Marching to your own beat...
"Who is wise? The one who learns from all persons..." (Talmud - Pirkei Avot 4:1)
In this issue: Nostalgia, baseball, what’s with the quote from the Talmud, Learning and Oscar, “Night At The Dogs.”
I’m not from the Midwest, but by now I’ve lived here more than half my life. I yearn for New York and Brooklyn especially in the spring and autumn. Sometimes it’s a painful kind of nostalgia. Other times, I have a kind of acceptance for how far away my childhood and youth are from me now. It’s like shedding a layer of skin.
But I don’t ever want to let go of New York.
Okay, enough of the nostalgia…although I think it’s funny that the little suburb we’ve settled into has sidewalks and mature trees and a commercial street a block away. There’s actually a pizza place within walking distance. As Brooklyn-like as possible!
And here’s the pitch…
There is a connection between Brooklyn and baseball. Growing up, I rooted for the Mets, because my Uncle Murray, a.k.a. Unk rooted for them. But aside from cheering in ‘69 (I remember being in Prospect Park — but that was a school day, a Thursday) and in ‘86 (we were in Athens, Greece and I listened to Air Force Radio in the middle of the night with a pair of lightweight headphones and my portable radio), I didn’t think I was interested in Sports.
I’m not an athlete and it just wasn’t part of our lives in the Kansas City area.
Until 2014, when the Kansas City Royals began to be competitive and got into the Wild Card game in the postseason. Suddenly I found myself on a bandwagon. I fell in love with the team and then with baseball. I can’t explain it.
From time to time, I’ll write a little about baseball, but if you like baseball, there’s plenty to read on Substack: JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski, who writes about a lot of things, but his writing about the Royals during some truly bad years, got me interested in reading the sports page in the Kansas City Star.
For detailed examination of Royals games, check out David Lesky. For detailed examinations of other teams and their games, including some famous ones, Paul White’s Lost in Left Field, is a fascinating read. And Lee Judge, formerly the political cartoonist of record for Kansas City Star, writes a very funny blog, but also some sharp insights about baseball. Craig Calcaterra’s Cup of Coffee is funny, political, and a lot about the business end of sports, baseball especially. Read his book, “Rethinking Fandom,” and you’ll never wear sports laundry again…well, maybe…
The Talmud
I’m Jewish, but not an observant Jew, nor am I a very scholarly Jew. I did some studying a while back. The quote about wisdom is one of my favorite quotes from the Talmud, the huge compilation of Jewish commentary dealing with the Torah and Jewish law and daily life. Pirkei Avot translates as the Chapters of the Fathers. This quote about “who is wise,” reminds me that everyone has something to teach.
Oscar, part 2. Learning to learn
I learned a lot from Oscar — but that’s no different from any parent learning from their kids…
When you have a child, you may have read a zillion books about birth and baby care.
You may have had your mothers, grandmothers, friends, sisters, and aunties dispensing wisdom…
But the fact is, you really can’t relate to that advice until you hold your own little bundle in your arms for the first time.
Bringing your new baby home, being alone, without nurses or family…it can be like that anxiety dream where you arrive at school to take the final… and realize you can’t answer a single question … because there’s no way you’re fully prepared!
I didn't know until I interacted with baby Oscar and the interactions were constant and intense, what he was communicating to me:
-Hungry, mom!
- Waah! Poopy!
--Hey, it's dark out here in the middle of the night, hang out with me -- I like that hush little baby song...that's it, just hold me and sing...
--Hey mom, dad, anyone, pick me up so I can look at something besides my mobile!
But when your child shows developmental differences, big ones — all that advice from books and people — does nothing to reassure you that your kid is only going through a phase.
Learning who Oscar was and is, is a constant in my life.
How my son, Oscar learns things, is completely different from the way I do.
He sees things. He sees things happen many times and then he does them. Example number one: We had a set of wooden blocks – the kind with triangular pieces, arches, cylinders, long and short rectangles, and smaller squares. We thought Oscar would love building houses with these…but this is what happened:
We showed him how to build a simple house, in order to house his growing collection of little plastic cars, people and animals. He would play for a while and then knock the house down and cry.
We’d put the house back. He’d get upset if it wasn’t the EXACT way we first had built it. I have to admit it was exasperating. Here we are building something and he just knocked it down.
One day Oscar was playing with his blocks that were in a pile—in his bedroom. We heard the sound of blocks falling down and waited for him to wail for us. We didn’t hear it. We hear the sounds of blocks… and Oscar talking to himself.
We came upstairs to have a look.
He had destroyed and built the house again. It was perfect.
“I like being autistic”
I wanted to tell you the Thunderbolt Story but Oscar said didn’t want to tell it in public. He’s 32 now and I respect his decision.
When he was in middle school, I asked him, if there was medicine or a procedure that would cure him of autism, would he want that?
“I like being autistic,” he declared.
And now that he’s been living in his own apartment for close to 8 years he’s learned a lot about getting along with others, making new friends, and trying new things. Being autistic and understanding it makes it easier for him to understand his friends who are on the spectrum or have other disorders.
The Talmud
I’m Jewish, but not an observant Jew, nor am I a very scholarly Jew. I did some studying a while back. The quote about wisdom is one of my favorite quotes from the Talmud, the huge compilation of Jewish commentary dealing with the Torah and Jewish law and daily life. Pirkei Avot translates as the Chapters of the Fathers. This quote about “who is wise,” reminds me that everyone has something to teach.
One last thing: Jesse Rose, “Night at the Dogs.”
About different beats…If you’ve listened to NPR for a while, you might recognize this lovely melody! Enjoy!
Great piece. A great piece of you, too. Almost like being in a coffeeshop. I like the addition of the music. Such a rhythmic and evocative tune. I almost got up and took out the vacuum cleaner!
Eight years! Wow, wow, wow!