There's a professional basketball team in Oklahoma City?
It's been almost two weeks since my last post. I spent a lot of time on my couch, battling a really tough sinus infection. To paraphrase my (then) little daughter, it made "bad infections seem like nothing" - or something like that. Anyway, once I felt better I started working on some new/old material. "Old" because the lyrics and music have been buried in an old drawer or box for decades. "New" because I am re-working the songs, in some cases creating a new chorus and/or musical bridge. Changing some lyrics as well. Tthe creative process. It's exciting. A few songs are close to being done. On-the-other-hand....summer's here. It will be tough to spend time indoors. So we'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, notice that I try to avoid politics in these posts. That's by design. I am trying to polish my writing...on-the-fly, so-to-speak...and also try to entertain while discussing topics which help people forget some of the problems and issues they are experiencing. Sports - particularly my team, the Mets - being the primary example. Music is number two. (And if I can find an interesting way to promote my own music...well that's a win/win, right?)
Since I am also writing as a sort of catharsis - maybe even a little dip into "blog self-therapy" there are sometimes references to my personal issues. But I try not to let these come to the forefront - and always attempt to tie them to other (more fun) topics.
So...moving on...RA Dickey's "Cinderella" season is getting ridiculous. Now with a record of 11-1, two straight no-hitters, tons of strikeouts (no walks) and absolutely dominating performances. National League Allstar? Potential Cy Young? How about Most Valuable Player? (He has now stopped the last two most recent Mets losing streaks.) All of this from someone who could be described as a journeyman pitcher at best. Hard-work, dedication to craft...and in his interviews he comes across as a very articulate, intelligent, sensitive person. R.A. Dickey - the "feel-good"story of the first half of the 2012 season.
As are the "no-name" Mets, who have had their ups and downs (series sweeps at the hands of the Yankees and Reds...in between a total shellacking of the Tampa Rays, a very good baseball team. And...their two most recent victories over the Baltimore Orioles - two straight shutouts). The Mets continue to collect an extraordinary number of "two-out" run scoring base hits...the mark of a team who is focused and committed. Ike Davis, the first baseman who suffered from one of the worst extended season-long slumps I have ever witnessed, is on a roll. Rising from the dead, he has begun to hit with authority - a grand-slam home run last evening to lead the Mets to victory. Davis did not give up. Neither to the Mets.
And neither do I. I never give up. I get that quality from my Mom.
Jogging outside in the summertime is something I have been doing for many years. It is an important activity - symbolic and almost spiritual as well as physical - and I will hate to stop doing it. Perhaps one day - not yet. I have continued to find a way to jog (actually "wog"- a combination of walking and jogging because I am so slow). This despite a number of ailments (back problems, knee problems toe problems etc.) that seem to be conspiring to keep me from one of the things I look forward to. Still...I have been managing to get out. Even the "sinus infection from hell" couldn't keep me down for long.
Last Thursday...the weather started out chilly but by the afternoon it was pretty warm and humid. I went "wogging" along my favorite route, through the Hudson River Park, parallel to the West Side Highway. From Chelsea through the Village, Soho, Tribeca and finally Battery Park City. Magnificent views of the river. Interesting architecture in some locations. A few renovated piers that run out into the river at a right-angle to the highway...coming back one can catch a little skyline action. And - of course - the human element that catches ones' eye as you run/wog past. The diverse New York City population which makes this such an interesting place to live. Examples: The (almost) nude sun-worshippers. Heavily tattooed bicyclists and runners (one guy had the words "Blood and Guts" tattooed on the back of his shaved head.) Damn - that must have hurt. Some father running and pushing a stroller with a rather large child. (One who was old enough to scream at the top of his lungs "Daddy - I don't wanna do this! I wanna go home") The couples of all sizes, ages, and/or sexual orientations, holding hands or hugging. (Or engaging in other activities under a blanket, in full view of the entire Hudson River Park population.)
There were also hundreds of policemen patrolling the park and/or stationed at every street corner. (It must have been a great day to be a criminal in the other boroughs of New York City.)
It turned out the 2012 Democratic candidate for President was visiting the World Trade Center site that afternoon. (Ooops. A little politics after all. Sorry.) On one of the piers I chugged past a young lady of the evening (although it was daytime). Maybe she was eighteen. The young lady was brazenly stopping all of the men to see if they wanted any. (I could only imagine that she desperately needed a "fix".) Anyway - I shook my head "no" - and then she said called after me "hey...why all the cops?" (Evidently the police were way too preoccupied to worry about a mere streetwalker.) I replied "the President is in town. Visiting the World Trade Center site." I saw her eyes light up. Secret Service agents. And she took off. Left me in the dust. I guess she keeps up with news. (Or maybe this is a topic discussed when street-walkers get together...discussing "items of interest" to their profession. Kind of like when I used to attend management meetings and discuss...those items pertaining to our own jobs. Whatever that was...I forget.)
I kept on, persisting through the pain. Everything hurt. (I mean everything.) In Battery Park City I went past a line of babysitters and their little charges. Each babysitter sat on a bench, texting. Ignoring the kids, some of which were crying or at least restless. I thought: if their parents even knew....worse yet, I passed by a young mother yapping on her cell-phones while her small child walked behind her. Excuse me...ever see "America's Most Wanted"? I don't know about you but I actually talked to my child when she was young. (When she was really young I conducted both parts of the conversation (probably the easiest conversations I have had with her since she became a teenager.)
Then there were the bike riders...dozens of them. Battery Park City now evidently allows people to ride their bikes in areas that were previously the exclusive domain of pedestrians. (Previously a cyclist had to either disembark and walk his/her bicycle through that section of the park - or stick to the bicycle lanes out on the periphery.) There were no predetermined bike lanes where I was "wogging"...bikes appeared from all angles. It was bad enough one had to dodge all the tourists, baby carriages and the occasional large dog. Twice someone almost hit me as he/she tried to navigate an impossibly small space between myself and a (real) runner. One young man - I looked at him in disbelief - was on his cell phone while riding his bicycle. He was texting. I shouldn't have been surprised - a few weeks ago I saw a woman typing away on her IPad. While she was driving. On the highway. (I think it's terrific to be out doing a physical activity, trying to stay in shape - so that some idiot could kill me while texting from his moving bicycle.)
Turning back now towards Chelsea, I wasn't even "walk/running"...it was more like stumbling. The pains were coming fast and furious and from all over my body. I cut through a group of twenty tourists, all of whom were taking pictures of New York Harbor. They had all watched me move towards them...not one moved out of the way. I would have registered a complaint except that my usual fifteen minute per mile pace was in danger of approaching twenty....or more.I was also concerned that if I stopped my forward movement I'd never get it back. So I kept moving.As always Still admiring the views of the river. The scenery. Looking at the people. I love the Hudson River Park.
Finally I made it back to my starting point. Practically crawling. Success! A feeling of real accomplishment washed over me.
One day soon I may have to retire from "wogging". Only not yet. Not now. Not today. One retirement is enough for now. The "day job" will have to do.
Never give up. Like the Mets. All those two-out run scoring base hits. I really enjoy this team.
See you all soon, till then,
Stevenn
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