Saturday, December 4, 2010

Pardon the Coin Mutilation



Proving that he's in touch with the important issues, President Obama issued the first pardons of his presidency. Nine people received pardons for their crimes, including one Ronald Lee Foster who was convicted in 1963 of the serious crime of mutilating coins:

_Ronald Lee Foster, of Beaver Falls, Pa., sentenced in 1963 to a year of probation and a $20 fine for mutilating coins.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101203/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_pardons

I can't wait for the (never) right wing to attack Obama for being soft on coin mutilation, and I'm expecting a huge wave of chopped up quarters to plague the nation in the coming years. Pennies everywhere will end up littering railroad tracks (like they already do here in Flagstaff) and nickels will be repeatedly plugged for target practice. Where will it end?

Friday, December 3, 2010

A Baseball Glove

The passing of Ron Santo yesterday (Ron Santo died on Thursday) brought a twinge of nostalgia for me. My first "real" baseball glove was a "Ron Santo" edition (I think it was made by Wilson, but I may be mis-remembering) that I received when I was eight, about to turn nine. I spent a number of years dreaming of playing like Santo, even though I was a Giants fan and he was a Cub, because third was my position of choice. And Santo was a truly classy baseball player.

Now I'm thinking about baseball gloves for another reason entirely. My son (who I had no hand in raising) called me last week with a request: my grandson (who is now eight) wants a baseball glove more than anything else for Christmas. For clarity, my son knows absolutely nothing about baseball while my grandson loves the game and dreams of being a ballplayer. When I asked my grandson what position he wants to play, he said without hesitation "third base" which certainly warmed my heart. So my son wanted advice about what would be a good glove for an eight year old, but I told him "I'll take care of it" because I'm going to have to shop around a bit. I'll be glove shopping this weekend with a kind of 'holiday spirit' that I don't usually indulge in.

The memories of that first "real" baseball glove and a child's dream of being a ballplayer are such an essential part of baseball's everlasting romantic beauty. It feels good to be passing a tradition on to a new generation (even though I'm sure that they don't make a "Ron Santo" model anymore).

Do you remember your first baseball glove?

Fresh Boobies for Friday



"It's December, and it's so cold that my feet are turning blue!"

(actually it's unseasonably warm here today, but it was cold earlier in the week.)

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Plutocracy in Action



Two million Americans lose unemployment benefits because the 'thugs are more concerned about tax cuts for 375,000 millionaires. Congress has priorities, and they aren't "the people".

Another fine example of why I find it too depressing to write about politics lately.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Today's Serious Issue

It's snowing. It's Sunday.
I'm out of brandy.
This is a problem, as brandy is my usual tool for handling snowy Sundays.
Where's a St. Bernard when you need one?