The game has come to define my life. You won’t find my name in any record books or even on many rosters, but the game flows through my very blood. Indeed, the fact I don’t appear within any organized log tells you most of the story. But this, this is a different story.
Gary Trudeau once said we have become a nation of play-by-play announcers. We see life as a narrated live action event. It therefore doesn’t help things that, among the many paths I’ve taken, includes that of actually serving as a play-by-play announcer. But, rather than dwelling on a “voice of God” describing the action, what stands out in my memory remains the visions of modest, yet self-satisfying, glory. Picture not the booming baritone of NFL Films, but the dramatic slow-motion dénouement of a Hollywood picture.
It’s the littlest things I remember: The enormous body floating silently above me that Continue Reading “The Greatest Game Ever… So Far!”
Terror at the School Bus Stop – A True-Life Story (Part III)
[This Commentary originally appeared in the January 27, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
(The following is loosely based on a real life adventure as told by an eight year old.)
The Verdict: Accused, I stood before the Older Guys face hung low. “Kid,” Jimmy rendered in a solemn but professional tone, “We’re gonna hafta beat you up.” A silent hush fell upon all the kids at the School Bus Stop that cool winter morning. The sentence did not surprise me. With sad, martyred eyes, I looked up to face Jimmy and Danny.
As Older Guys, none came much stronger than Jimmy and Danny. For fourth-graders, Continue Reading “Terror at the School Bus Stop – A True-Life Story (Part III)”