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Take Me Out to the zzzzzzZZZZZZZZZ.......

On Saturday, it was husband's birthday and we went with our friend and his 10 year old daughter to see the Nationals play Atlanta at the new National's ball park.  Husband hadn't seen the new park yet and was really looking forward to it. 

If you haven't seen this ball park and if you like that sort of thing, you may enjoy these pictures.

Rain delay.  The game did eventually go on. 

 

A view from within.

I took this one because I thought it was very cool that they had flowering trees with pansies planted around them inside the ball park.  And I'll bet they thought no one would notice. 

 

Man wearing furry costume.

 

This is a picture of the big screen with the guy who sung the Star Spangled Banner on it.  They showed different images of the DC monuments as he sang.  Just below the crowd, you can see a narrow screen where they showed coordinating pictures.  It was a nice effect.  The head you see on the bottom of the screen?  A celebrity who shall be revealed below.

 

Does this man look familiar?  He wrote a smashing column in today's paper. I mean, he really hit one out of the park. The bases were loaded but I seem to have run out of appropriate baseball metaphors.

 

Wind....

 

...ing....

 

...up....

 

...for the pitch.

Picture of the day:  See the blur going into the glove?  I can't tell you how many pictures I took trying to capture the ball.  This was the closest I could get.

 

The stadium and crowd. Most folks seemed to be wearing red, don't you think? Lots of hats....did the sun come out?  I don't quite recall...what does it say on that sign over there?  Borders books? Maybe I'll get over there tomorrow...Looking forward to going to dinner tonight....maybe I'll order the ribeye....have to make sure to remember to call the irrigation people....the new bushes need water....though it did rain today...wonder if it rained in Virginia too?

 

Shame on me.  Allowing my thoughts to wander when people worship so conscientiously at the altar of baseball that they take down every little thing that happens during the entire game.

Why?  Why do they do this? Do they have deep discussions about it later?  Do they look back and remember each play?  Do they check the news reports to make sure they are accurate?

Why?

Oh, what's this?  They are throwing shirts?  Me!  I want one!  Me! 

I don't know why I want one. 

That is the last thought I remember before falling asleep on husband's shoulder. He didn't mind.  He saw I was having trouble staying awake and beckoned me over.  Nice comfy shoulder.  Ahhh.

Jewish Like Beckham?

Well, a disputed fraction, anyway.  According to the Jewish News Weekly of Northern California:

“I’ve always been honored when people have made me feel special all around the world. I get that from the gay community, from the black community and the Jewish community because I’m half Jewish. If I can have that effect in America, then great.” That’s from English soccer star David Beckham, who joined the L.A. Galaxy soccer team early in July. Beckham has one Jewish grandparent, but if he wants to call himself “half Jewish,” fine with me.

A little googling reveals that Beckham and his wife were recently inspired by his Jewish heritage to get matching Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) Ani l'dodi (I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine) tattoos.  From Hebrew tattoos:

Hebrewtattoo.net received the order to do the tattoo design and expedited it out by email. David contacted his new tattoo artist and made arrangements to fly him and his equipment to Singapore to tattoo him in his and Victoria's hotel rooms... The new tattoo artist is adamant that he remain anonymous because that is the arrangement that he agreed to with David and Victoria in return for having them as return customers.

No doubt we will receive inquiries about the verse so here is some more info. King Shlomo wrote the Song of Songs as an allegory of the relationship between the Creator and the nation of Israel, in terms of the love between a man and a woman. It is recited on Pesach (Passover) the Holiday that celebrates the liberation of the Jewish People from their slavery in Egypt and their oddesy to claim their birthright, the land of Israel.

According to Jewish Biblical Sage RASHI, the Megilah (Scroll) is the mashal (allegory) of a young and beautiful woman who becomes engaged to and then marries a king. But very soon after the marriage, she is unfaithful to him, causing him to send her away, into the status of “living widowhood,” meaning she is “as if” a widow, although her husband is still alive. But his love for her remains strong, and he watches over her at all times, from behind the scenes, to protect her. And when she resolves to return to him, and be faithful to him, he will take her back, with a love that is fully restored.

More.

The Viaduc Race

In this photo released on Sunday by Sport Evasion and VO2 Magazine, the race's organizers, an aerial view shows competitors running across the Millau viaduct during the 'Viaduc' race, a 23.550-kilometer (14.633 miles) run from Millau back to Millau, southern France, Sunday, May 13, 2007. The Millau viaduct is the world's tallest bridge. (AP Photo/Sport Evasion/VO2 Magazine/HO)

More images here.

There's Something About Jews and Baseball

I can't exactly say it's an across the board thing, but it seems to me there are a great many Jews - men mostly, but I do know of a couple of women - who are really, truly, madly, and deeply in love with the sport of baseball.  Lots of the same folks may be football or basketball fans, but there's something indescribable with Jews and baseball.  My Rabbi is a huge White Sox fan and is known for making lots of baseball references from the bimah.  Billy Crystal has a well-known thing for baseball. In my family, on my side and my husband's side, there are rabid fans of the Red Sox, Yankees and the Mets.  When we were growing up, my cousins could recite every statistic, every batting average for every player.  It seems to go beyond the normal fandom into an almost worshipful relationship. Baseball is placed on a pedestal and spoken of in hushed tones. It's not just a game - - it's a tradition, passed down from generation to generation. 

Given this love for the sport and the number of transplanted Americans living in Israel, it surprises me that they are only now getting around to starting up a professional baseball league:

Jewish major leaguers introduce first Israel Baseball League

Former major leaguers Ken Holtzman, Art Shamsky and Ron Blomberg will manage three of the six teams in the first season of the Israel Baseball League, the nation's first foray into professional baseball.

The inaugural season will begin June 24, 117 days from today, with a 45-game schedule covering eight weeks and culminating in a championship.

The three managers met at a press conference today in New York, where they were joined by the league's Commissioner, Daniel C. Kurtzer, the former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt and Israel; Dan Duquette, the former General Manager of the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, who serves as Director of Baseball Operations; and Larry Baras, the Boston businessman who conceived the league. Mr. Baras is Managing Director, IBL and IBL Community Foundation.

Also in attendance today was one of the 120 players who will populate the league's rosters -- Leon Feingold, a New Yorker who will realize a dream by playing pro-ball in Israel. He is representative of the players who have been signed out of Dan Duquette's tryout camps. Tryouts will continue March 6-7 in the Dominican Republic, and April 15 in Los Angeles.