No excuses but there are reasons

 I've  never used this sentence before......

Those of you who read me, obviously know I haven't been using Mind Jazz very much over the last few months. 

 My spare (non-art) time has been spent reading and studying.  Reading is focused on fiction and studying is focused on fictional science subjects such as Black Hole theorizing, space/time conundrums, string-theory, metaverse nonsense and of course more Quantum situations that invariably have no answers so as they appear to be non-fictional exposés but in truth they are just more glamourous fictional theories.....

The fiction that has absorbed me belongs mainly to Daniel Silva.  His hero is an art restorer Israeli assassin who always has a female heroine involved in the central plot. His research is comprehensive and his time lines balance on the actual edge of reality.  

Our library in Santa Monica stopped charging late fees about six months ago so I pulled Mr. Silva's earlier work and caught up.  I now prefer to purchase his latest work, which I just did yesterday so while I'm waiting I will start reading the latest James Lee Burke novel that I also bought a few weeks ago. 

I hate the idea of buying books on Amazon but cheaper and next day free delivery is really hard to ignore.

James Lee Burke is one of the few authors that make me get a pad so I can write down words that I either don't know or want to use in the future. His paragraphs are beautiful.  His descriptions of nature are stunning.

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The recent thrill of viewing the Webb images is truly notable.

The fact that I have to read Donald Trump's name every day in the newspaper is also truly notable but not enjoyable by any means.

The 60 million dollar settlement against Alex Jones is some of the best news I've read in a long long time.

The Dodgers MIGHT have the best hitting team in their history.....comparable to 1953.  When you add bench players I think they are absolutely the best.

I find it almost impossible that the international community is allowing Russian to do what they are doing. When you think that Hitler's generals tried to take him out more than 5 times....how come Putin's people are letting him get away with this?   The only answer is that they also want Russian territory restored.....and that's exactly how bigger wars get started.

I pray that the Universe gets a little more involved and somehow alters Russia's aggressive attitude....before somethings happens that makes Earth even more shaky........

I know one thing for sure.......

THERE ARE TOO MANY WEAPONS ON THIS PLANET

PERIOD!!!!!!!!

More than a memory

I was born in Hollywood, California at Queen of Angles hospital in 1946.  First year of baby boomers. My love for baseball didn't really exist for the first 8 years of my life.

 It started in 1955 ( I was 9) when Sister Mary Margaret ( They were all Sister Mary Margaret) at St. Ferdinand's grammar school brought a small black and white TV into the classroom and announced...."Today we are going to watch the 7th game of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees beat the Dodgers every time they play and I am a Yankee fan."

I immediately became a Dodger fan and I had no idea what a Dodger was.   By the end of the game SMM was bummed out and I was thrilled.

Three years later in 1958 I played my first and only little league season and the Dodgers played their first season in Los Angeles. Every evening I would be in the back yard with my portable radio listening to a guy named Vin and his partner Jerry. I would hold a bat and whichever side the batter hit from I would practice swinging.

In 1958 the Dodgers finished 7th in the division and I probably hit 100 doubles and 30 triples in my back yard as a fast skinny 12 year old who couldn't hit a curve ball in real life. The year he retired in 2016 I stood in my living room with my bat and hit 50 home runs because I learned to wait on the curve ball.

THAT IS 58 YEARS OF SOMETHING I LOVED THAT DIDN'T CHANGE.

The thing about Vinny was once the pitcher had the ball in his hand the description would begin.

"Drysdale looks in and gets the sign, gets set and the 2-2 pitch, swung on and missed....STRIKE THREE.!"

He painted the picture in detail EVERY AT BAT.  And that was his baseball announcing.

I still believe he was the best golf announcer I ever heard.  When someone in the Masters would putt Vinny would whisper like he was standing on the green.

He also announced some great football games.  The Catch by Dwight Clark has the Vin mark.

Today on the radio they played a Vin story that he told about when he was 14 years old.  It was 1941 and he was underneath his big radio in the living room listening to a New York Giant football game.  They suddenly announced that JAPAN had just bombed Pearl Harbor.  He walked into the kitchen and asked his father where Pearl Harbor was.  His Dad said it was in the Pacific and why was Vin asking.  Vin looked at his dad and said "Japan just bombed it."  It was the only time he ever heard his father swear in his life.  He said the swear word and then said....."That means we are at War." That truly explains a lot of what Vincent Edward Scully was about.

This lost of Vin Scully isn't like the lost of Kobe.

He was 94 and completed a lifetime of perfection.

A life lived well is a life well lived....and he is the greatest Dodger EVER.

And it's not even a close vote.

I'm so glad I recorded numerous games over the years.  They are on cassette tapes....and I have a cassette player in my car.  I think it's time for a drive......... 

.......and

TIME FOR DODGER BASEBALL and a bit of Vinny.