do. I am not sure how much I read per day. With the Internet, I know I read news and other special interest articles and blogs. Emails and the social media that we read counts, too. Tweets? Sure. Sort of. FaceBook entries and posts? Yeah, sure. We read them. Interpersonal texts and emails? Yes, all of these media platforms become part of what we read. And write.

    George Orwell, one of my favorite writers, has written on why we write. I recommend the read. He solves some problems with his writings. Many of us do not know how to interpret the answers. He writes fiction, which sometimes provides answers to problems that we have a hard time grasping.

    Not all fiction solves problems. Perhaps some of it creates more. Some people write things, articles, books, in order to obfuscate or confuse, conflate or deceive.

Sure. Lies go around, as do myths. 

Most of us cannot be right, right?

Right.

Nevertheless, we do solve problems by writing.

We will solve more as we go.

I will write more later.

Bryce Ties for 202 All Time HRs, 17 Games into the 2022 Season

He is tied with a talented Andrew McCutchen, who is 35 years old in his 14th season, and has over 2,000 more at bats than Harper.

Vernon Wells hit the same number in 15 seasons, about 1700 more at bats, or plate appearances.

Harper has now outpaced Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Brooks Robinson, who played 22 and 23 years, respectively.

202.	Bryce Harper (11, 29)	270	5556	L	HR Log
	Andrew McCutchen (14, 35)	270	7654	R	HR Log
	Vernon Wells (15)	270	7212	R	HR Log
205.	Joe Morgan+ (22)	268	11329	L	HR Log
	Brooks Robinson+ (23)	268	11782	R	HR Log
	Gorman Thomas (13)	268	5486	R	HR Log
208.	George Hendrick (18)	267	7834	R	HR Log
	J.D. Martinez (12, 34)	267	5347	R	HR Log
	Mike Napoli (12)	267	5330	R	HR Log
211.	Vic Wertz (17)	266	7028	L	HR Log

Time creeps up on all of us: this is his last season his twenties. He is only hitting .231 with a .297 OBP so far; he should improve with the warmth and his comfort this season.

Philadelphia is only 7-10, not much better than the woe begone Nats at 6-12. The Mets and Braves are the teams to beat in the division, and the Marlins are not too bad.

Staying healthy, Harper is on trajectory to make the 300 clout club this year.

Maybe more.

Blood, and Avoiding It

    All of us have idiosyncrasies, obsessive compulsions, manias, predilections, pet peeves, caprices, fancies, and on. Tastes. Favorites. Some feelings are the opposite, like phobias or visceral reactions of disgust, which can be as powerful or more so than the things that we prefer.

    As a kid I was not a big fan of blood. It would make me squeamish, or grossed out, sometimes faint or ill. I am still not a big fan of it; I try to stay away from the flow of it, and steel myself if I have to give it, or have it drawn. Discussions about it can make me feel uncomfortable.

    In older days, or being older and seen and felt more things, including the shedding of blood, now with children that are adults and new perspectives, blood is still a thing. Giving, sharing, letting, taking. 

    Blood is one of our most vital resources.

    Now I see those in power, those far from being doctors or health professionals, making decisions to spill the blood of others, like killers and warmongers.

    We see blood takers, real life vampires, all over the world. Those who are thieves and robbers who take from others and their livelihoods are their own type of blood takers. 

    They take from our blood lines through our material resources.

    Some believe that some day when we are with God, we will be immortal beings, and we will not have blood.

    I would like to get past it, as good as good blood is.

    The blood of Jesus Christ was a saving grace for our sins, for Christians.

    The blood of pascal lambs and other sacrifices were necessary for the Covenant Israelites before that. Some sacrifice with blood atonements still.

    I like to be past blood-letting, and killing.

    We believers in God, all of us, what to overcome the shedding of blood.

Orrin Hatch Dies at age 88 - A Good Politician

I read this morning how he just died. May he rest in peace. God bless him. His legacy is a strong one, and important to many.

I have heard it said that no politicians are clean, or considered good. That is not true.

Many live noble and virtuous lives, and help the people that they represent, and struggle and fight for good values, initiatives, and laws.

I believe that Senator Hatch was such a one.

I think that he did his part right.

I wrote a letter to him once while living in Utah, (maybe 1994) advocating micro-loans as a method of combatting poverty.

I saw him once at a church meeting, maybe his last year in office. 2018, perhaps, when he finally retired.

He liked to write music, I think.

A good person, a good politician.

Let it be noted.

Blog on.

Congrats to Miguel Cabrera on Joining the Elite Hit List, Mr. 3,000

 

Rank	Player (yrs, age)	Hits	PA	Bats
1.	Pete Rose (24)	4256	15890	B
2.	Ty Cobb+ (24)	4189	13103	L
3.	Henry Aaron+ (23)	3771	13941	R
4.	Stan Musial+ (22)	3630	12721	L
5.	Tris Speaker+ (22)	3514	12020	L
6.	Derek Jeter+ (20)	3465	12602	R
7.	Cap Anson+ (27)	3435	11331	R
8.	Honus Wagner+ (21)	3420	11766	R
9.	Carl Yastrzemski+ (23)	3419	13992	L
10.	Paul Molitor+ (21)	3319	12167	R
11.	Eddie Collins+ (25)	3315	12087	L
12.	Albert Pujols (22, 42)	3308	12714	R
13.	Willie Mays+ (23)	3293	12545	R
14.	Eddie Murray+ (21)	3255	12817	B
15.	Nap Lajoie+ (21)	3243	10471	R
16.	Cal Ripken Jr.+ (21)	3184	12883	R
17.	Adrian Beltre (21)	3166	12130	R
18.	George Brett+ (21)	3154	11625	L
19.	Paul Waner+ (20)	3152	10767	L
20.	Robin Yount+ (20)	3142	12249	R
21.	Tony Gwynn+ (20)	3141	10232	L
22.	Alex Rodriguez (22)	3115	12207	R
23.	Dave Winfield+ (22)	3110	12358	R
24.	Ichiro Suzuki (19)	3089	10734	L
25.	Craig Biggio+ (20)	3060	12504	R
26.	Rickey Henderson+ (25)	3055	13346	R
27.	Rod Carew+ (19)	3053	10550	L
28.	Lou Brock+ (19)	3023	11240	L
29.	Rafael Palmeiro (20)	3020	12046	L
30.	Wade Boggs+ (18)	3010	10740	L
31.	Al Kaline+ (22)	3007	11597	R
32.	Roberto Clemente+ (18)	3000	10212	R
33.	Miguel Cabrera (20, 39)	2999	11038	R

ROSE:

Last Game: August 17, 1986 (Age 45-125d)

College Basketball Coaches and Jay Wright Hanging it up at 60

The older I get, the younger 60 seems. And this week one of the most successful NCAA coaches announced his retirement, to the surprise of many.

Good for him. He has enough money and retirement, I am sure. He and his family are set for a good life.

He has enough accolades and respect.

Now he is giving the next generations some chances, some opportunities. Possibilities of more money, for sure. But more chances to succeed, in general, for younger coaches, and perhaps those of African-American backgrounds.

Let the next guys get a few more bucks. The legendary, possibly best of all time, Mike Kryszewski of Duke, is also done. He is quite a bit older. To some controversy, his successor is a white guy.

Why does race matter? Ordinarily I think it is all about merit, regardless of race and ethnic background. It should not matter, but...

College basketball is largely Black at the best player level. It has been for decades.

NCAA top notch basketball is based on the participation and excellence of, by far, African-American players.

There have only been two Black coaches who have won it all, John Thompson and Nolan Richardson. Anyone else?

Well, Mr. Wright, to no discredit for his race, has in effect helped others, particularly  minorities, to get a few shakes to lead a major school, opening up more opportunities for others at every level.

Wright has done things right.

Thank you.

Two championships, he is among the elite of all time.

Mike Woodson would be a great new champ, right?

Thoughts on "Once on this Island" by Lynn Ahrens

    I was able to watch the musical, originally produced in 1991 on Broadway, (while I was in South America), three times since returning home this end of March and beginning of April, after being away from home for a long time. I watched my second and oldest children perform in it. It was cool to see them act, sing, and dance. I was lucky to see the last three nights in a row. It reminded me a little of being in college, when I did a theatre minor and sometimes I would observe some shows multiple times, some that I was in myself.

    I did enjoy the shows, more as the music became more familiar to me, but I did also have some questions about the themes in the musical. I could go on at length about the ideas of classism, race, and the subjugation of women, as some critics brought up.

I won't now in this write-up. I wanted to post this now because it was sitting in my draft queue and I wanted to get it out there.

I appreciated the exposure to this art piece, the creativity in it, and those who performed.

Steven Flaherty was interesting and enjoyable, too.

More later? Hopefully, yes.

Juan Soto Ties Honus Wagner on the All-Time Home Run List

 

941.	George Altman (9)	101	3420	L	HR Log
	Geronimo Berroa (11)	101	2825	R	HR Log
	Dave Concepcion (19)	101	9641	R	HR Log
	Chad Curtis (10)	101	4650	R	HR Log
	Ed Delahanty+ (16)	101	8402	R	HR Log
	David Dellucci (13)	101	3266	L	HR Log
	Marwin Gonzalez (11, 33)	101	3678	B	HR Log
	Hank Leiber (10)	101	3141	R	HR Log
	Nate McLouth (10)	101	3737	L	HR Log
	Denis Menke (13)	101	5936	R	HR Log
Rank	Player (yrs, age)	Home Runs	PA	Bats	HR Log
	Walt Moryn (8)	101	2803	L	HR Log
	Juan Soto (5, 23)	101	2053	L	HR Log
	Honus Wagner+ (21)	101	11766	R	HR Lo

The Nats, and Juan, have missed some opportunities the first eleven days of the season. They just lost three out of four to the Pirates in Pittsburgh, after a hopeful two out of three wins to the Braves, and a flat four game series to the Mets.

Juan is doing just okay. But his talent is evident, always.

The others have to come along, including the pitchers, especially their closers, a huge weakness last year.

Down, but not out. Soto is good. Gives me a chance to look at the numbers of the great card bearer, Honus. 

I pronounce it HAWN - iss. I have heard it other ways. Like "Hone".

No matter how pronounced, his card is worth a fortune.