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A Fair Weekend
Sep. 5th, 2006 02:13 amAs I thought, I didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted this weekend. I got my package mailed before the post office closed on Saturday, and I got most of my kitchen cleaned (and my I'm-too-lazy-to-look-up-the-recipe version of chicken with 40 cloves of garlic is simmering away in my crock pot), and I got laundry done. Could have been better, could have been worse.
While out running around Saturday afternoon I found myself making a quick browse through the bookshelves of a local thrift store, where I found a book titled The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg. I had never heard of Moe Berg before, but the back of the book informed me that he spoke a dozen languages, was a catcher in major league baseball in the 20s and 30s, and a spy for the OSS during WWII. Of course I had to buy it. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but after I got home I was flipping through the pages and found this paragraph:
An American missionary named Horace Wilson introduced baseball to Japan in 1872. Influential daimyo (feudal lords) decided that baseball was an American martial art and urged young Japanese boys to develop the American spirit by playing it. The spirit of kendo prevailed, though, with Japanese players attacking baseball like stoic gentlemen warriors, practicing year-round through driving rain and bitter cold, prizing the man who fielded ground balls until his hands bled and treating the umpires with exaggerated obeisance no matter how dreadful their decisions. The game quickly became very popular in Japan.
I can hardly wait to read the rest of it.
Sunday Genevieve, Pam and I got to the state fair, though not without a certain amount of drama. With one thing and another we had put off establishing when we were going and how we were going to get there until Saturday night, at which point a thrilling game of phone tag ensued. It was thrilling because last week Pam had moved into the house she and her SO had just bought, and she didn't have a phone yet. Eventually we got everything sorted out and Genevieve picked me up at my place at noon and we went to get Pam at her job and then we were off to the fair.( Read more... )
While out running around Saturday afternoon I found myself making a quick browse through the bookshelves of a local thrift store, where I found a book titled The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg. I had never heard of Moe Berg before, but the back of the book informed me that he spoke a dozen languages, was a catcher in major league baseball in the 20s and 30s, and a spy for the OSS during WWII. Of course I had to buy it. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but after I got home I was flipping through the pages and found this paragraph:
I can hardly wait to read the rest of it.
Sunday Genevieve, Pam and I got to the state fair, though not without a certain amount of drama. With one thing and another we had put off establishing when we were going and how we were going to get there until Saturday night, at which point a thrilling game of phone tag ensued. It was thrilling because last week Pam had moved into the house she and her SO had just bought, and she didn't have a phone yet. Eventually we got everything sorted out and Genevieve picked me up at my place at noon and we went to get Pam at her job and then we were off to the fair.( Read more... )
