Strokin’ aint no jokin’ – stop and drop if it gets too hot

Lean on me - Good hydrations bop bop. It’s no secret I have seen more runners finish races than anyone I know on a first-name basis. Runners are goal-oriented personalities who mostly ignore warning signs like stop or drop. If I see the exaggerated forward lean near the finish, I usually shout, “Get on him!” because I don’t want to miss the photos. I'm not programmed to catch people, although I have snagged a few like a Willie Mays basket catch in the Polo Grounds. Also, beware of those all-day tournaments on turf fields that produce radiant temperatures hovering near 100 degrees. Have you ever noticed on a bluebird day you don’t see any bluebirds? They are chilling in the trees. From online, The Hindu website: “Heat exhaustion, or exertional heat illness, might give you chills. You may feel confused or your muscles may be hard to control.” Or you may be regulating?  

Selfie-destructive - The flip side of stepping up is stepping down. I was playing my part this week at the Herring Point overlook as an old guy sitting on a bench gazing out at the ocean. The entire world is littered with obstacles and athletic challenges. A nuclear family of five across three generations decides standing on top of a picnic table for a selfie with an ocean backdrop is the best idea. Grandma in her Moms Mabley hat – her ears protected from the sun – on furlough from assisted living – is assisted up a step at a time. Taking big steps up is like doing squats in the gym. And then there are balance issues. I start talking out loud. “Stop! Granny didn’t come this far to breakdance into a rehab facility.” And a little later, it’s a fit-as-a-one-string-fiddle biker dude helping his dancing-in-a-diabetic-commercial full-figured wife up on the same platform. I still do ladders to clean gutters, but if my grandchildren invited me to stand on top of a picnic table to capture the photo of a lifetime, I’d sing a Clapton song: “I’m low down, almost level with the ground,” and that is where I’m staying. 

Bobby Bonilla Day - Every July 1, former MLB player Bobby Bonilla, now 60 years old, receives a check from the New York Mets for $1,193,248.20. That contract deal runs from 2011 through 2035. It is a long and complicated storyline, but once in a while, the player outfoxes the ownership.

Won’t back down - Bill Buckner had a stellar baseball career that unraveled in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series versus the New York Mets when the Boston Red Sox first baseman misplayed a ground ball in the 11th inning that eventually led to a Mets win and subsequent victory in Game 7. Buckner graciously owned the moment like the Tom Petty song, “You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I’ll stand my ground and I won’t back down.” Buckner died in 2019 at age 69 after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. Same Petty song: “There ain’t no easy way out.” If there is an actual gates of heaven entry interview, if I’m Bill Buckner, I’ve got questions of my own. 

Rojas and Mays - I see symmetry connecting Johan Rojas of the Phillies to the Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays. I was thinking that while watching the Phillies play the Padres June 18, the day Willie Mays died at age 93. Rojas, sent down to Triple-A two days earlier, roamed centerfield like an impala. Both Brandon Marsh and Cristian Pache are better than adequate, but Rojas saved runs. I hope the kid gets called back up, that they bat him leadoff and teach him to bunt, take pitches and just get on base. The kid and the Say Hey Kid. Connecting them may seem a stretch, but not to me. Coach the kid up. 

Captain versus comedian - Names withheld to protect the innocuous. I was standing in the Temple football locker room in the fall of 1965 prior to a game at Connecticut. The coaches shut the door and turned the pregame talk over to the captains. A short linebacker with a bad haircut made the mistake of calling out the comedians on the team. My name was mentioned but I considered it an honor for a program that had just produced Bill Cosby. “I know some of you guys think everything is a joke,” then followed a cut-to-the-quick retaliation from the cadre of comedians: “Shut up, you little weasel.” The room spontaneously combusted into uproarious laughter. We won a close game and I learned a life lesson: comedians are closers; challenge them at your own peril. The captain went on to a long career as a football and wrestling coach and master woodcarver. The comedian sold carpets, but he’s got jokes. 

Snippets - A lawn party spanning three generations featured Melissa Lemaire’s 70th birthday and a sendoff to her daughter Buffy Jackewicz Neace, Cape Class of 1999, husband Jesse and their four children who are moving to Rwanda as part of a U.S. Army assignment. I found that if you want story information from the younger generation, you have to interrogate them while the older folks just sit at their table and start to listen. I find all life stories fascinating, so if you're talking, I will be listening. Go on now, git!