Random Thoughts for Today

Random Sunday Thoughts February 5, 2023

 

 

 

I left the Democratic Party during the Clinton administration. I was appalled by his callowness, his lying, and smiles as fake as a “genuine” Rolex sold in Shanghai back alleys. I cast votes for independents, or Democrats I find more trustworthy than Bonkin’ Bill or Hawkish Hillary. Almost all of them are either local or State (Massachusetts) candidates of sound policy and impeccable character: Jo Comerford, Jim McGovern, Lyndsay Sabadosa, Elizabeth Warren….

           

Why rehash “ancient” history? The Democratic National Committee has long been as braindead as Bill Clinton was amoral. A case in point is its decision to supplant New Hampshire as its first primary in favor of South Carolina. Are you freaking kidding me!? Can you say reality challenged? Why not change it to West Virginia or Utah, he asks sarcastically? A Democratic nominee for president has as much chance of winning South Carolina as that Shanghai Rolex has of fetching $10,000 on the open market. On the other hand, New Hampshire’s four electoral votes could be the difference between winning or losing an election in a divided land we ironically insist on calling the United States of America. So, what does the DNC do? It alienates the Granite State.

 

 

 

On a more pleasant note, I attended a Smith College basketball game last week, something I hadn’t done in decades. Smith is 19-1 and riding high (#5) in Division III women’s basketball polls.

 

Granted that Division III hoops can be as analogously ragged as, say, the lower levels of minor league baseball. Nonetheless, several things stood out that made me smile.

 

·      Coaches stress fundamentals. You’d have to watch NBA footage of the 1970s to see players pass the ball as often as women’s teams do. They cycle the ball in search of high-percentage shots or an open three. Am I alone in finding the modern NBA boring with constant three-point attempts, a shot with a less than 40% chance of success. Michael Jordan and Larry Bird shot percentage points under 50% for their careers; Magic Johnson retired at 52% and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nearly 56%. See my point!

·      I nearly fainted to witness traveling calls and three-second violations. In the NBA, you’d have to take the inbound pass and run the length of the court with the rock under an arm before traveling would be called. You might need to pitch a tent beneath the hoop and take out a Coleman lantern to get a three-second whistle.

·      Decorum: Smith thumped Wheaton by 36 points. It could have been worse had not Smith emptied its bench early and often. Yet, players on both sides conducted themselves with dignity and respect. Any elbow thrown was accidental and composure was kept. Who’s in favor of automatic ejections in college and professional ball for thuggery?

 

 

 

 

A big thank you to my friend Huck for reminding what a great poet Frank O’Hara was. He was just 40 when he died in 1966, but his was a rare talent. He often wrote in deceptively plain blank verse about seemingly mundane observations. There was no need to unpack cryptic terms and arcane allusions in order to find the poignancy lurking within.

 

 

 

The Grammy Awards are tonight. I loathe award telecasts and won’t be tuning in. But hear this: The cameras will be pointed at industry-created celebrities, but for pure talent Molly Tuttle would hold her own against anyone and then some. She’s pigeonholed as a bluegrass performer, but there aren’t many in any genre worthy of carrying her guitar case. Watch her put some Martins to the trial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvo-4x3y9aU&list=RDXvo-4x3y9aU&start_radio=1  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwuCG-UvgZo  (John Hartford is smiling from Heaven!)