Before I begin this entry of my Book Tour Diary, I’d like to make a small request. If you have read and enjoyed Baseball: The Movie, would you consider writing a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Goodreads? If you’re feeling frisky, you could even copy and paste one review into all three sites! These reviews and ratings really make a difference in getting the algorithm to notice my book. Every little bit counts. Thank you!
And then wiffle ball! My brother and I played so many games in our backyard (we lived just across the Goethals from the city, hour after hour (used a lawn chair as ‘home plate’ for balls and strikes, other things in the small yard - trees, fence, bushes - as base hit markers) - does anyone play wiffle ball these days?
I have no idea! My hunch is that the kids today don't do anything that we did, but that might just be the middle-aged cynicism talking. Needless to say, those summer days playing wiffle ball were some of the best I ever spent.
Wiffle ball consumed many hours, but stick ball at the nearby school playground probably consumed just as many - could be one on one (or maybe two on two) w/tennis ball and a broomstick (or bat), a square painted on the wall was the strike zone, playground space marked off by natural objects (trees, dirt v grass, etc) for hits/outs….
Perfect game for small spaces/backyards - no matter how hard you hit the damn ball if will never go far + you can pitch close to where the batter stands because no matter how hard you throw it will never go very fast!
This is what a book tour is for! Congratulations on that too. You care discovering, gathering and invigorating an invisible community--and you are enjoying it thoroughly in the process. Authors often just "crank out" the work of a book tour, and you are relishing it.
A wonderful essay, Noah
The big screen… so many memories
And then wiffle ball! My brother and I played so many games in our backyard (we lived just across the Goethals from the city, hour after hour (used a lawn chair as ‘home plate’ for balls and strikes, other things in the small yard - trees, fence, bushes - as base hit markers) - does anyone play wiffle ball these days?
I have no idea! My hunch is that the kids today don't do anything that we did, but that might just be the middle-aged cynicism talking. Needless to say, those summer days playing wiffle ball were some of the best I ever spent.
Wiffle ball consumed many hours, but stick ball at the nearby school playground probably consumed just as many - could be one on one (or maybe two on two) w/tennis ball and a broomstick (or bat), a square painted on the wall was the strike zone, playground space marked off by natural objects (trees, dirt v grass, etc) for hits/outs….
Perfect game for small spaces/backyards - no matter how hard you hit the damn ball if will never go far + you can pitch close to where the batter stands because no matter how hard you throw it will never go very fast!
Wait.... maybe I don't like Almost Famous that much. I quote it a lot, but haven't watched it in at least 15 years.
This is what a book tour is for! Congratulations on that too. You care discovering, gathering and invigorating an invisible community--and you are enjoying it thoroughly in the process. Authors often just "crank out" the work of a book tour, and you are relishing it.