I was going to record Gord’s Gold but there’s a riveter banging out across the street. That is not conducive to recording. It’s also not conducive to writing but at least it doesn’t totally preclude it. Yesterday I went to another Met game, they were playing the Marlins. You might have noticed that I’ve been going often. That is the world working the way it should. A friend who I agree with on most things says that people who have not heard me talk about baseball would never guess that I’m a huge fan. I disagree with him on that. While I know there are people that think that people with intellectual, artistic, and scientific interests are not into sports; that’s not what I’ve found. In college I went to games with other math majors. My Facebook feed is filled with musicians that are diehard fans. The intellectual that doesn’t like sports or pop culture is a false stereotype. Like racial profiling and traditional gender roles, generalizations that even when true should not be applied to individuals. Cognitive shorthands can be useful but they can also be misleading, work at avoiding them, Any statement of the form [people of this group] are [description] is often inaccurate which make blanket statements about groups false. Don’t let them affect your thinking.
Oh wait, I’m writing about the Met game. I was late again! I hate being late especially for baseball games. I was so late they were out of the giveaway Father’s Day Mets baseball caps. I didn’t know they were being given out. I left the house early to be sure I wouldn’t be late but when I got to the D train station it was taped off. No information was given. I checked on the MTA app which told me that the D wasn’t running in the upper Bronx. That meant walking over to the 4 train. As I arrived at the station, I heard the train pull in and I missed it. I had over a 10 minute wait until the next one. When I got to Grand Central Terminal, I found I had just missed the 7 train and waited another 10 minutes there. Those three things conspired to make me not get to the game until the bottom of the first inning. The MTA hates me. I don’t know why, I’m so loyal. Even when I had a car, I eventually stopped using it to drive into the City. I champion the subway and buses to everyone then it rewards me with tsuris. Their ain’t no TANJ justice. [Larry Niven reference]
The weather was cool, but I dressed perfectly. I had my David Wright Mets jersey on over a light sweatshirt. Alan and I sat high up so were out of the sun. It was a good day to get a sunburn. That just reminded me that the Mets are playing their third consecutive day game. I’m late for this too. It’s the top of the 3rd and I just turned the game on.
As for the game, the Mets lost. It’s sad but it happens. I am not going to take the usual Met fan attitude that the sky is falling. This is the most I’m enjoying the Mets in years. Like all teams they have flaws. I’m not a fan of Buck Showalter’s managing, but they are playing hard, playing well, and winning. Playing hard? What does that mean? This isn’t basketball, a game of extra effort. People often interpret teams not hitting as not trying. I thought the Mets showed a lot of heart last season, but others didn’t as they weren’t winning. Do teams win because they have a winning attitude, or do they have a winning attitude because they are winning. I find the latter more likely.
Alan left in the middle of the 8th so he could get in a swim. When Alan leaves, I move down to better seats. We started in the 500s, I watched the bottom of the 8th from the 400s, and the ninth from the 300s, which is on a lower level. Those seats are amazing. This is where I really see the superiority of Citi Field to Shea Stadium. You are much closer to the action, at least when you are behind the plate. The views are unobstructed. There’s often something between my eyes and the field when I sit where Alan likes to sit on the upper deck.
I took advantage of it being a Met game and stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way home. I forgot one of the things I needed, sliced ham. Do I walk all the way over to Aldi today to pick it up? I will take a walk but that’s not a pretty walk. I’ll probably walk through either the Bronx Forest or the Botanical gardens. I prefer walking through the canyons of Manhattan or in nature, not in between. My favorite things at Trader Joe’s of late are the half-baked bread, the Valencia peanuts, peanut butter, and the chocolate covered Bamba.
I started recording Gord’s Gold last night when I got a message from Joe that led to a long, 1:49:23 phone call. We have not talked in a while. The purposed of the call was to make Falcon Ridge plans. We are both uncertain of what we are going to do. It’s at a new location. We have to figure out how to find each other. We won’t have The Budgiedome but we will still have our combined Buddha-Pest community. It took us an hour to get down to business and went off on other tangents afterward. One idea we had was to reimagine funerals. When there’s a funeral people say eulogies, literally “good words” about the deceased. Then everyone gets together and talks about the diseased. I said what I want for my funeral is a hootenanny, followed by people telling their favorite idiot stories about me. The problem with that idea is that the honorees are dead and can’t enjoy the celebration in their honor. We should hold a celebration of a person’s life while they are still alive. My suggestion was that it should be when a person turns 70, the biblical three score and ten. I’m an atheist but that’s always been my demarcation of when a person gets old, so it works.
Thinking about it today I see one problem. I’d feel embarrassed if I heard people saying all those good things about me. Wouldn’t most people? The answer is yes but that’s only because we aren’t used to it. We should normalize accepting praise. Who wants in on making this a new tradition? The one old tradition I insist on is food being served. If Catholics want to make it like a wake with a living honoree that works too.
The Mets are winning 2-0 now. I will post this and then force myself to get dressed, go out and take my walk. The Mets are now winning 3-0, McNeil just scored on a wild pitch. I’m listening on the radio, but it is being described as a great baserunning play.
Wise Madness 