Ripping Van Winkle
Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering upBruce Springsteen – Born in the USA
I just missed the draft by a few years; I can remember thinking about what it would mean covering up in Vietnam. We knew intimately back then that war was more like Ken Burn’s The War than Stallone’s Rambo. We read Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead. Our teachers were real, living and breathing WWII heroes. I think every teacher I had was a freaking Marine. We were scared to death of them. Columbine could have never happened in the seventies. Those two lackeys would have been shot up before they could have said “Heil Hitler”.
It is said that older men experience second childrens-hoods. Is it age, or does the world cycle around to byte you in the ***? An unpopular war. Racial disturbances in the South. I could have fallen asleep my freshman year in high school and woke up this morning.
Yep. There are the Yankees. But the Red Sox have become the Yankees. And the Mets collapsed while the Cubs are still playing? 1969 was almost forty years ago. A nation which put a man on the moon can’t keep the lights on in the cradle of civilization? The birthplace of jazz can’t adapt and overcome improvised explosive devices? Jesus H. Christ.
The older I get the more sympathy I have for the Devil. Did I mention the Yankees are still playing?
— Michael Norton
someballyard.mlblogs.com 
It is said that older men experience second childrens-hoods.
Women get it too. I just received delivery of a skateboard–I figure it’s less exertion than a bike but faster than walking–and my Byrnes/Diamondbacks authentic alternate jersey!
ByrnesBlogger1
http://byrnesblog.mlblogs.com
Michael-
I responded to your comment in my blog, but I had to come here with the same response, as your comment was ironically funny, because when talking about MLB’s profanity filter, they edited your use of the word “N-a-z-i.”
The one that irritates me the most is m-o-r-o-n. I mean, I can freely type idiot, retard, dimwit, dunce, fool, halfwit, imbecile, ignoramus, or a hundred others from the thesaurus (yes, that’s why they’re somewhat alphabetical order), but God forbid I call someone a m-o-r-o-n.
I guess that word is subject to the approval of MLB and its head halfwit.
Goodness, Kellia, if you can still ride a skateboard you must be doing pretty well! Hope you’re not riding it down stair rails 8)
Sid,
I’ve had enough encounters with professional baseball people to understand why they might be offended by m-o-r-o-n. I’ll bet they hear it a lot. And, as you so aptly note, the fact they make a distinction between that word and a dozen synonyms reveals they’ve got their slurs the old-fashioned way: they’ve earned them.
Oh this skateboard is definitely NOT for doing tricks. Just for getting from point A to point B faster than walking but with less exertion than a bike would take. However, since I haven’t ridden in about 40 years, I have found that it is not as easy as I thought. I’ll have to practice in the carport a bit before I take to the streets.