(from 2-18-25)
“I’m counting the days till baseball starts.”
I just heard Nicolle Wallace say that on her TV show
And I can smoothly relate to that sentiment
The way an angel can relate to Heaven (but not to
Hell). Baseball is at once escape and destination.
And we need escape, those of us who feel lost
In the foggy maelstrom of an apolitical climate right
Now. She used baseball as a metaphor for
Normalcy, for days past deeply missed – – –
And what better choice than America’s
National pastime, a sports United Nations
Played by all sorts of people for the pleasure
Of all sorts of people . . . a well-placed sentiment
From a well-founded American. And I know she
Means it. There’s no empty advantageous
Reference here. She loves the sport and my
Favorite team. Her words transport me to a
Met game I attended two years ago, the one
At which Nicolle Wallace sat two rows before
Me and was totally involved in the game going
On, but still had time to turn and greet me and
Two generations of my posterity – – – and to
Take my phone and text my at-home wife, a
Fan, “Thanks for watching!” . . . a reference to
Nicolle’s weekday show. It’s cool that whatever
The climate (political and otherwise), baseball
Retains that magic quality of connecting
And connecting with all sorts of people – – –
And reminding them of what normal times
Are like.
THE POETRY OF THE GAME