So I need to relate a conversation I had with Emmett this morning.

As background you need to know that Arlo is one of his teammates on the tournament team. Arlo is the best player in our Little League, a tremendous natural athlete. While he's extremely competitive on the field, he's also got a naturally very sunny nature, dimples, big smile, total cutiehead with a high pitched piping voice. We see a lot of his family during the summer touring season and also really like his parents and sibs. (Emmett is particularly close with Arlo's dad.)

So I woke up Emmett this morning by putting Matilda on his chest, which always gets him up in a good mood. "Aww, what a nice way to wake up. Hey Matilda!" Then he said...

Emmett: Oh, I just remember I had this horrible nightmare.
Me: What happened?
Emmett: It was about Arlo. He was a goth. He had black hair and he was just sitting there.
Me: Being a goth isn't necessarily bad, Emmett. They're not all depressed and gloomy.
Emmett: I know. Like your friend, Jilli. But it wasn't like that. He didn't even have his dimples, Dad. You know how Arlo has that twinkle in his eye? It was gone. It was like you could see right through him.

*********

That last part was (I think) intended more metaphorically than as dream description. Trying to articulate a hollow and cheerless Arlo and how horrible it was to see him in despair.

It was oddly sweet, and I did take care to make certain there was no goth bashing.

Scola, I'm sorry to say that I relate.(Not, like, "God, I hate you, too." For myself.) I think that you're a hottie. Yes, I liked the books, JZ. Have learned so much more about baseball that I can play "Keith Olbermann Says" in a whole new venue now. As far as actual games, I still get confused and impatient...baseball's kinda zen, isn't it? The con book convinced me the world is lucky I'm not a joiner and fundamentally honest.

baseball's kinda zen, isn't it?

Heh. Is that a polite way of saying nothing happens?

No, but you have to be patient, right? And the announcers get stoked about things I don't know enough to pick up. Which makes it a lot like my experience with religion, really.

I feel like the Bitches would really appreciate this interesting series of pictures.

Heh. Is that a polite way of saying nothing happens?

Two of my favorite Cubs announcers (on WGN radio) once had a long discussion about the various shades of dirt in the infield.

It was awesome.

You know, I've heard that. Your game is not like other people's. But I'm gonna keep trying with it. I can see why it attracts the fannish people.

No, but you have to be patient, right? And the announcers get stoked about things I don't know enough to pick up. Which makes it a lot like my experience with religion, really.

You definitely have to be patient. Watching baseball is like rewatching an old Buffy episode with lots of people who know the whole canon. You talk in and around it. There are a lot of references and allusions. It's also a bit like going bowling, where it's mostly an excuse to socialize but there's a focused activity to keep the conversation going.

See if you can pick up an online feed of a Dodger game when Vin Scully is announcing the game. It's like Garrison Keillor at Woebegon. Just a tail spinner, that can captivate you with the sound of his voice.

And there are a lot of nuances to the game. When it looks like nothing is happening there are a lot of little subtle things going on (usually relating to how well the pitcher is pitching).

Yeah, Erika, the more you know, the better it is. As the DH pointed out to me, in baseball they play almost every day over a period of months, so we get to really know the players over time and it is much more intimate than football or hockey. Also the announcers do just converse with each other during slow parts, which can be lots of fun if they are good announcers.

Really really rocking article in the LA Times about a western woman's experiences working in Saudi Arabia [link]

(It was posted in Salon's Broadsheet section, but I reeeeeaaaalllllly try not to read those letters. Or write them. Or be happy when I get a big red star...)

Anyway, its very interesting.