Crack! Such a hopeful sound bounced off the afternoon quiet. Almost simultaneously there was an expectant swell of cheers and a few happy cries of wooooohooooo! And then, as she raced around third base, a chorus of "Run, Lily, Run! Run, Lily, Run! Run, Lily, Run!"And Lily ran. (All the way home.)
12 comments:
Aaah, sounds of summer. For me it's my boy hitting a cricket ball...
Sorry I haven’t been around much lately – life’s busy!
Three cheers for Lily!!! That classic crack of the bat and ball coming together is truly an introduction to the season. Once you hear the pop and fizz of the Coke can, and you smell the freshly mowed grass, you know it's SUMMERTIME.
And you can't get more California than ALL SUMMER LONG by the Beach Boys.
As long as it's a wooden bat. I don't like the sound of aluminum bats, ugh!
Run, Lola Run was a different story altogether wasn't it?
I spent many a spring/summer day or night playing softball at OG Park. Either with gear on behind that plate, or right about where #11 is in the blue. Yes, back when wood bats were what we used until I got into high school and college. Nothing like the crack, as opposed to the ping.
Am soooo glad Lily ran and ran and ran. I know that feeling well too---that back wall out in right/center field is pretty far out there!
I think I can smell the grass...grin!
Good for Lily!
Just curious, though, because when I was a girl in south Texas - we didn't play baseball.
Do girls still play Hopscotch??
I used to love throwing that rock, then jumping. I did a conceptual art piece called "Notes on Hopscotch" in which I got very heady, bringing in references to Alice and was it "Through the Looking Glass" or "Adventures in Wonderland" which is written as a chess game? It would make a good video.
Anyway, the guy who did my black and white prints for me said that little boys don't play Hopscotch. Is that true?? Very curious.
Oh jeez, are some of the games lost? Four square, dodge ball, german dodge ball (!), and my favorite -- double dutch jump rope ... (I played them all for all I was worth.)
I can tell you, Shanna, that when I was growing up in the '50's no self-respecting boy played hopscotch. It was strictly a game for girls. We played tether ball, foursquare, kickball, but no hopscotch.
I used to live near a park that had a lighted baseball diamond. On summer evenings my back patio was bathed in filtered light whenver there was a game, and I was just the right distance away. I could hear the crack, or ping, of the bat and a soft cheer from the crowd. It was peaceful and very Norman Rockwell.
German dodge ball?
I liked to watch the girls jump rope, play hopscotch, and jacks but I would never participate. Never even wanted to.
I remember when the boys had to learn to jump rope for PE around the fifth grade, just in case we were going to grow up to be boxers. That was not easy.
Hi kids!
Good to see you here, Sally! I've missed your blog lately, too! (We all need more hours in the day to visit the many wonderful blogs in our City Daily Photo community. Sally's is a delight -- and a great way to trek down under without the long plane ride...)
Shanna, if you recall,Dixie Mom got hit in the head with a baseball bat when she was a child! Maybe that had something to do with the lack of baseball in your childhood... :-)
And while these girls are playing softball, I think it is important to remember the role of women baseball players in our fairly recent history. Check out the All-American Girls Professional Basebal League for a great online resource about those magnificent girls who played professional baseball from 1943-1954. Most people know about these women from the film A League of Their Own. I'm a huge believer in sports for girls -- all sports, not just the "pretty" ones.
I agree with Earl, I never knew a boy to jump rope or play hopscotch when I was a kid. But I'm happy to see these gender-specifics blurring in my little daughter's generation. Our next door neighbor boys, when not pretending to shoot the cars that drive by, play hopscotch with her on a regular basis!
Thanks for all of the great memories and stories, everyone. Until tomorrow!
Are they REALLY playing hopscotch? Just let me know and I'll be right over, camera or sketchbook in hand! It is very archetypal- i.e. the journey to get to the top. I could even reference The Kaballah here.
And Mister Earl: I was also great at jump rope and jacks. I also liked my brother's electric train but didn't have one myself.
Shanna, are you into Kaballah?
When I was a kid, girls liked to look at electric trains, but didn't have them, the same way boys watched hopscotch and jump rope, but didn't play. I remember in the 60s when Lionel trains came out with a train for girls. All the cars were different pastel shades, and the locomotive was pink! We thought it was so dumb. Those girl trains are collectors items now! Take a look: http://www.ibuyoldtrains.com/Lionel%201587s%20Pink%20Girls%20Train.htm
Did you know that rock star Neil Young has owned a large share of the Lionel Company since around 1995?
Really amazing...
Nice photo...wonderful thoughts....
Thanks for sharing...
___________________
Andrew
Entertainment at one stop
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