I never watch baseball. But don’t feel bad, baseball. I rarely watch any sports aside from soccer. Those legs! And I did enjoy the hell out of a live hockey game once.
I never really played sports either, except for a brief stint on the Strawberries back in ‘81.
In Texas high school football was always a big deal. Of course, I was too busy doing other important high school stuff like attending rock shows at Fitzgerald’s, going to coffee shops, and generally thinking I was too cool, to notice. During my extensive college career I studied at UT Austin for a few semesters, all without ever attending a Longhorn’s game (sacrilege!). The ocean of orange in the stadium was pretty amazing though when viewed from afar.
You may have read about the Texas Rangers in the news recently. Apparently they’re awesome and are headed to the 2010 World Series. Almost every person I have ever met in Texas, no matter where they currently live, has suddenly turned into a huge gushing ball of Texas Pride.
You can leave Texas but it never leaves you.
On this day back in 1982 my grandparents wanted to take my brother and me to the rodeo. Our Texas pride wasn’t fully developed at that time and, as is evident, we had no desire to go.
So this past Saturday I was supposed to be shopping for Halloween costume supplies. While I managed to pick up most of my necessary props, leotard, and feathery objects, I also amassed a huge collection of books (9 for $33 at Value Village).
This started the fever:
The Story of Texas Under Six Flags by M.E.M. Davis. Ginn and Company, Boston, 1897. It has such a pretty decorative gilt cloth cover.
Even though in 1986 I was forced to participate in a square dancing routine for the Texas Sesquicentennial celebration at Benfer Elementary, I still have a soft spot for all things Texan. I’ll even start to slip into a southern drawl should someone from the region engage me in conversation.
Another great book came with this Value Village lot:
The Strange Disappearance of Arthur Cluck by Nathaniel Benchley with illustrations by Arnold Lobel. Published by Harper & Row, New York, 1967.
Mr. Lobel also wrote and illustrated Owl At Home which I wrote about almost a year ago. I love his pack rat, Gus. Gus and I have a lot in common. My bag of loot hath runneth over.
Good luck Rangers!
