Beauty of the Game

Hey Big Boy, let me see you swing that bat… This pictured poster is from the Negro Baseball League Museum in KC. Speaking of baseball, we are now moving into late April and the Cardinals have yet to lose a game. Even better though, the Cubs have yet to win one. I’ve also noticed that my YouTube feed of recommended videos has classic ball games featured now. That’s new. I guess this year is the season of past glories. Speaking of past glories there is a new  gigantic replica of the 2011 Cardinals World Series trophy that I want to see.

It is downtown and I think we can safely do a drive by, to check it out. Thinking of baseball, I am of course reminded of our biggest baseball fan, Carl. On our daily walks there is a new yard sign that has garnered amazing currency and also reminds us of him. It reads, thanks to everyone who is working in harms way. ♥

Moving on—It is not often that I get verklempt while reading the mail. At the risk of TMI, I routinely get the mail wearing only my boxers. I’ve read that in some communities, men fetching the mail, without wearing pants is a problem and that the police have been alerted to this issue. Rest assure dear people there is no public lewdness involved in our mail delivery. The mail person places the mail in the mail slot, in the front wall of the house and upon hearing this, after waiting a minute, I get up off of the couch and retrive the newly placed mail through our interior mail slot door. It is really all quite proper, so don’t worry.

Anyway, back to my verklempt moment with the mail. Bill, junk, bill, a letter to Anne from the county election commission. Oh, no. Previously, I had implored Anne not to work the polls. Our next election is scheduled for June. It was originally scheduled for this month, but well, you know. So, my heart sank, until I turned to the next piece of mail. It also was the election commission’s, but was addressed to me. Opening it, I found a letter and accompanying documents that explained that since I am over sixty, I was being sent applications for absentee voting. My heart soared like an eagle. Blue, pink and yellow forms were there to apply for mail-in absentee ballots for the June, August and November elections.

In Missouri, a voter needs a valid excuse to absentee vote. Anne usually uses the excuse that she is an election official and I have sometimes in the past used the excuse that I would be out-of-state, on business travel. But the golden ticket is the medical excuse that includes “confinement due to illness.” I think that that fits perfectly here and apparently so does the election commission. The beauty of this excuse is that it is the only excused absence that does not require a notary. One only needs to testify to it. In the letter is the statement, “Please feel free to copy these applications for any friends or family who qualify.” I am no longer verklempt, but rather giddy with the prospects of this opportunity. I can already hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth from out-state Republicans, as the full weight of the Saint Louis electorate comes to bear in November. Here, the political game has just got real and that is the beauty of this game.