…as they raced along the road Milo continued to think of all sorts of things; of the many detours and wrong turns that were so easy to take, of how fine it was to be moving along, and, most of all, of how much could be accomplished with just a little thought.
                                        from The Phantom Tollbooth
                                            written by Norton Juster
                                          illustrated by Jules Feiffer
                               Random House Children's Books, 2011
                                              (e-book read on Libby)
                                             originally published in 1961

    When I was young, I liked to ride my bike. I’d sometimes ride to school. Sometimes I rode to the neighborhood swimming pool. I’d sometimes ride to Lawson’s for bread, not milk in those heavy, glass 1/2 gallon jugs. 
    Or I’d go round and round the block and end up home. The wind whipped my braid, the sky was blue, the flower-scented air invigorated me. The journey was the point of the ride.
    Now I’m more into the destination. I don’t mind walking. I actually go out of my way to walk around town when I can. I walk to the library (if my book bag is not too full). I walk to the post office and the bank. I can walk to the grocery store if I don’t need too much bulky produce or too many heavy cans. In those cases, I consider the return trip as the more important leg of the journey. 
    I walk to our county fairgrounds to admire the flowers growing in their gardens. But I don’t see the point of walking (or riding my bike) around (and around) the block. I tried it and noticed the flowers in my neighbors’ yards and listened for birds and watched out for traffic. But it seemed pointless. I have a hard time getting past the futility of it all.    
    But, we’re all travelers, literally. Our Earth zooms around the sun every 365 or so days and we continually spin in place day and night at about 1,000 miles per hour at the equator and a little slower as we move toward the poles. We don’t feel the movement because everything is spinning at the same rate.
    Some people are filled with wanderlust. The word itself comes from the German for desire + to hike. And for people who are full of wanderlust, curiosity about places away from home can feel insatiable. Their longing to be somewhere else, consuming.    
    And Walletbe.com suggests travel can eliminate prejudices as we discover we all have similar needs for food, shelter, and human connections. We learn to accept and understand different cultures and ways of life.
    They also say, traveling to far-flung destinations helps us appreciate home, family, and friends all the more.    
    And in their article about Wanderlust, inscripture.com suggests when we go to a place where food, language, and the natural environment are different from home, and learn to navigate that place, travel becomes a confidence booster.    
    But physical travel to a different geographic space is not the only way to experience another culture, even another time.
    Books, fiction and nonfiction, those written for adults and those for even very young children tell tales of journeys. 
    Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson tells of a boy who draws himself in and out of adventures with his purple crayon. After some narrow escapes, he draws up his covers and falls fast asleep.
    The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is the story of a young prince who travels to many different planets including Earth and discovers what it means to be human. He returns home mysteriously to find the rose he loves but left behind. 
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum shows how Dorothy Gale, angry with her “witchy” neighbor, gets caught up in a tornado, finds herself in a strange land, and finally is able to wish herself home again.
    Homer’s Odyssey, C. S. Lewis’s The Hobbit, Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy are all examples of journeys. More than merely describing the physical space, the authors (and their characters) search for answers to life’s big questions. What is important? What does it all mean? Where are we going? Why?
    And we readers travel with them, looking for answers to the same questions.
    For some, the journey is all important. For others, it’s the destination. Some travelers are focused on the trip itself: the maps, the reservations, the sights along the way. Others concentrate on important landmarks, new cuisines, and different cultures. 
    Still others spend their wanderlust in a dictionary, moving from one definition and etymology to another. Or exploring in a library. Coming in with a purpose, maybe, but giving in to wonderful and unexpected mysteries, or recipes, or biographies. 
    Or the chance encounter with a real neighbor or an old friend like Huck Finn, or Rebecca, or Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen.
    Mostly, I like to stay home. I know where everything is. I always know where I want to go (even though I don’t always remember why I want to go there), and I don’t get lost. Unless I’m traveling to Manderlay or Oz, or tagging along with Milo after depositing my coin in a magic tollbooth.

In advance of reading the new book James by Percival Everett (Doubleday, 2024), I picked up Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Chatto & Windus, 1884). Published 20 years after the end of the Civil War but set 20 years before it began, Twain presents an America in the throws of racism, the plight of enslaved people, growing up in a backwater town, and finding the true meaning of friendship. Looking forward to  James, where Everett tells us the story from Jim’s point of view.
                       Be curious! (and stop to smell the roses)

    “…Crickets are good luck.”
    “Good luck, eh?” Mama’s voice had a way of sounding very dry when she didn’t believe something. “Cricketers are good luck—so I suppose ants are better luck. And cockroaches are the best luck of all. Throw it away.”
    “Please, Mama, I want to keep him for a pet.”
    No bugs are coming to my house, said Mama.
from The Cricket in Times Square
written by George Selden
illustrated by Garth  Williams
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1960
Caldecott Honor, 1961
    By the end of George Selden’s classic, Chester, the cricket who accidentally arrived in New York in a picnic basket, discovers his unique talent and saves a failing newsstand that was on the brink of bankruptcy.
    Chester is a cricket. He does not play cricket. In that regard, he is like most Americans. In the US, cricket doesn’t even make the top five most popular games. Those are (American) football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer. But worldwide, according to BestDiplomats.org, the second most popular spot belongs to cricket. 
    The game itself is ancient. Some say cricket originated in Flanders, the Flemish Region of Belgium, and may have been played as early as the 13th century. Others say cricket originated in the late 1500s in England. Think Queen Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare, and the Globe Theatre. While the people were attending live theater, and while Sir Francis Drake was plundering the known world at the behest of the Queen, British soldiers played cricket in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies. The game caught on as a “side effect” of colonization. It’s popular in South Africa, Australia, and other former British colonies, too.
    So why didn’t the sport flourish in the American colonies or Canada? Over the years, historians and cricketing experts have presented their thoughts. Some are illogical. Some are not historically probable.
    Canada and the US have a cooler climate than the countries in the rest of the cricket-playing world, but think about England’s climate where the game has been played in one form or another since William Shakespeare could hold a cricket bat. Besides, Canada and the US play other so-called warm-weather sports like baseball.
    Or maybe cricket isn’t as popular because it takes so long to play and Canadians and Americans are, by nature, (?) impatient. According to sportsbrief.com “[t]he game usually lasts about 7 hours and 30 minutes each day and the matches are played over five days.” Since the introduction of T20 games in 2005, though, a complete game is usually played in about three hours.
    The overabundance and strict adherence to rules might be to blame. But even though we Americans and Canadians are known for our independent spirits, when it comes to sports, we follow rules just like the rest of the world. 
    Since Canada and the United States were ruled over by the English for most of their recent histories, it might seem like the animosity is fresher. But just look at Australia. And India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Africa. Cricket is played there widely. And golf and tennis, which both began in England are very popular here. 
    The only answer that might hold water according to crictracker.com is the influence of A. G. Spalding, American businessman and sports manufacturer. He promoted baseball to a wide audience by devising a system of professional leagues and commercializing the sport. He popularized the phrase, “Cricket is a pastime, Baseball is War” implying that baseball was a more serious sport. And when baseball was introduced as a college sport, cricket’s popularity continued its decline.
    On January 5, 2024, the International Cricket Council (ICC), announced its 20 teams. They are divided into four groups of five. Each team faces the others for a total of 40 matches.
The season is wrapping up as the Super 8 stage is getting ready to compete in the semifinals. What is so surprising is that the USA is represented in these top 8 teams.
    Team USA has already beaten the Canadian team and the Pakistani team and made history by beating Ireland in a washout last Friday (6/14/24). By earning their spot in the playoffs, Team USA also qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
    The next scheduled game starts at 10:30 ET at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua. Team USA will play against the team from South Africa.
    I had an occasion to talk to a friend of mine who’s originally from New Zealand. His face lit up when I asked him about cricket. He played it when he was young and said it’s a great game and was great fun. 
    Learning the terminology is my first hurdle, especially overs, bowlers, the pitch, and the purpose of a wicket. The complicated rules pose my next challenge. I’m sure even a rudimentary knowledge of the game makes watching it much more fun. 
    But if cricket puts the US on firm footing on the world stage, I’m a fan.


I just finished Cranberry Queen by Kathleen DeMarco (Hyperion, 2001) and still don’t like it. Sorry, Sam. Still reading The Body Keeps the Score. It’s still interesting. Next week, something new!
—Be curious! (and take time to play)


FB: Some people consider eating a sport and MLE (Major League Eating) disqualified Joey Chestnut, the 16-time champ, from participating in Nathan’s 4th of July’s hot dog eating competition on Coney Island because Joey signed a contract with Impossible Foods and endorsed a vegan hot dog. Really. 


     

    Amelia Bedelia scooped up first base, and second base, and third base. 
    “Home!” shouted the boys.
    “Run home, Amelia Bedelia!”
    Amelia Bedelia looked puzzled, but she did not stop running. And on her way she scooped up home plate too.
                                       from Play Ball Amelia Bedelia
                                            written by Peggy Parish
                                         illustrated by Wallace Tripp
                                                   HarperCollins, 1972
                                     (accessed on YouTube 6/1/24)

    What would baseball be without its statistics? Baseball, besides being America’s pastime, is a numbers game. Batting averages, RBIs, numbers of bases run, ball speed (from the pitcher to the player and off a player’s bat) numbers of stolen bases, home runs, times left on base, you get the idea.
    And a couple of weeks ago, everything changed. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Robert D. Manfred, Jr., the League decided to include statistics from players who had been excluded from Major League Baseball until Jackie Robinson was offered a position with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. 
    Shortly after George Floyd was murdered in 2020, the Major League accepted the Negro Leagues into the Majors. And now, to complete that work, statistics from the Negro Leagues are incorporated into the Major League historical record books.
    Baseball was organized in the 1860s. In the beginning, a few Black players played alongside their white teammates. Soon, though, Jim Crow laws and segregationist attitudes left over from the Civil War thwarted the careers of many Black ball players. They were still just as talented, but were not allowed to play with established clubs.
    The turn of the 20th century saw unwritten rules between team owners effectively segregate baseball. Black ballplayers formed their own teams. By 1920, Hall of Famer Andrew “Rube” Foster organized these new teams, and on February 13 of that year, the Negro National League (NNL) was born. 
    “Rube” Foster knew baseball. And he knew the racism at work. Even though crowds thronged to watch Black players, gate receipts were controlled by white booking agents. Little attendance money went to the team owners. Anyone who complained, risked losing a place to play. “Rube” also knew that to be successful, the Black teams needed to organize. He knew the Negro Leagues (which is what they became) needed to be just as professional and earn for its players the pay due to a professional.
    Among the cities whose teams inaugurated the NNL were Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and St. Louis. Soon other teams organized into the Eastern Colored League and the Southern Negro League. The Black teams flourished until 1929.
    The Depression forced “nearly every colored baseball league, including the NNL, to shut down.” (National Baseball Hall of Fame) 
    Finally, the Leagues reemerged in 1937 as the Negro American League. They played with full rosters and full schedules and full stadiums until 1947 when #42, Jackie Robinson (with lots of encouragement, and fortitude, and persistence) broke through Major League’s color barrier and played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. 
    Robinson’s position in the Major League marked the start of Negro Leagues’ inevitable decline. But not before they proved Black ballplayers could play just as well as their white counterparts and attract crowds just as big and just as enthusiastic.
    But the decision to include the Negro Leagues into MLB and incorporate their statistics is not without controversy. First, the obvious but unanswered question, “Why did it take so long?” 
    And although it’s wonderful for family and fans to finally see the recognition those outstanding Black athletes deserve, the controversy for me comes from the idea that “wiping the slate clean” gives everyone a do-over on an even playing field, so to speak.
    Lest anyone think the Negro Leagues were “separate but equal” to their counterparts in Major League Baseball, know that the playing fields were anything but equal. Sometimes they could use a Major League field, but needed to schedule their games around time commitments already made. Negro Leagues did not have up-to-date equipment. Team owners needed to rely on white booking agents. Gate sales were woefully unevenly divided.
    Mostly the clubs played when and where they could. A few teams owned their own parks and a few of these segregated fields still exist. A movement to preserve them is a modern idea. You can find a list of some of them here. 
    And still with all this working against them, the 2,300 players on the Negro Leagues played outstanding and organized baseball from 1920 - 1948.
    Numbers (usually) are not my friends, but here are a few I like.
The all-time best batting average from 1876 to 2024 is .372 held by Josh Gibson. He was a powerhouse player for the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. His .466 in 1943 is the highest mark in Major League history.
    Babe Ruth is still great. He holds second place with his overall batting average of .342.
    Here's the newly revised chart from MLB that takes all players’ stats into consideration. 
    Baseball on TV is where you’ll usually find me, but there’s nothing like the roar of the crowd, the smell of the popcorn, and the “twing” of a regulation baseball smacking against a metal bat for a home run!

I’m reading The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, M. D. (Penguin Books/Penguin Publishing Group, 2014). Whether dealing with the experience of war or tragedy in our personal lives, we all deal with trauma. Neuropsychology is shedding light on how our brains and bodies are connected, and how trauma “literally reshapes both body and brain.” Dr. Kolk describes innovative treatments like yoga and meditation, among others, to activate our brains’ ability to heal itself and our bodies.
                                     -—Be curious! (and play fair) 

I’m playing catch-up this week, but I’ll be back next Tuesday. Thanks for your patience!