Play Ball

Today it is a break from quilts and time for me to complain about professional baseball. For some reason Major League Baseball has determined it is necessary to institute rules to regulate the pace of the game. The feeling was that play was going to slow. Batters stepping out of the batters box between pitches, too many warm up throws by pitchers between innings. In some ways I understand the problem and why they are working on a solution. It seems to me the problem is night baseball. You start a game late in the evening say 7:30 or so and it goes extra innings or there are lots of hits and runs play could go on past midnight. Not good for fans especially those who bring their kids. I think however the folks who made the rule miss the point. Baseball is there to slow our lives down. It is there to make us relax. We want to sit in the afternoon sun with a cold beer in our left hand and a warm hot dog with all the trimmings in our right hand. We want to sit in the left field bleachers and yell at the first base umpire a hundred yards away that he missed the call. Maybe complain that the home plate umpire wouldn't know a strike if the pitcher actually threw one. If play speeds up we don't have time to think of those catchy phrases that amuse and delight (or disgust) those around us. Baseball is worried about the speed of the action? Have they watched professional football? At least 75% of that game is watching huge guys stand around in a circle trying to figure out what to do next. At least with baseball most of the guys are sitting in a dugout eating sunflower seeds, spitting and making fun of each other and everyone else. So a baseball game takes 3 hours, or 4 or 5 hours. Who cares. I'm sitting in a seat that cost me $50.00 eating a hotdog that cost me 5 times what it is worth and drinking a $10.00 beer. Take your time. Let me sit back and savor the moment. Slow down the maddening pace of modern life and enjoy a game that is completely and uniquely American. Played here by the best players in the world. Millions of little kids dream of being professional baseball players. About 700 make the big league. The average career only lasts a few years. So the game goes slow. Big fucking deal. Let's all sit back and enjoy the slower pace of yesteryear. Play ball! Take your sweet time, I'm having a cold beer and a hot dog over here. I've got all day.

Quilts as Art

Today is more looking at quilts as works of art. You may recognize a few of these as reproductions in fabric of famous works of art by painting masters. Some things that look rather simple can be the most complex. The one that strikes me most along those lines has a series of perfect circles in it. Keep in mind that those circles were created with a flexible medium on a flexible medium. It is so simple to look at and appears simple while being extremely difficult to accomplish.

 

WTF---- More Quilts???

Today we go back to the Savannah Quiltfest.

I find some of these a bit to artsy for me. Having said that the work done in these is impressive. It seems the only limit on what these quilters are able to do is the limit of their imagination.

Tumbling

John and Mandie's middle daughter Audrey is involved in tumbling. Today I'm taking a little break from the quilt show to talk about Audrey and her accomplishments.

It seems like a short time ago but likely it was two or three years ago. When you are in your 60's two or three years ago is a short time. I'm sure it seems like a much longer time ago for Audrey. She was participating in T-ball and was not enjoying the experience. We went to see her play in one of her games. She was painfully shy and didn't want to be the center of attention in the batter's box. I went up to stand with her and run the bases with her. John and Mandie let her quit after the season. It was an important lesson. Try something new. If you don't enjoy it you can quit but only after you fulfill your obligation to your team.

Somewhere along the way she got involved in dance and tumbling at All About Dance and More in Mt. Sterling. This year she decided she wanted to participate on the traveling tumbling team. The little girl who didn't want to be the center of attention playing baseball enjoys tumbling. She doesn't feel like the center of attention because there is always several things going on at once. She enjoys the competition and the sport. I enjoy it for a couple of reasons. First, she is having fun. It seems to me that is the important part. Second, her parents are supportive. They aren't pushing or criticizing her. They are encouraging her and want her to have fun. They support her in doing her very best. If her best doesn't win, that's fine. She is still loved and encouraged. Her coaches are the same kind of people. Loving and encouraging. They are exactly the kind of women you would want coaching your daughter or granddaughter.

Today was the Illinois State meet in Pana. Audrey finished 7th in her group and has earned the privilege of competing in the national meet in Rapid City, South Dakota this summer. Here are some pictures from her competitions this year.

Art Introspection

We are back at Quiltfest with a group of quilts I found fascinating. It was quilters expressing through fabric and their art how they see themselves. Art gives us a view of how the artist sees the world. I have often expressed to Jim Hawk (the amazing artist who does my tattoos) that while we live in the same world he sees it in a different manner than I do. He is able to take the world and move it from his mind's eye to skin and somehow make the transition better than the reality. These quilters somehow have managed to look in the mirror and share with us what they see in fabric. It is a rare look into the mind of the artist.