Toronto Blue Jays

Baseball Ballad

by Unknown Author

J. smith is dead. That fine young man
   We ne'er shall see him more,
He was a member of our club
   Since 1864.

His private virtues were immense,
   His manner was free and bluff,
He wore a paper collar, and
   Was never known to muff.

He rarely took a drink more strong
   Then lemonade or pop ;
He hated drunkards, and was a
   Magnificent shortstop.

His nose was Roman, and his eyes
   Continually were peeled ;
He made a splended umpire, and
   A beautiful left field.

His hair was red, and shingled close ;
   Much sunburned was his face,
He never showered with more effect
   Than on second base.

Being a man, he had his faults,
   As likewise have we all ;
He felt a preference for the New
   York regulation ball.

Though not a matrimonial man,
   He dearly loved a match,
And, like his sisters, had but few
   Superiors on the catch.

He had a noble mind, as eke
   A very supple wrist ;
And when he pitched he gave the ball
   His own peculiar twist.

Of politics and church affairs
   He held restricted views ;
His feet were usually encased
   In canvas, hob nailed shoes.

But he is gone. With ins and outs
   Forever he is done ;
He broke his heart and hurt his spleen
   In making a home run.

His body we have planted now,
   His soul is in the sky ;
The angels reached from heaven down
   And took him on the fly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Blue_Jays

I love spring, and I especially love spring in the middle of March.  Birds, such as Blue Jays, sing their hearts out when the weather is nice.  This is grand on beautiful days like today when the windows are open and the chirps fill the air.  As I sit and post, I can hear many different birds in the background, but I'm not sure if any are actually Blue Jays.  The wonderful weather has also made me feel a bit blue (Blue Jays are blue) because I can't do everything I want to do.  My outdoor exercise is still limited.  Today I decided to go into the gym and try the elliptical again.  It wasn't great, but I now have a new goal.  I'm going to try at least one of my thirty minutes exercise bike rides at the gym each day.  This will make it easier to add in the elliptical.  Since I can't go very long on the elliptical, it won't be a wasted trip.  Plus my goal is to add at least one minute on the elliptical each day.  Goals lead to blue ribbons (Blue Jays like blue ribbons are blue).

Toronto Blue Jays fact from Wikipedia:  "An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto in 1977, initially owned by the Labatt Brewing Company."  Today is St. Patrick's day which is similar to beer day.  Labatt Brewing Company, which originally owned the Blue Jays, makes beer.  Blue Jays = St. Patrick's Day.

My hope was to add a baseball poem to all of my posts and found a wonderful website to help with this endeavor.  Each day it gets more difficult to match up the poem and the post.  Today I almost used Emily Dickinson's "Blue Jay" instead, but it talks of February.  I'm soooo done with February.  Today's poem does mention drunkards.  Yep, that was enough to make it my poem for St. Patrick's Day.

Today I am thankful for...
1) putting the grill on the deck and changing the deck door from storm to screen
2) going to the gym for the first time in two months
3) two Iowa State games tonight... I hope they both keep dancing!