The good, the bad and the weird

I am back. So much to say today, so little time. Isn't always so? There is the good, the bad and the eeriely strange and coincidental. Where to begin?

Let's start with the BAD. George Carlin died at age 71. The man was subversively funny. He was a man who disdained the man-made institutions of politics and religion (rightly so) as it forced the subjugation and ignorance of the individual. He was bang on, and maybe that is why I found him so fucking funny. He could rant like nobody else and it was all predicated on language and listening and parsing the language used by folks.

He did a great bit on advertisers and the use of the word "zesty". He was hit the fucking nose when he said it meant NOTHING. He, like me (or so I have myself believe), could be typecast as the little kid who says that the emporer is naked in the "Emporer's New Clothes".

That is the sad and I really could go on and lament his passing. He will be missed but his funniest bits can live on with DVDs and such.

The Strange begins with me in the shower. Not that me in the shower is strange, it is at least a daily occurrence. I was thinking of the brother of a friend I knew, who I had not heard about or seen in years. He was, last I heard, living in New York and trying to be a stage actor (or any kind of actor)(I guess he was a waiter). Anyway, I am at work and heading into the warehouse. I see some dude with a goatee sitting down. We eye each other but I am thinking how is this guy here. He calls my name. I answer with his name, which coincidentally is his name, too.

We start to chat and I ask about his brother. It turns out he moved to LA three months ago and continues to be a struggling actor. I give him credit for his preseverance. The dude and I caught up. It was great to see and talk to him.

In our youth, he could be very quiet and give you the eyebrows. I will never forget this image. He was a smoker of cigarettes and had asthma. Keep in mind, we were only 19 at the time so we were rather stupid. He would smoke his cigarette and immediately take a puff of his inhaler (which were purchased from my father's drug store, I might add). Always cracked me. It always seemed to be the best advice...got asthma, enjoy a smoke!

Now, for the Good. The good is good. It was the Lad's baseball tournament yesterday. Three games in the sun, heat and morning into the afternoon. The Lad's team won all of their games were the champions. They won big with the Lad playing an integral role...driving in runs, catching flies and as the first baseman, making his catches. It was an amazing run.

The Lad seems to like to hit with 2 strikes. He seems to bear down and focus. Then, he cracks the ball. He did not get on base in all his at bats. He did hit when his team needed the hit, though, and that is more important. His defence was solid at first, catching one fly ball and making all the catches needed at first. There were a lot.

His team was awesome. The little girl at third, not only making the catch, but throwing across the diamond to the Lad to get the force at first. His friend catching a pop fly in the outfield. His other friend, the catcher, scoring a run by aggressive base running and making two put outs at the plate.

The first game ended with their speedster making an awesome catch in the outfield on the other teams best hitter. He took away a sure home run. It was just an awesome day. Now, I have the sunburned forearms and neck to prove it.

I was not the coach, but I was the father who was always there and trying to help. I got so into the games that I could not sit with the Wife. I had to stand near the baseline and get up close and personal to the game. I am insane.

I am so proud of his play, the improvement in his play, and the play of the team. Those Sunday practices, optional, were great for him and the team. It allowed to see how the ball comes off the bat and play a number of positions to get a feel for them. The team had three guys, including the Lad, who could play first (all were big and could catch), but the Lad was the slowest of the 3 so him at first gave them the best defense. It worked and I could not be more happy for him.

Man, I have a serendipitous moment, a comedian I admire dies and spend most of this post gloating about the Lad and his winning team. Funny, but I think that I do a have stronger connection to the Lad than I thought. Cool!

Ciao!