1 Oh, A’s…
2 <sigh>
3 We were supposed to be a tandem.
4 I couldn’t watch most of the game last night because I was listening to outrageously gorgeous music in our theate.
5 I was doing lights and sound in the booth, but broke the “turn off your cell” rule, and quite boldly, if I may. I had to keep up on the A’s.
6 Right after intermission, our maestro Steve Barnhill made a reference to the Giants, saying he wanted to thank them for finishing business early so that parents could come and enjoy the music.
7 He then said, “I don’t know how the A’s are doing, but by the time this is over, it’ll probably be the third inning. So enjoy!”
8 Words to that effect.
9 I had just looked at my iPhone. It was the top of the sixth, and the A’s were losing 2-0 and had one hit.
10 Discretion being the better part of valor, I decided not to yell the score out to what was perhaps the best audience I have ever experienced.
11 My phone stopped reporting at that point, but the worst seventh inning in the history of baseball had already begun.
12 By the time the concert was over, Detroit had scored two more runs. I broke the booth down swiftly and walked briskly to my car. The second I turned on the radio, a fifth run had come in in the seventh.
13 And then a sixth.
14 I thought to myself, “We got the bastids right where we want them!” And I BELIEVED, because that’s the A’s, right?
15 I thought of the cream pies and champagne. I believed that much. The heart of the order was coming up, but had completely choked by the time I gotten home.
16 <sigh>
17 So I watched.
18 I watched the agonizing ending, the celebration, and the heart of the A’s, their fans, cheering loudly to the last pitch, and then remaining with a standing ovation, which I thought was total class.
19 The Tigers’ on-field celebration was irrelevant to the fans. They stood up and kept cheering for one of the most amazing teams I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
20 I stood up too.
21 Pure class.
22 Bittersweet day.
23 It was almost as if the Giants and the A’s were a part of the same team, Team Bay Area.
24 So to all my A’s peeps, and on behalf of your Giants’ buddies, thanks for an absolutely miraculous season. It was a heartbreaker, but in the end, you were beaten by some freak pitcher who SOMEHOW was able to pitch 98 to 100 mph pitches on little rest.
25 I will say no more on that one, because THAT has happened so often in the history of baseball.
26
27 Moving on, Part the First: On the other side of the Bay, the story is incredible.
28 I had to teach, but was savvy enough to have a transistor (yes, I said that!) radio in my class. I also had a madman Giants’ fan teacher who somehow had gotten the game on his iPhone, and was making rounds keeping all of us on top of what was happening.
29 Hey, dude was born and raised in San Bruno. We are brethren, even though he is a hundred years younger than am I.
30 Am I.
31 Like that? Grammar boy over here. That’s why I headlined yesterday “Bochy Let’s Timmeh Smoke!!!”
32 Ummmmm…hey Mr. Grammar Man Sir, isn’t it supposed to be, “Lets?”
33 Moving on, Part the Second: AnywayZ…
34 I was doing a Socratic Seminar in which I played music while my class seminared.
35 For the purposes of opening the doors to wisdom, I played music from ancient Messofpotatoes. You know, Sumerian music. I wanted good vibes on 10/11/12. The particles were lined up.
36 Plus I could pretend I was organizing papers while listening to the game.
37 It was brilliant. I had Mesopotamian music blasting; my students were completely on task, and the stars were lined up.
38 I kept turning the radio on and off so as to fend off suspicion that I was goofing off on the job.
39 I turned it off, mixed up their task so that they had a second task, and then resumed my ruse.
40 Buster Pose came up to bat, with Sumerian music, and everything in the stars lined up.
41 The second I turned on the radio, I heard the call. Upper deck grand slam. I left my room, ran across the hall, opened the door, and shouted to my friend, “Posey just hit a grand slam!!!” She is the wife of the guy from San Bruno, and she was dressed totally in orange and black. She screamed, we high-fived, and I just said, “Yeah!”
42 The bastids had us right where they wanted.
43 My next class was frisky freshmen, all ears and braces. They came in and asked if I was listening to the ball game. I told them yes, and when they heard about Posey’s grand slam, screamed and hollered.
44 That class has WAY more issues than the previous class, which had scholars and Disney fans in it.
45 I was able to do the Socratic Seminar, play the music, AND pay attention to the Giants, so it all worked.
46 I had lunch, and then a prep period right after that class, so I took off. Perfect. It was suddenly six to three, so I bee-lined to Round Table for a buffet, and a ball game.
47 When I walked in, the manager was completely overworked, because every Giants’ fan in the village was in there, all staring at a giant screen teevee. I instantly joined them.
48 I got to watch Affeldt’s bizarre hit-by-foul, Crawford’s incredible catch, and Pagan’s miracle catch, at which I said politely to the pizza crowd, “Angel’s in the outfield!”
49 Of course, the game wasn’t going to end easily. When Romo went into his “four-out save” (Merc News headline) I was in the parking lot at school awaiting my next class. The clock ticked, and time stood still.
50 When Romo struck out Scott Rolen, I broke into an exhausting, wrenching smile.
51 Class started in two minutes, so I walked calmly, but suddenly heard an explosive scream, almost as though a thousand people had suddenly broken out of prison.
52 At first I thought it was our football team or something.
53 Our school isn’t famous for having a lot of Giants’ fans, but it occurred to me that I had heard it two minutes earlier, but when the bell rang for students to go to their last class, they were able to look at their cell phones, and saw the score.
54 On my way to class, my buddy from San Bruno was walking towards me. We didn’t say a word, but did one of the most dramatic high-fives in baseball history. He almost broke my hand, and I his.
55 And THAT is how it all went down at work. I wasn’t at work. I was in heaven. Instant delirium.
56 AND I had the A’s to look forward to.
57 <sigh>
58 So A’s fans, I’m totally with you. We are there by some sort of cray-cray luck, and some great play and timely hitting. Our hitting could have died just as well, and in fact, it did.
59 Of Romo, here is a bit by Alex Pavlovic of the Merc:
A third straight road victory that transformed the Giants’ season from improbable to historic also left closer Sergio Romo drenched, exhausted and emotional.
60 I think that can be said of all of us. Great lead, and great game.
61 So we move on, and the A’s go home.
62 My feeling is this: The A’s and their fans deserve a lot more. But nobody will ever take this incredible season away from them, and they will definitely be back.
63 Meanwhile, the Giants have a saloon to run.
64 So do I.
65 Let’s go Giants.
66 See you again.
67 Have a GREAT weekend.
68 Peace.
~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News1 Oh, A’s…2 <sigh>3 We were supposed to be a tandem.4 I couldn’t watch most of the game last night because I was listening to outrageously gorgeous music in our theate.5 I was doing lights and sound in the booth, but broke the “turn off your cell” rule, and quite boldly, if I may. I had to keep up on the A’s.6 Right after intermission, our maestro Steve Barnhill made a reference to the Giants, saying he wanted to thank them for finishing business early so that parents could come and enjoy the music.7 He then said, “I don’t know how the A’s are doing, but by the time this is over, it’ll probably be the third inning. So enjoy!”8 Words to that effect.9 I had just looked at my iPhone. It was the top of the sixth, and the A’s were losing 2-0 and had one hit.10 Discretion being the better part of valor, I decided not to yell the score out to what was perhaps the best audience I have ever experienced.11 My phone stopped reporting at that point, but the worst seventh inning in the history of baseball had already begun.12 By the time the concert was over, Detroit had scored two more runs. I broke the booth down swiftly and walked briskly to my car. The second I turned on the radio, a fifth run had come in in the seventh.13 And then a sixth.14 I thought to myself, “We got the bastids right where we want them!” And I BELIEVED, because that’s the A’s, right?15 I thought of the cream pies and champagne. I believed that much. The heart of the order was coming up, but had completely choked by the time I gotten home.16 <sigh>17 So I watched.18 I watched the agonizing ending, the celebration, and the heart of the A’s, their fans, cheering loudly to the last pitch, and then remaining with a standing ovation, which I thought was total class.19 The Tigers’ on-field celebration was irrelevant to the fans. They stood up and kept cheering for one of the most amazing teams I have ever had the pleasure of watching.20 I stood up too.21 Pure class.22 Bittersweet day.23 It was almost as if the Giants and the A’s were a part of the same team, Team Bay Area.24 So to all my A’s peeps, and on behalf of your Giants’ buddies, thanks for an absolutely miraculous season. It was a heartbreaker, but in the end, you were beaten by some freak pitcher who SOMEHOW was able to pitch 98 to 100 mph pitches on little rest.25 I will say no more on that one, because THAT has happened so often in the history of baseball.26
27 Moving on, Part the First: On the other side of the Bay, the story is incredible.28 I had to teach, but was savvy enough to have a transistor (yes, I said that!) radio in my class. I also had a madman Giants’ fan teacher who somehow had gotten the game on his iPhone, and was making rounds keeping all of us on top of what was happening.29 Hey, dude was born and raised in San Bruno. We are brethren, even though he is a hundred years younger than am I.30 Am I.31 Like that? Grammar boy over here. That’s why I headlined yesterday “Bochy Let’s Timmeh Smoke!!!”32 Ummmmm…hey Mr. Grammar Man Sir, isn’t it supposed to be, “Lets?”33 Moving on, Part the Second: AnywayZ…34 I was doing a Socratic Seminar in which I played music while my class seminared.35 For the purposes of opening the doors to wisdom, I played music from ancient Messofpotatoes. You know, Sumerian music. I wanted good vibes on 10/11/12. The particles were lined up.36 Plus I could pretend I was organizing papers while listening to the game.37 It was brilliant. I had Mesopotamian music blasting; my students were completely on task, and the stars were lined up.38 I kept turning the radio on and off so as to fend off suspicion that I was goofing off on the job.39 I turned it off, mixed up their task so that they had a second task, and then resumed my ruse.40 Buster Pose came up to bat, with Sumerian music, and everything in the stars lined up.41 The second I turned on the radio, I heard the call. Upper deck grand slam. I left my room, ran across the hall, opened the door, and shouted to my friend, “Posey just hit a grand slam!!!” She is the wife of the guy from San Bruno, and she was dressed totally in orange and black. She screamed, we high-fived, and I just said, “Yeah!”42 The bastids had us right where they wanted.43 My next class was frisky freshmen, all ears and braces. They came in and asked if I was listening to the ball game. I told them yes, and when they heard about Posey’s grand slam, screamed and hollered.44 That class has WAY more issues than the previous class, which had scholars and Disney fans in it.45 I was able to do the Socratic Seminar, play the music, AND pay attention to the Giants, so it all worked.46 I had lunch, and then a prep period right after that class, so I took off. Perfect. It was suddenly six to three, so I bee-lined to Round Table for a buffet, and a ball game.47 When I walked in, the manager was completely overworked, because every Giants’ fan in the village was in there, all staring at a giant screen teevee. I instantly joined them.48 I got to watch Affeldt’s bizarre hit-by-foul, Crawford’s incredible catch, and Pagan’s miracle catch, at which I said politely to the pizza crowd, “Angel’s in the outfield!”49 Of course, the game wasn’t going to end easily. When Romo went into his “four-out save” (Merc News headline) I was in the parking lot at school awaiting my next class. The clock ticked, and time stood still.50 When Romo struck out Scott Rolen, I broke into an exhausting, wrenching smile.51 Class started in two minutes, so I walked calmly, but suddenly heard an explosive scream, almost as though a thousand people had suddenly broken out of prison.52 At first I thought it was our football team or something.53 Our school isn’t famous for having a lot of Giants’ fans, but it occurred to me that I had heard it two minutes earlier, but when the bell rang for students to go to their last class, they were able to look at their cell phones, and saw the score.54 On my way to class, my buddy from San Bruno was walking towards me. We didn’t say a word, but did one of the most dramatic high-fives in baseball history. He almost broke my hand, and I his.55 And THAT is how it all went down at work. I wasn’t at work. I was in heaven. Instant delirium.56 AND I had the A’s to look forward to.57 <sigh>58 So A’s fans, I’m totally with you. We are there by some sort of cray-cray luck, and some great play and timely hitting. Our hitting could have died just as well, and in fact, it did.59 Of Romo, here is a bit by Alex Pavlovic of the Merc:A third straight road victory that transformed the Giants’ season from improbable to historic also left closer Sergio Romo drenched, exhausted and emotional.60 I think that can be said of all of us. Great lead, and great game.61 So we move on, and the A’s go home.62 My feeling is this: The A’s and their fans deserve a lot more. But nobody will ever take this incredible season away from them, and they will definitely be back.63 Meanwhile, the Giants have a saloon to run.64 So do I.65 Let’s go Giants.66 See you again.67 Have a GREAT weekend.68 Peace.~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
