The way it was

With the beginning of baseball season, "the last slow dance" I called it in an essay decades ago, I'm rereading some favorite books about baseball. First on the list is David Halberstam's Summer of '49, which I admire not only as "a baseball book" but as one of the best reads out there on the culture at this time in our history, a time before the greed, hype and egomania that steers the culture now. A time of innocence, it's been called. At least for white folks. But, to state something not always understood, "at least for ..." is always a qualification when we talk about "happiness" and "good times." We've never had utopia. In this zero-sum universe of ours, misery somewhere always balances happiness here, and vice-versa. Are you happy today? Great -- at least you don't live in Somalia.

What I miss, and miss terribly of course, is the era when greed, hype and egomania, while existing, did not dictate the tone and direction of the culture, which it does today. I feel blessed to have lived in such a time -- just to know it's possible! Yes, once upon a time, major publishers published literary novels knowing full well they would not sell a lot of copies. Why? Because it was their responsibility as guardians of the literary culture. There are still small presses who operate this way but I'm talking about the major publishers. All this is well documented (I talk to young writers who can't believe it, so used are they to the present focus on 'the bottom line' and the corporate mentality that drives the arts today.)

Now there's always been bullshit. "A sucker is born every minute," after all. But once upon a time there was more balance than today, there were other viable, powerful modes at work in the culture. This energy today is on the Internet. One of the places you find it is in the incredible creative work being done by software developers of Freeware and other anti-corporate-model product development. Some of this has trickled into the arts but most of this energy is still in technology.

I suppose the same positive energy is still around, it's just shifted. You find very little of it in professional sports any more, and less of it in college sports all the time. To get the "old feel" you go to small college sports, high school sports (except in Texas), some women's sports, intra-mural sports, and some minor league professional sports. If the TV cameras don't show up, you have a chance to see a game with less hype and fewer jerks on the field.

Blah blah blah. I need some breakfast.

Speaking of sports where the TV cameras don't show up. I was bitching about my knee to my brother, who replied, "Quarterbacks pay for their glory!" He's a very funny man. He was referring to my "career" as quarterback of Cal Tech's freshman team in 1957, leading us to a glorious 0-4 record. I wouldn't change this experience for the world, especially not losing to Whittier College 85-0 in a mud bath. You can't buy experiences like that!