Transthought

Is Baseball Reality?

I wish I could write about baseball like Bart Giamatti did. I have passion for the sport, I see its poetry and believe in its magic. I spend much time, especially now, watching it on television, and feel emotions as I do so. It is metaphor in so many ways, but I am not capable of explaining those metaphors in words as clearly as I would like. Bart wrote about its connection to nature and the seasons, and the ups and downs of life itself, in ways I could identify with, but when I try to do that I find the task and its sentences so inadequate, so many things unexpressed, so many messages not transmitted, that I cease the effort.

Writing is hard work; nothing daunts so much as the blank page. I was always able to write a sermon when in need of one, but I doubt that any of them will live beyond me. People often tell me that I have a gift for writing, for words, etc., but I do not have the ability to convert that talent into any kind of consistent or memorable product. I really want to do that with my affection for baseball, but so far I have not found the key to doing it. If I were to write something for the ages, I would like it be about baseball and the way it addresses my needs, and perhaps the needs of others. I have read accounts of how people's behavior and attitudes are affected by the way their favorite sports teams are performing, and I beleive that to be the case. I would like to explore that on paper, "in depth" as one might say, but I have not, or can not, or perhaps even will not.

I admire good writers and read a lot (less not than I used to!), but it is something like Ted Willliams allegedly saying that he could not teach anyone to hit like he did. I can see what great writers do, how they construct their sentences and paragraphs, but when I set the pen to paper, or the hand to the keyboard, it does not come out in the way I wish, or in the way I have conceived it in my mind. The brilliant insights that greet my brain are not transferable to the printed page. I wonder if this is a common experience for others.

I just watchd the Cubs beat Houston this afternoon. I came away marvelling at the skill of the players, and, in a few instances, of their failure to perform. When a Ted Williams strikes out, is it a failure, or just part of the day's work? When I can't write, is it a failure, or just the way it is for that day? I shall pursue these thoughts as long as I live, I suppose, and maybe some day, I shall know that it is not a fault, but a fact, that one cannot adequately define one's thoughts to others. Maybe poetry or metaphor is the only way, and I shall keep seeking for words that will accomplish that. In the meantime, I shall continue thnking, seeing, experiencing, and being, and enjoy it all!

Wayne's Words for July 20, 2006

posted by Wayne Olson @ 5:50 PM