Walt Whitman once said, “I see great things in baseball. It’s our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us.” You could look it up.
The World Series is over for another year. After 9-11 the country needed baseball more than ever. Boston needed it this year, and so did I while worrying about the loss of the America where I grew up. The boys of summer are playing their last few innings of the season as I write this. I think of the movie Bull Durham (1988) and can hear Susan Sarandon saying in a North Carolina drawl the Walt Whitman quote. I have never forgotten the scene with a fireplace mantel turned into an altar. Remember?
PULLBACK REVEALS:
A WALL COVERED WITH BASEBALL PICTURES covered with objects and lit candles. A baseball, an old baseball card, a broken bat, a rosin bag, a jar of pine tar — also a peacock feather, a silk shawl, a picture of Isadora Duncan. Clearly, the arrangement is a shrine and glows with the candles.
ANNIE (V.O.)
I believe in the Church of Baseball. I’ve tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones — I’ve worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan…
STEPHENY (V.O.)
I believe baseball does repair our losses and has been a blessing to us. Watching the Series this year makes me feel better.
You continue to delight me in your brief, but deep posts. You always invite me to see beyond the obvious.