Wednesday, May 16, 2012
NEW GIG -- ANOTHER TEASER
One month ago, I mentioned that I was maybe about to get a new gig, one that would give me one more chance to make a difference in the world. Then -- silence. Well, it now appears that this is realy going to happen. I still cannot say more about it, at least until a week from tomorrow, at which point I think I will be able to give a complete description of this new opportunity. Though it may not appear to be so, I have been thinking about very little else for more than a month. It is particularly satisfying to know that even at seventy-eight, I have one more hurrah in me. Stay tuned.
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9 comments:
Arghhhh, the suspense!!
Flowing from my last comment: back when...I was 19 in 1967, I got a chance to pitch for the Boston Red Sox farm team in my home town of Pittsfield. I will never ever forget it. Billy Gardner was the coach. I had heard of him. He played second base with all the greats...the Giants with Willie Mays, the Red Sox with Ted Williams, the Yankees with Mantelaw. So there I was, waiting my turn for a try out...and here came Billy Gardner. He was coming in from far left field walking along the chalk line, 3rd base to home, when he saw me standing there. I was awaiting his command to go out there to the mound, to pitch batting practice to the team. Eventually he arrived. I was startled. I had thought that a second baseman was short. He was probably 6'2. He was in his 40s, tanned. A real Adonis and he said to me, "OK kid, you're on." It was the proverbial moment where my life flashed before me. This was it. So Professor, it's wonderful that these moments never end. Good luck.
"OK kid, you're on."
I love it. What happened??? Not in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers [my team]. I used to lie in my bed in my tiny bedroom and listen to the games on a little radio on the even tinier bedside table. I once saw Ted Williams up close, when I was taking the shoreline train from New York to Boston. He and I were the only people in the club car [I was having a coke.] Needless to say, I did not speak to him. Only in the Old Testament and the Odyssey do mortals speak to the gods.
But Jerry, think what the art world would have lost if you had made it to the bigs!
A lecture on British History earlier this year ended in such an emotional moment that I was reduced to tears. The entire class stood in admiration and appreciation of the most inspiring lecture we're ever likely to get in our lives. Given by Professor Harry Dickinson, 75 and easily putting the younger academics to shame with the passion and enthusiasm, not to mention the extensive knowledge, he so effortlessly conveys.
Can't wait to hear of your new venture Professor; seems like another 'Dickinson moment' all over again :-)
Thanks for asking. After my tryout as it were, Gardner said, "Your only problem is that you should have been signed already." It was 1967. He was referring to the new rules which had inaugurated the baseball "draft" as opposed to the "bonus baby" system of recruitment. What it meant for me was that at 19 years of age, it was too late for me to get into one of those national guard stints where athletes who sign professional contracts prior to their 18th birthday were able to avoid the military draft. I was to be a junior in college, the first in my family (hence, big deal) so my choice was to sign, drop out of college and take a chance on being sent to Vietnam or stay in school. I staid in school. I hung out with the team that summer, pitched batting practice and got to know a few stars-to-be. I suppose I don't regret the choice - most of the time.
Thanks for asking. After my tryout as it were, Gardner said, "Your only problem is that you should have been signed already." It was 1967. He was referring to the new rules which had inaugurated the baseball "draft" as opposed to the "bonus baby" system of recruitment. What it meant for me is that at 19 years of age, it was too late to get into one of those national guard stints where athletes who sign professional contracts prior to their 18th birthday were able to avoid the military draft. I was to be a junior in college, the first in my family (hence, big deal) so my choice was to sign, drop out of college and take a chance on being sent to Vietnam or stay in school. I staid in school. I hung out with the team that summer, pitched batting practice and got to know a few stars-to-be. I suppose I don't regret the choice - most of the time.
sigh. Youngsters don't understand how much our lives were shaped by the exigencies of the draft. I remain convinced that it ought to be reinstated. Nothing would have a bigger effect in curbing America's thirst for war.
Totally agree.
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