{"id":17452,"date":"2010-08-12T20:42:38","date_gmt":"2010-08-13T00:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miserybay.usanethosting.com\/wordpress\/?p=17452"},"modified":"2010-08-12T20:42:38","modified_gmt":"2010-08-13T00:42:38","slug":"what-79","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/what-79\/","title":{"rendered":"What do I think?"},"content":{"rendered":"

thinker.jpg“Golden Years,” Chickens, and Nicknames in baseball
\nby Barry Bauer
\nWhat<\/strong>, the Detroit Tigers collapsed already? I thought that usually happened in September. Let\u2019s hope the Detroit Lions don\u2019t collapse in September. Otherwise I\u2019ll only have the Detroit Pistons, I don\u2019t watch them, and the Detroit Redwings.
\nI used to set the radio on a timer at bedtime and listen to the Redwings until I fell asleep. The theory that you can absorb something while you sleep is a bunch of malarkey.
\nMy problem is I don\u2019t understand Hockey rules. Shouldn\u2019t “icing” be called “delay of game?” Is “high-sticking” when the opponent puts their hockey stick in a player\u2019s mouth where his teeth used to be?
\nBummer.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

They call them the Golden Years. That\u2019s when you reap the rewards for all those years of hard work. Some days I call them the “dog days of life.” I suppose I get to missing the old days and being able to do the things I used to do. We would like to see the banner that follows us around saying, “mission accomplished,” disappear for a while.
\nWhose idea was that anyway?
\nWe take on new assignments to keep ourselves in the game. There are rewards for doing that and of course it depends on what degree we can pour ourselves into it.
\nI miss the days of being a working parent, even when some days could be frustrating. Those were the days we made the decisions and were more or less in charge of guiding our daughters into adulthood. There were always those outside influences we had to weed out.
\nWe must have done a good job because they\u2019re out on their own with husbands to train, children to raise \u2014 the cycle continues.
\nWe no longer gather like we once did. We used to have an above ground pool and that was always an attraction. We had a lot of days of fun in that darn thing. It probably makes a difference that the pool is no longer there. It\u2019s nobody\u2019s fault, we just plain wore it out and parts were impossible to get anymore.
\nGetting parts for old things is a lot like what you hear at the doctor\u2019s office anymore.
\nWhile our kids are going sixteen directions at the same time, our list has dwindled down to one. We\u2019re there if they need us but we can\u2019t do “B & B Movers and Haulers” anymore.
\nThose days are gone.
\nOn the other hand, our daughters probably think just the opposite. They probably think they\u2019ve spent years and a lot of hard work teaching us how to be good parents and they\u2019re glad to see that we\u2019re finally on our own and their work is done.
\nHuh?
\nI think they did a good job.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s an ordinance against having chickens in St. Johns. If there is, I wish the City would reconsider. It would help me solve an important question. Are city eggs better than farm eggs? I know a lot of you wonder the same thing.
\nWe would only keep maybe a dozen chickens for eggs and an occasional Sunday dinner of chicken. Just like back at the farm. When we consider that sometimes it seems like our neighbors have a dozen cats and dogs, what\u2019s the difference?
\nWe would free range our chickens which means they might end up in the neighbor\u2019s yard feeding on whatever it is those things eat. We tolerate their pets, so why shouldn\u2019t they tolerate our chickens.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Electric cars should be rated by how many miles they get per dollar spent. I\u2019ll bet you won\u2019t like to hear how much it cost. It\u2019s probably the same as leaving your kitchen oven on all night.
\nYou should do that every night for a month and then check your electric bill before you buy one of those cars. And if the news is bad, don\u2019t take it out on me.
\nI\u2019m just the messenger.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t call Alex Rodriguez “A-Rod” for the same reason I didn\u2019t call Al Kaline “A-Ka.” It\u2019s not a proper nickname for a major league baseball player. It\u2019s also lazy English. In my day it was “Moose,” “Hammerin\u2019 Hank,” “Red,” “Stormin\u2019 Norman,” “Stan the Man,” “Mr. Cub,” “Bambino,” “Killer,” and so on.
\nA-Rod reminds me of what somebody might be talking about when they hit the old stump out in the backyard and exclaim, “I broke a rod,” meaning the connecting rod on their single cylinder lawn mower engine just went through the side of the engine.
\nCan\u2019t baseball get it right?
\nUntil the next time . . .\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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