Bong Bong

      More Letters From Paradise
             Bong Bong

Ah Spring! The daffodils and tulips are up.  Cold winter is left behind. And the thoughts of many people turn to America's favorite sport-baseball!

Fans clutching tickets in hand, climb stairs and look for their seats. And the smells of hotdogs and peanuts fill the air. Over-priced cups of beer are offered for sale.

And out on the field balls are whipped around the infield, and the pitcher and catcher are tossing the ball back and forth. Then it is time to stand for our nation's National Anthem. The crowd gets settled into their seats and eagerly await the first pitch.

The pitcher winds up, the ball tries to miss the swinging bat, but it strikes the bat with a mighty bong, and then sails out into center field. Hey wait a minute, what's this? Bong! instead of the sharp crack of the bat as it strikes the ball.

Just whose bright idea was this? Aluminum lobby in Congress? Lawyers certainly. "Lady your kid will be much safer with this bat.""Your athletic department will not have to replace bats as often." Probably insurance companies too. "There won't be any more broken bats."

Do you remember when you were a kid at bat,  and you always turned the burned-in trademark up? Or even on the back. But never on the trademark for fear that the bat might break. It would't have, but that's what we thought.

Anyway, you can't turn back the clock. My grandfather turned an ash bat on his lathe for me, and it lasted forever. Thank heavens that the major leagues never went the way of the metal bat. I always look forward to the crack of the bat, never bong.

       Aloha
       Grant