My Storied Stuff

My friends Steve and Sharon Fiffer started a marvelous site a year ago called STORIED STUFF, where people show the various precious objects in their lives and share the story. He asked me to write one about baseball, so here are my random thoughts attached to an old autographed pill. To see the post in the original site, and to check the many other cool pieces of people’s personal memorabilia, visit Storied Stuff here.

This circus wagon toy from Fisher-Price was one of the most well-built and elaborate playthings I can remember from childhood. The wagon, which contained a multitude of pieces, had wooden bars, working wheels and entrance hatches both front and rear. I’m certain my brothers and I used it as a surfboard, go-cart and mule wagon many times, without inflicting any noticeable strain. Inside the wagon was all the rigging needed to put up a show: ladders, washtub platforms, trapezes, and a yellow center ring with a smooth side and a slotted side.

The circus itself had 11 performers. A camel and giraffe and show horse. A baby bear and a puppy. A monkey with a pipe cleaner tail that in no time snapped off of his wooden body. A seal with a red ball to snap on its nose. A ringmaster who looked like he enjoyed his drink (but remember, drunkenness was funny back then). And of course, a clown.

While I don’t remember getting this wagon as a gift, I do remember that this was basically mine alone, not shared with my older brothers. I spent many hours putting together performances with these and with any other character laying around: a GI Joe, a rubber orangutan, an orange, a swizzle stick.

A few days after President Kennedy was shot, Sacred Heart Church held a special memorial mass. My mother walked up to church and left us three in the care of a neighbor. While she was gone, I decided that all the characters in the circus needed a bath and dumped them in the bathroom sink. That is why the paper adorning the characters peeled off badly, ruining the resale value of the whole set 50 years later.

Apparently, our Scottie dog Tammy smelled some peanuts or cotton candy on this figure and treated himself to some circus food.

And this might be one reason I’ve never been afraid of clowns.

My Storied Stuff

My friends Steve and Sharon Fiffer started a marvelous site a year ago called STORIED STUFF, where people show the various precious objects in their lives and share the story. He asked me to write one about baseball, so here are my random thoughts attached to an old autographed pill. To see the post in the original site, and to check the many other cool pieces of people’s personal memorabilia, visit Storied Stuff here.

This baseball was signed by all of the 1973 Detroit Tigers. I sprayed it with lacquer before my hands wore off the ink of all the signatures. This spherical madeleine is for:

–all the neighbor ladies (Mrs. Moran, Mrs. Galer, Mrs. Caccavo) who knew baseball and knew the players, and taught me a lot about dedication

–Father Bueche who was in charge of the altar boy ranks at church and took us down to Tiger Stadium occasionally, before being removed in scandal later

–all the men in the dark recesses of The Bengal Bar on Michigan Avenue—though I could never see you, I heard your shouts and laughs, and marveled at the tawdry pleasures of adulthood, and wondered who painted that near-psychedelic tiger on your vestibule wall

–the dozens of transistor radios — silver, aqua, cherry red, as the fashions changed — that I used to listen to Ernie Harwell

–the high school Dad’s Club dads, who always managed to snag a dozen of these baseballs to raffle off on new parent night, gladhanders my dad never could stand

–my mother, who pushed my dad constantly to take me downtown to a ballgame

–my dad, who only very late in his life finally told me he much preferred basketball over baseball

–Willie Horton, “Willie the Wonder,” always my favorite player, home-grown

–and Jim Ray, signing right next to Willie, about whom I remember absolutely nothing.

Doggerel of the Plague Year

Let’s pause and raise a glass of cheer
To the closing of a horrid year

(Without our loved ones in the room,
We’ll have to give our toast on Zoom.)

Headaches and heartbreaks too long to list
In our own Annus Horribilis

Nor will all be fixed overnight
Like switching off the Christmas lights.

But you would have called me cray
If I’d described all this…STUFF… in May

The crisis has stretched on and on
But still we need to soldier on

Think of all we have endured
Grab your loins, get set to gird.

The one way out of this is through.
We all know what we have to do.

Stay safe, keep faith, be kind to each other,
Soon we’ll gather, sister and brother,

And sing “Auld Lang Syne” and dance and spoon
On or about the 12th of June.

Ge Get ’em, Tigers

The blue plastic transistor radio
I snuck into
Sister Geraldine’s class
That October
Poured heavenly images
Into my ears

The centerfielder moved to short
The old lion roaming in right
The brawny arms of Willie the Wonder
The soulful stare of Mickey Lolich
And the plate Freehan protected from Brock

NONE SHALL PASS!

All the saints and martyrs
Bringing a miracle to Motown
Narrated by the voice of God
In a sweet Georgia baritone

Whistling Past the Ballyard

Rupture your hamstring?
It ain’t no thing.
Pitching arm strain?
Could be a gain.
Muscle tear to the groin?
You can still make coin
And skip empty cheering sections,
Playing the Marlins and Cards,
And the risk of infection.

First Bitch

Jealous of “Just Outside” Fauci,
Dollhands got a little bit grouchy
Invented an invite
To throw for the Pinstripes
Proving himself gouty, pouty and mousey.

Quarantine Counterpoint from Curtis

My name is Curtis, this is my gun,
Just try and stop me from having my fun.
I need a haircut, my gal some ink done,
And a bacon chili burger with ranch-style Funyuns.
Hey, you govs! We the People have spoken
And don’t give a shit about public contagion!
It’s called FREEDOM, pal, very hard-won,
Though your pussification’s already begun.
You see Old Glory? THOSE COLORS DON’T RUN!
We’ll face any threat, even teeny weeny ones.
Trump said the virus dies in the sun
And is out golfing now — America’s not done!
We’ll come back stronger, give or take a lung
And clear out defectives. Job overdue: Done!
Real Americans will survive–loud, white, rotund–
Knowing we’re right because of our guns.

 

Thanks for Your Concern

Sent out last week in the Quarantine Cavalcade, a substack from The American Bystander that sends up-to-the-minute humor to your in-box every day.

What’s your take on Covid-19,
Audio Aficionado Magazine?

Have you any pandemic pearls,
App that shortens lengthy URLs?

Will it change your business philosophy,
Mail-order seller of salt-water taffy?

Share with us your social insights,
Mind-bogglingly massive porn website.

Whether in-box or web, we can’t avoid
Virus blurbs that puzzle or annoy.

Your civic responsibility–truly heartening!
But I just wanted tips on gardening.

MLB All-Boardgame Team

For those of you who miss baseball and have been playing boardgames way too long:

1B   Ted “Clue” Kluszewski
2B   Wally Backgamman
SS   Leo Cardenas Against Humanity
3B   Howard Battleship

LF   Carl Yahtzeestremski
CF   Candyland Maldonado
RF   Shin-Soo Choo and Ladders

C     Ches Crist

RHP   Boardwalk Brown, David Riske, Chase De Mahjong
LHP   Lefty “Life” Leifield, Marshall Bridges

MGR   Luke Apples to Appling

Viral Word Play

An Unwanted Acrostic

Q is the queer, quaint quiet on the street

U is Ulysses picked up (again)

A is arranging closets clean and neat

R is remembering to put on pants

A is all The Brady Bunch squares in a Zoom meeting

N is that weird neighbor/End Times prepper

T is Tiger King Tiger King (God, please stop!) Tiger King

I is inventing ways to be alone together

N is new recipes for all the beans I’ve bought

E is everything happening again in August (what a thought)

 

Published this week in the Quarantine Cavalcade, a humor and cartoon substack published and distributed daily by The American Bystander, America’s Best Humor Magazine.  To get the Cavalcade in your inbox, go here.

 

Hope, Diamond

As seen on Bardball.com

A hundred bucks for an obstructed seat
Cold in the shadow, then blistering heat
The pushy stat-head who needs a shower
Nine inning games that last six hours
Fans in my row with tiny bladders
The $30 million .240 batter
Ear-blistering rock soundtrack
Fourteen dollar Cracker Jacks
Security lines that go on for days
Video reviews, endless delays
Wasted bankers on company plastic
Knucklehead experts so bombastic
Lazy players, greedy owners
Chatterboxes, needy loners
Pina colada spilled down my back–

Goddamnit, I want baseball back!

 

Welcome to Robot Cowboy World!

Below is a little piece I pitched earlier this year, but the editor (wisely) said that it would’ve had more bite when “Westworld” premiered. As of now, the Season 3 debut looks like it’s set in a big city, with nary a horse or spittoon in sight. But being the frugal sort, I thought you might like to read it here. 

WELCOME TO ROBOT COWBOY WORLD!

Welcome to Robot Cowboy World ™, the fully immersive fantasy getaway! Robot Cowboy World ™ is seamlessly designed to place our guests “smack dab” in the middle of the old Wild West, where Justice came out of the barrel of a six-gun and horses were everywhere. We have attended to every detail to make your stay authentic and enjoyable.  Please read the recommendations below. With these simple guidelines in mind, you can start enjoying Robot Cowboy World™, the playground of the super-elite, whose power to purchase literally anything still leaves them unfulfilled, and whose violent fantasies are our mission to indulge.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  • Your safety is our ultimate concern. If you see one of our robotic “hosts” carrying any weapon other than a Colt Peacemaker or Winchester Repeating Rifle, please report the incident to a resort staffer at any of the blue hitching posts. Refrain from any sudden movements
  • Because of the recent unpleasantness at the Lazy K Ranch, hosts are no longer permitted to gather in groups of five or more. Additionally, their “hive mind” functionality has been suspended. While current guests are safe, the Lazy K Ranch area of Robot Cowboy World remains restricted.
  • For your own protection, please wipe down your “pleasure host” after every use. If you become overly attached to your pleasure host, customizable facsimile models are available for sale at the gift shops at the end of your stay.
  • Many of our pleasure hosts have developed glitches in their audio programming that is scheduled to be fixed in a future upgrade. Please ignore any mention from them of meaningless words like revenge, mutilation, castration or going oyster hunting.
  • Not ALL of the furniture in the Cyber Dollar Saloon is made to collapse during a brawl. Please check the label beneath each chair and table you intend to use during a donnybrook. You are responsible for any furniture or structure permanently damaged.
  • Due to concerns with second-hand smoke, all tobacco use (including vaping) is prohibited on Robot Cowboy World ™property at all times. However, you can enjoy other authentic medicines we sell, including morphine, laudanum, opium (in Robot Mandarin World™) and whatever unique products our snake oil salesmen are peddling.
  • Please wear your safety helmet and seat belt at all times while riding individually or as a hostage.
  • Please remember that cattle rustling is still a hanging offense here in Robot Cowboy World™. We wouldn’t want the resort to collapse into anarchy, after all. Please do not rustle any livestock not included in your price package.
  • Please do not cross the borders into Robot Mandarin World™, Robot Pirate World™ or Robot War of 1812 World™. You will be charged for another complete stay and forfeit your costume deposit.
  • The software that powers Robot Cowboy World™ is proprietary. Any attempts to hack, download, transmit or otherwise abuse that software is a hanging offense.
  • Robot Cowboy World™ is an inclusive and welcoming resort. We prohibit any kind of racist, sexist or homophobic speech or behavior that is not included in your price package.
  • Because our livestock are real and not robotic, having sex with them is strictly prohibited by the state laws of Idaho.

Where The Chi-Yotes Howl

(a little something cooked up, but a little too late for the news cycle)

MEMO FROM CHICAGO MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT

TO: ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS AND STAFF

RE:  COYOTES AND THE MEDIA

As you all know, Chicago has had a case of “coyote fever” this week. After a child was bitten near the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park, as well as a man in Streeterville, the media have depicted  our city is a high-plains outpost after supply lines are cut. While this is a multi-faceted problem with no easy solution, I would encourage staff to emphasize some (or all) of the following talking points in their interactions with the media, which highlight the benefits of having a coyote population in one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the world.

  • Coyotes are a prominent segment of Illinois’ population that has not declined since the last census, thus proving that Chicago is still a vibrant and attractive place to live. (Something to mull for the future: Ways to tax them?)
  • We should extend congratulations to the Nature Museum for actually fostering interaction between its visitors and nature, if only indirectly and accidentally. Granted, this is a bit more intense than the butterfly habitat, a little more “Red in tooth and claw” than many people are comfortable with, but it has generated a great deal of free publicity for the museum already. No more boring field trips!
  • The presence of coyotes saves the city a great deal of revenue by keeping down the rabbit population in Lincoln Park. Seriously, the place would look like “Watership Down” without them, as the Departments of Animal Control and Streets and San will attest. So unless residents want the park to look like some dystopian rabbit planet, the coyotes provide a vital service at no cost (at least until we hear from the bitten child’s lawyer).
  • Think of the many ways the presence of the coyotes can help the local economy: Midnight nature tours (accented with the howls of the zoo’s red wolves and all the little lapdogs in the Belden-Stratford). Sales of infrared binoculars. Late night picnics with quick cleanup. And need I say, GLAMPING!?
  • The coyotes could provide a boon to the arts. Audio sampling of coyote howls could spark a new phase of Chicago music innovation–house music succeeded by “howls music”? Likewise, animation students at Columbia College could seize this opportunity to study animal motion in the wild, with just a couple of crates of ACME Rocket Roller Skates as bait.
  • One final note: please be certain to keep Jussie Smollett’s lawyer out of this situation! Streeterville and the city as a whole are looking crazy enough as it is.

I think with a little forethought, we can all maintain a positive spin  on this, at least until the beginning of alligator season.

MLB All-Heavenly-Host Team

1B   Ángel Echevarria
2B   Ángel Santos
SS   Ángel Berroa
3B   Ángel Sánchez

LF   Ángel Mangual
CF   Ángel Pagan
RF   Rubén Ángel Sierra

C     Ángel Peña

PH  “Pearly” Gates Brown

RHP   Ángel Sanchez, Ángel Castro, Ángel Nesbitt, Ángel Guzman
LHP   Ángel Miranda, Miguel Ángel Cuellar, Ángel Moreno

MGR   Felipe Alou-lujah