"We gotta play it one day at a time."

As I sit here at midnight watching the NCAA Women’s College World Series opening round, I am thinking about all those fun afternoons I used to have cheering on the Lady Rams of Berkner High School in Richardson. I recall the chants that would come from the dugout, the stomping of cleats, and the clapping of the abnormally subdued fans in the stands. Then, I remember myself…the loudest person there…yelling out the nicknames of my friends at the top of my lungs and smiling as those around me looked on with skeptical eyes. I loved softball for the same reasons I love baseball. It’s a team sport where what you do individually can make or break your team’s success. It’s outdoors, in the spring and summer, which is usually beautiful (if not completely, smothering hot). There’s the crack of the bat, the hustle for the ball, and the close calls by the umpires. You can smell the nachos, the fresh cut grass, and the intoxicating scent of infield dirt (an acquired taste). Don’t forget the fly balls, line drives, homeruns, worm burners, dying quails, and ground balls with eyes. Everything that makes football great…brute force and intense struggle…is juxtaposed by baseball…precise power and easygoing finesse. Now that I’ve told you why I have a unique love of the stick and balls sports, baseball and softball, I will tell you what is pissing me off about them. Change. This constant need to continue to change the rules and regulations is a threat to a game which true fans still refer to as “America’s pastime”.

Here’s the situation, the most recent one, anyway. Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was in the ninth inning working on a perfect game (what would be the third one of this year). A simple ground ball play for the third out of the inning in which Galarraga had to move over to cover first was mysteriously boned. Not by Galarraga, who made it over to first, received the ball, and stepped on the bag before the batter got there, but apparently by umpire Jim Joyce. Galarraga will likely move on with his major league career with the stinging knowledge that only one of the worst blown calls in baseball history prevented him from becoming the 21st pitcher to throw a perfect game. You can't say the same for Joyce, a 23-year veteran whose reputation went done the crapper when he inexplicably called Cleveland's Jason Donald safe at first with that infield hit. I didn’t see the play live because why the hell would I be watching the Tigers/Indians game? But I did see the replays that clearly showed that Galarraga's foot beat Donald to the bag by a full step. Galarraga handled the situation the way you would expect a major league professional to, by sucking it up, getting back on the mound and getting the next guy out. Tigers manager Jim Leyland handled it the way you would expect a major league manager to handle it by chewing Joyce out both directly after the play and right after the end of the game.

First, let me say that I commend Armando Galarraga how cool and level headed he was both during the game and after the game in interviews. And Jim Joyce, after seeing the replay, realized he screwed up and apologized in postgame interviews as well. As I was watching Baseball Tonight on ESPN it all started. Karl Ravich went all “instant replay needs to be expanded” and my blood pressure went through the roof. That’s right, I’m not bringing up this situation to rally behind the rest of you bleeding hearts out there who want every call to be perfect no matter how much you bastardize the game. I’m here to tell you that the most important part of baseball, the most influential, the most interesting part of baseball is the fact that calls are made on the field by real men (who can make mistakes, and do) without the need for or use of instant replay. Now yes, baseball has changed over the years with some things I agree with (the designated hitter) and some things I disagree with (Astroturf). Change is needed to adjust with the times, but instant replay has been around a while…baseball hasn’t needed it yet and it doesn’t need it now.

I could innumerate all the reasons why think that instant replay in baseball would be terrible, but do you really want me to waste your time with that? Probably not. The real thing that needs to be looked at here is how do you want to handle a professional sport that has been thriving for years without the need of much modern intervention? You let it ride, that is what you do. I don’t know if many of you have noticed, but when there is a bad call or even the rare blown call the only people who are really shaking the trees are the ones who suffer from the call in question. As a fan, just this year, I saw a terrible call against my team, the Rangers, that could have been turned around with instant replay and wasn’t. Josh Hamilton had an obvious homerun according to multiple camera angles of replays, but the umpire on the field ruled it a ground rule double. When the manager came on the field to argue the call the umpires refused to review the hit, as it is the umpire’s discretion to use said replay in any circumstance. Would this be the same for all replays? Then who is to say that Jim Joyce wouldn’t have refused to review the call on that play that killed Galarraga’s perfecto? Exactly, no one. And if you want to have different rules for different replay reviews in different situations, then how are the fans going to deal with that? How will managers and players deal with that? Exactly, you have no answer. If there was no replay option and things stayed as they are what would happen? Absolutely nothing. Nothing is better than “I don’t know”. Keep instant replay review out of baseball.

I’ll leave you with this…

[Larry jogs out to the mound to break up a players' conference]
Larry: Excuse me, but what the hell's going on out here?
Crash Davis: Well, Nuke's scared because his eyelids are jammed and his old man's here. We need a live...is it a live rooster?
[Jose nods]
Crash Davis: …we need a live rooster to take the curse off Jose's glove and nobody seems to know what to get Millie or Jimmy for their wedding present.
[to the players]
Crash Davis: Is that about right?
[the players nod]
Crash Davis: We're dealing with a lot of shit.
Larry: Okay, well, uh... candlesticks always make a nice gift, and uh, maybe you could find out where she's registered and maybe a place-setting or maybe a silverware pattern. Okay, let's get two! Go get 'em.

…an example of what is really on players’ minds during a ballgame.

DAL to ATL and back again

Most of you probably didn’t notice, but I was gone for a few days over the weekend. It wasn’t anything terrifying or horrifying, nothing life threatening, and nothing much to talk about…so I’m going to write a blog about it. Why not? I don’t often write specifically about the events in my days, so this will be an exciting foray into what my life is actually like (now is the time to quit reading if you don’t really care). So, I left bright and early Thursday morning on a four day, three night journey halfway across the US for my best friend’s kid’s baptism. I didn’t travel alone, I went with my other best friend, Jon. The plan was actually for three of us, Jon, his wife, and I, but because of some extenuating circumstances, she was unable to go. That meant it was just two pretty big guys in a pretty small car (Bekah’s Chevy Cobalt Coupe…it is also yellow, by the way) driving 12 hours to a foreign land (Georgia). Like I said, we started bright and early on Thursday at 5AM. Being that it was just the two of us, it wasn’t that big a deal to get out of town. Jon was driving (he said before we even left that he would handle all the driving…I wasn’t going to argue) and though he is a competent and safe driver, I did find that at times he wasn’t as aggressive (offensive) in his driving as I would have. We were haulin’ it pretty much and got out of Dallas before the morning rush, which meant we were already ahead of everyone else’s rush, as well. I don’t know if that makes sense, but it did to me, so I am sticking with it.

The thing about driving anywhere in or out of Texas comes down to the sheer fact that it takes forever to get out of this state. It is huge! It takes almost three hours to get from Dallas to the eastern border of the state. So for the first three hours, we were still in Texas. We stopped somewhere in East Texas to fill up, Lindale or Tyler, and I found the most amazing thing…the truck stop we were at sold large pocket knives at just $5.95. To me, that is incredible. You shouldn’t be able to get something you could potentially kill someone with for under $10.00. But, this is Texas, so you should be able to get anything you want for under $10.00 (plus, not to stereotype, but East Texas is full of strange/scary phenomenon like this). Once we were back on the road after that, we were rollin’. I don’t suspect that many of you have gone on long road trips such as this, but you find yourself stopping a lot, especially if traveling with women or children. But, Jon and I were able to stay on the road through the full tank of gas, which got us to Newton, Mississippi. Where’s Newton? Just west of Chunky (yeah, there is a Chunky, Mississippi, which sitting alongside the Chunky River). We went to the McDonald’s in Newton and found that we were surrounded by redheaded women. To the point that Jon made a comment about it and I was forced to take further notice beyond a passing glance. Aside from the strangeness of numerous redheads, we were able to fill up our stomachs and the car and get back to the journey.

That tank of gas and some pretty extreme patience was able to get us into Atlanta. We didn’t even stop anywhere in Alabama! There is so much to see, but we skipped over it because by the time we had made it to Tuscaloosa we were ready for the trip to be over. When we got to Atlanta we didn’t have a chance to calm down because Jon was in charge of directions and he is not good at directions. We did, however, have a great journey through some scenic parts of Atlanta (even got to see our first gay and lesbian bookstore). We did finally, after three or four phone calls, make it to Fernando’s office after driving around Atlanta for thirty minutes. We were able to finally get out of the tiny (yellow) car and sit in normal chairs for a while. We did get into a little bit of trouble while we were in his office, but that is a need to know story (frankly, ya’ll don’t need to know). That night we were able to get dinner, at Jon’s request, at McDonald’s (I didn’t want Micky D’s twice in one day, but the big guy was in charge of the show). Then we stopped by Fern and Claudia’s place for a quick look (past her bedtime) at Katelyn (the baby) before being shuffled over to our place of residence for the weekend. Claudia’s folks are renting a corporate apartment (furnished) type place in the same complex as Fern and Claudia. They were not going to be there this weekend, so we got to take that place. Other than being freezing cold (thermostat seemed broken) all the time and having to sleep on an air mattress (not sharing a bed with Jon), it was quite a nice place to be able to call our own. Thus ended day 1, traveling day, Thursday.

Friday I was up at 8AM, on only 5 hours of sleep, but Jon didn’t get up till almost noon. Fernando was off that day, Claudia was working, and Katelyn was with the sitter, so we had a boy’s day. Fern took us on a driving tour of Atlanta that included some of the more touristy sites and some of the not so tourist friendly places. We had lunch at Waffle House (Atlanta is the home of the Waffle House). We went to the CNN Center so Jon could buy a Braves cap at the Braves’ Clubhouse shop there. We saw the MLK site and a used record store. Finishing it all off at the nearby mall where Fern had to pick up baby pictures from Sears and I coerced into buying a shirt. It is a pretty cool adidas shirt stating “The King of ATL”, which is how the two of them referred to me for the rest of the trip. That night we and two of Fern’s friends took in a Braves game. It rained pretty much through the entire game. I was soaked. We had three umbrellas with us, two were big enough for one person and one was big enough for two people. That covers four people…there were five of us…I was the odd man out, by choice, but mostly because the other guys didn’t seem like they could handle walking through the rain unprotected (not questioning their manhood, necessarily). Needless to say with the rain delays the game took forever, and for someone who is not a Braves fan, that isn’t the best thing in the world. There was some great pizza at the stadium, that’s the plus. After the game we went to The Varsity (largest fast food restaurant) for postgame chili dogs and onion rings. Then on back to the apartments to get some sleep. Day 2…boy’s day…Friday.

The next morning we were both up about the same time and went over to Fern’s for lunch. He was making burgers for us and Claudia’s sister had made it into town. It was the day of the baptism so we had to get situated for everything. After lunch we all got dressed and ready to go. We left pretty early for the baptism because we had to stop at Kroger and get the food for the reception, Baskin Robbins to get the cake, and Jon and I needed to fill up the car. Once we got to the church we got everything set up for the reception and then got into the sit around and wait scenario. Jon and Fern played video games and then we got Katelyn dressed in her baptism gown. The baptism was beautiful. It was a private ceremony in a nice ornate chapel at the church. There couldn’t have been more than thirty people there and everyone seemed completely into the whole experience. Afterward at the reception, I found myself taking charge of most of the logistical issues concerned with throwing a party. I brought over food, organized and set up tables, refilled punch, pulled out and thawed the cake, and cleaned up empty cups and plates lying around. I didn’t do that much, everything mostly took care of itself, but I did try to make sure everything was moved together, cleared up, and sorted so that the end of the party/clean-up would run smoothly. When we got back to the apartments we played chicken foot dominoes until we couldn’t handle it anymore and then went to bed. Day 3…baptism day…Saturday.

Jon and I planned on being able to get over to Fern and Claudia’s apartment for breakfast and then to Mass at a local church before heading out. That didn’t happen. As we were almost ready to go to their place for breakfast, they texted to let us know to wait a while before coming over (thirty minutes). So, Mass was out, but breakfast was good. We finished up the complete round of chicken foot just in time for us to be able to leave in a timely fashion to get back to Dallas before too late. Getting out of town was pretty easy on a Sunday morning and we were back on the road in no time. The drive back was just as memorable as the drive there, except for the fact that we stopped in Talladega so I could get a picture of the speedway. We arrived back in Dallas just about midnight, a twelve hour drive yet again. Jon dropped me off at my place and I tended to some unforeseen duties and then shuttled off to bed for a quality night’s sleep on a real mattress. Day 4…traveling day…Sunday.

That sums up the majority of my trip. There are a lot of things I didn’t talk about for fear of being boring or repetitive. But, I thought I would just write about my day(s) for a change instead of tackling a subject. Let me know what ya’ll think.

The Importance of Memorial Day

Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer. For my family, we have always celebrated Memorial Day. Usually we do this by visiting the cemetery and placing flowers on the grave of my mother’s parents. A few years we have even participated in the Memorial Day ceremonies at the cemetery, which include solemn prayer sessions, a flag ceremony, and a twenty-one gun salute. Memorial Day has always been an important part of our family because it symbolized a day where we would gather together, remember those who we’ve lost, and celebrate the coming of summer.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of the innumerous soldiers who died during the bloodiest conflict to that time in American history, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:
The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
During the first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery. This 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Miss.; Macon, Ga.; Richmond, Va.; Boalsburg, Pa.; and Carbondale, Ill. In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
By the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of America's wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. (Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all veterans, living and dead, is celebrated each year on November 11.) Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.

One of the more popular sights on Memorial Day is the American flag flying at half-staff. Historians say practices like this one and the singing of the national anthem at various events are part of what many of them call a patriotic revival that peaked in the 1930s and during the years of World War II. In 1923 the American Legion led a group of various organizations, including the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, in establishing approved practices for handling of the American flag, and the specification of flying the flag at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day derives from this venture. One of the most interesting ways to honor members of the military on Memorial Day does not have to involve any narrative, as silence can be extremely powerful. For example, at various memorial sites throughout the U.S. visitors will often see a member of the armed forces standing vigil over the site. The completely still and silent soldier conveys respect and honor without the use of words. This is one of the key aspects of Memorial Day…honor.

Monuments, such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, have changed the way people view wars and those soldiers involved in them. There is no place on the Vietnam Memorial where there is narrative that describes the war; it is meant entirely to focus on the individuals who died. This helps to convey a sense of connection. The black granite, mirrored and polished surface reflects your own image as you are reading through the names of those who died. The wall is a physical object that connects you with these fallen soldiers. This connection is conveyed with the idea of compassion versus pity. In compassion, you can actually understand yourself in that person's place, or you can understand yourself in the place of their families, which is a big part of memorialization. As I’ve said before, my father served in Vietnam, and sometimes the pain I see in his eyes when he talks about the war means compassion within myself. It is hard not to feel compassionate about anyone who has faced the horrors of war. This is another key aspect of Memorial Day…compassion.

Another tradition that has become more mainstream is for people to personalize these public monuments. Family members often bring photographs, flowers and personal items to these memorials and place them under the name of their loved one. That kind of personalization is easily understandable in the case of an individual gravesite belonging to a family, but we've figured out ways of starting to do more of that with these public monuments. In many cases, these memorials, especially when one goes back to wars before Vietnam and Korea, are the only things that people have to remember their loved ones.

So, remember the importance of Memorial Day not just as a day off of work, but as a day to remember those who have fought and died to make sure you have a place to take a day off of work in peace. When looking for ways to honor fallen military on Memorial Day, one of the best things a person can do is something that includes a visible sign of respect. I would suggest visiting a military cemetery and placing flowers on a grave that looks like it has not been visited so those individuals are not forgotten. Following those lines, visit any cemetery and do the same no matter if that person served in the military or not. Attend a Memorial Day ceremony anywhere and you will probably find a good place to show your honor and compassion for our fallen soldiers. Don’t forget the true meaning of this important holiday.