Miscellaneous Missives

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cincinnati_Reds_Logo.svg Donnybrook at Riverfront Stadium by Lillian Morrison Oh, what a melee Oh, what a brawl Oh, what a slambang Free-for-all. Managers, umpires And 48 players Rolled on the ground In knots and layers. Knight pushed Davis? Davis shoved Knight? Boys will be boys. A bench-clearing fight. The two were ejected. Soto, Mitchell, the same. Pitchers played outfield. Some baseball game. Technically I am writing this post Friday evening although I'm going to schedule it for the same time I'm going to set my alarm Saturday morning for my flight to Mexico.  I am soooooo ready for a relaxing week especially with the stress at work.  The moral in my building is at an all time low.  When I look at the assistant principal and watch how perform (or not perform) her job, I get red in the face.  Her incompetence makes me see RED .  Yep!  I'm ready for vacation. My online baseball source, ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_Rangers.svg October by Hester Jewell Dawson the high fly ball, arches out above left field, hangs there in the sky outblazing the sun while fifty thousand heads swings and cry "Over the wall! Over the wall!" then hold, fixed and dumb as the ball drops down and down, a dead bird into a waiting glove and there you have it: the song, the flight, the perilous whisper of truth or of love or possibly of faith then the descent and the end of the game I have actually visited the Texas Rangers stadium to watch baseball games twice.  The first time was on a trip to ride roller coasters in Dallas.  The coasters were a bit disappointing, but we had fun at the game because we sat in the nose bleed seats and talked to Jesus.  As I recall it was a minimal crowd, so he had time to talk to us with a double rainbow in the background.  We had a great time saying we talked to jē'zəs.  Fun stuff. ...

http://sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=h7yvwsji2bngl8v6n0o4o3x9k "We're gonna win Twins" We’re gonna win Twins, we’re gonna score! We’re gonna win Twins, watch that baseball soar! Knock out a homerun, shout a hip-hooray! Cheer for the Minnesota Twins today! We’re gonna win Twins, give it our all! We’ve got the guys who’ll knock the cover off the ball! Let’s hear it now for the team that came to play! Cheer for the Minnesota Twins today! Target Field has the "highest LEED rating of any ballpark in America" and they recycle/reuse rainwater (or maybe because of the rainwater thing... I really don't know).  According to a MLB article , "LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a rating system that was designed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to guide and distinguish high performance buildings that have less of an impact on the environment, are healthier for those who use the building and are more profitable than thei...

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-ash2/27538_111044395593651_1676_n.jpg The Abominable Baseball Bat by X. J. Kennedy   I swung and swung at empty air And when I heard the umpire Behind me shout, "Strike three - you're out!" My bat turned to a vampire. The whole team had to pry it loose. Poor Ump looked sorta flat. Now ever since, my bat and I Walk every time we bat. I hate the St. Louis Cardinals.  I wish I was a better person, but alas, I am not a better person.  Wikipedia says that they suck and people should dislike them (but maybe not hate).  Actually that is not true, Wikipedia says, "The Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to the New York Yankees , who have won 27."  Yep, I can't think of a time when I would cheer for either team.  Maybe I should have a better attitude about the Yankees, the Cardinals, and yesterday's conferences, but I don...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Arizona_Diamondbacks_Logo.PNG The Infield by Paul B.  Janeczko Like the barnyard, with the infielders scratching in the dust with their toes; walking heads down but with a watchful eye on the umpire ready to squawk. And the chatter batterbatterbatter hummmm baby no batterbatter. Always the chatter. Did you know a baseball field is also called a baseball diamond?  This fact makes my poem perfect for the Diamondbacks although I think Diamondbacks are really snakes, but it will work for today. This is conference day, so after teaching all day, we have conferences until 7pm.  I chose the Arizona Diamondbacks because the remind me of conferences.  We have the Diamonds and the D-Backs (or maybe merely D's).  The good students and their parents will show up.  The crabby parents will show up.  The other parents will stay home.  Typically I think conferences are a waste of time, especially t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colorado_Rockies_logo.svg Bully by Donald Graves   Bobby Nelson is the toughest kid in our class; I am the smallest. His hoarse voice finds me every day on the way to school and home again. “Hey, Rabbit, whatcha doin’?” A rock drops into my gut. He walks next to me, throws his elbow into my ribs and edges me to the curb hoping I’ll take a swing at him. I tried once and he flipped me like a toy dog. One day Jim, my best friend, gets fed up with Nelson’s jabs and taunts. Someone on the playground yells “fight” and a ring of kids surround them. “Hit ‘im, Jim.” “Take him, Nelson.” They shove back and forth saying, “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, think you’re big, think you’re tough.” Nelson takes a swing; Jim catches his arm and twists him to the ground; the dust flies, the circle cheers. Jim sits on Nelson like we own the playground, the school, and everything in it.   According to ...

http://www.sandiegovips.com/featured-2/san-diego-padres-2011-season-party-package/ Carriers of the Dream Wheel by N. Scott Momoday This is the Wheel of Dreams Which is carried on their voices, By means of which their voices turn And center upon being. It encircles the First World, This powerful wheel. They shape their songs upon the wheel And spin the names of the earth and sky; The aboriginal names.  They are old men, or men Who are old in their voices,  And they carry the wheel among the camps, Saying: Come, come, Let us tell the old stories,  Let us sing the sacred songs. After doing my daily baseball check using Wikipedia, I learned that the "team's ( San Diego Padres' ) name, Spanish for "fathers", refers to the Spanish Franciscan friars who founded San Diego in 1769.  The Franciscan friars wore hoods.  It seems hoodies have been in the news lately after the tragic slaying (too harsh?) of the Trayvon Martin who was shot because of...