chatter from the Library Monkey

a day off is good — for me

No rehearsal tonight, it is nice to rest. Will be interesting to see what the actors do with their time off. Not expecting much. There have been three weekends since the play began and I am pretty sure they did not look at their scripts during that time, so I don’t expect they did any more to make it better today. I am waiting for the arrogance to fall apart.

I am angry about the production for several reasons. I find that most all the kids at my school have a lack of respect. They don’t appreciate the privileges that are available to them. I guess that is part of being the entitlement generation.

I could say they don’t respect me, but that is a given. They don’t respect themselves because if they wanted any sense of quality, they would step up to the plate and eat steak. They don’t respect much. Most of my kids at my school have a theory that you have to earn their respect. I would almost accept that, if they could do that, but they can’t. Anyone who earns their respect can be turned aside in a day if they don’t get what ever they want.

I am going to miss having someone around tomorrow when this play flops on the stage like a spring trout. There is something about having a relationship with someone you care for who can just be there for you that helps out and I feel I am going to need some helping out.

The Tigers are playing horribly. Good start, but they have just fallen apart in the fifth and sixth innings. It’s a 7-4 Indian lead and there is a sense they already have control of the game. Tigers are really suffering in many areas. They have so many injuries. It’s no longer a situation where you can kind of hide an injury. Sheffield got tossed from the tame and that leaves one guy left on the bench. I am not sure if they called anyone u p from the minors, but it is a desperate situation heading into june.

Some of the problem is the Indians. They are playing well right now and apparently want to win way more than the Tigers.

About the only good thing about this game is — in spite of all the scoring from Cleveland — there has been a lot of runners left on base by the Indians.

Took a nap, first non-weekend nap in about a month. It was nice.

I need to get back on an exercise routine. Last weekend I did crunches, but I didn’t go for a walk. I have no plans for this weekend. I was thinking about seeing a theatre production in the little town near by and then maybe heading back to the hometown.

Gratitude (3)

What kills me is the English teacher and principal keep talking about how much we are learning, so we can be better next year. I have great respect for both of them, but this is not a production that needs to go on stage.

I don’t know who you are going to get to deal with these little brats.

after the bad rehearsal, I had everyone sit on the stage and I asked them to stand if they wanted to have another rehearsal tomorrow. The kids that were el stinko stayed seated on their fannies. I guess they don’t need to get any better. When the worse didn’t stand up, I said, “Okay, see you Friday.”

The Tigers lose 5-3. Robertson was so so and Tampa Bay’s pitcher had a bad first inning than a great game. Unfortunately the Indians are winning so the Tigers will drop back to 2.5 games behind Cleveland.

Gratitude (3)

She thinks you are mocking her

The softball team has three catchers. None of them can stay focused for more than three pitches. It’s not that our catchers are so bad, basically every player on our team is like that. I don’t know of very many who could tell me three things about the game at any one point. If I asked them how many outs there are, they might know, if I asked them what they should do if the ball comes to them, they would have to think about it and forget how many outs there are.

Consequently if the other team gets a runner on, I have to remind the team there is a chance they will steal. I try to do it in several different ways. Like I might tell the second baseman she is covering. Or I might tell the catcher that they have been stealing on the first pitch.

So the other team has a runner on first and third and the first base runner steals —- we have worked out a play where we fake a throw to second, then try to get the runner at third. It’s fairly effective. We have caught one runner at third and almost caught a couple others. In this situation a lot of things can happen.

When one these things happen, sometimes it will restart the situation, like if the batter fouls the ball or the runner doesn’t go, it is still first and third. So tonight I tell our catcher, lets do our special play. She looks at me and says: “What?” My assistant coach — girls dad — says: “I’ll tell her,” and he jumps up.

When he sits back down, he says: “she thinks you are mocking her when you yell the play to her.”

Now what makes this comment so bizarre to me is the fact that every time the ball rolls between her legs he sighs and then with a plaintive voice says: “We have to block those.” Or the girls will make the same mistake four the fourth time in a game and he gets more frustrated than I do.

Now in this situation he never gets to talk to her, because the umpire whispers to her what I said. The pitch comes, she fakes the throw and has the runner on third base hung up. Of course she throws the ball to third and the runner is almost home and scores. It was a play that should have worked magic, but we didn’t execute very well, no big deal, I am happy that it was close.

What should be said at that point is, “Sorry coach, but it was a good call.” And the time that we caught the runner on third, it should be simple: “Good call coach.”

What I don’t expect is: “he is mocking me.” I don’t expect after about 15 times a game the catchers don’t even notice the runner has stolen second on them for them to be surprised that I will mention we have a runner on first. One team they stole second on the first pitch for about 20 batters in a row and our catcher didn’t even flinch the 21st time it happened.

Without a doubt that is the annoying aspect of coaching the kids at my school. Not just the lack of respect, but lack of attachment to reality. I had a girl playing second base, so one of the other players who hasn’t played shortstop could. She says to me: “How come I never get to practice that position.” it wasn’t a question it was a clear compliant. The trouble with that comment — or even the mocking comment — is it is way too far from reality. At last practice, during batting practice, she was playing second. During all the practices I have told the girls to play attention, because if they ever play the position that I am explaining how to do it, they would need to know the positioning.

If anything, say: “I am sorry I wasn’t paying attention to you, even though you made a point of explaining it to me.”

I know I can be sarcastic and I can mock a little, but please… I don’t know what the assistant coach/dad thinks of my coaching. But I would hope he would think about how many times he has done exactly what I had done in the previous inning. Like I will tell the second baseman to play halfway between the first baseman and second base in the first inning and in the second, he will say the same thing.

Or a better example. Between innings — and after our second baseman ran over and covered second base before the pitcher had pitched the ball and the hitter hit the ball right where she was standing — I told her she needed to wait until the ball was past the batter. Three minutes later the other coach kneeled down in front of her and started to tell her the exact same thing. I told him I had already told her that — I should have just let him go over the exact same thing.

So many things he has said or done are exactly what I had said on a day when he wasn’t there. I tried to get him to coach next year, but he seems to think both his daughters will be playing varsity. Not seeing that happen and I am not seeing them not playing the bench if they do go to varsity. For one thing the girl who seems to think I mock her, has decided a bad batting stance is better than bad mechanics.

All of that said. I am a terrible coach. I don’t have the ability to shut girls down. We won today with eight players and I should have been playing the first half of the season with eight players

The Tigers have jumped to an early lead for Jeremy Bonderman. It is 5-1 in the fifth inning

Gratitude (3)

I can’t understand why anyone at my school does extracurricular

Top irony of the night h as to be from one of the kids that is both in the play and plays on the team. They were asking why tomorrow’s game was canceled and I said: “Because of dance practice.” The mocking girl rolls her eyes at me and says — what do you mean. “I mean…” and the girl from the play interrupts: “He means there is play practice.” I clarify and say, “No, we are canceling for dance practice, no the play.” Now what is funny is the girl who thinks it is for play practice doesn’t have her lines down and she is a couple days from performance. The other school really canceled because of some kind of dance practice.

My throat is raspy from yelling. We had two double plays and I would have to say 20 percent of the reason was my ability to say — “Throw to third base.”

Sheffield just smacked his second homerun of the game and it is now 10-1. We should be cruising now.

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The Trouble with Graditude

It just dawned on me that the more you are grateful, the more you can kind of ignore what is bad. There are so many base things wrong with my school — my life here. I am sitting at the computer looking out the sliding glass door. Looking at trees. Occasionally a bluejay or woodpecker will fly into a tree. I have seen deer and chipmunks out this window. It is ongoing beauty. I have not seen a single human out this window. I am sure a few have traipsed by, me for one, but I am never here to see that.

I am able to walk around naked if I choose and I tend to fall into a state of messiness. The latter being a bigger concern for the open visibility of a sliding glass door. Everyone has to be naked sometime, but no one has to be messy.

Generally I like people, if I don’t have to talk to them too much. I have had jobs where I spend the whole week interacting with people. I think because of this I am never at a loss to enjoy solitude when I am not at work. In fact when I am in a relationship I am very content to spend the weekend rolling on the floor in their arms; as much for the romance as to not be around any other souls.

There is the beautiful sounds of melodic birds, punctuated by woodpeckers. Every so often I see Benji or one of his family members hopping in the driveway or out another window.

Some of the most difficult aspect of this year is not having the relationship I had last year. Talking to someone every night that you care for, and who (I would hope) cares for me, is very comforting. We used to have arguments about me living here and her five hours away. My point was always that I never felt very far from her because of those nightly conversations. Needless to say, not talking to her at all has made those five miles much further away.

One of the things that is kind of interesting to me about travel books and travel in general is the discovery that there are a lot of similarities around the world. For instance, Bryson just mentioned that he stopped in a college town. This in Australia, I am not sure why it never occurred to me there would be college towns in other countries, but he had not.

So far the most troublesome aspect of the travels through Australia is not the many animals that can kill you or the dangers of the land itself, but the insolent teenagers. I want to write YA novels, but I would love to intersperse it with Adult novels about the insolence of youth.

I was thinking it looked like rain and now I hear a lawn mower, I guess the boy to mow the grass was thinking the same.

Late in the day and sucking up a Tigers I was going to do a couple things this weekend, but did not. No kayaking or even sewing a back screen for the stage. I guess some of it is hard to get motivated, since I keep homing for the lay to be canceled.

The have a slim lead and it isn’t a dominating game, but one they seem like they have a good chance of winning. Chad Durbin seems to be doing fairly well. But it seems to be more about Edwin Jackson for Tampa Bay.

Cleveland is losing to Boston, so the Tigs could game some ground. Just went to the Devil Rays site and it looks like the Tigers site Major League Baseball is screwing up baseball by trying to get too uniform look for baseball.

Gratitude (3)

I probably should have done more, just to burn my pessimistic mood. The local public radio used a picture I sent them on its web page. Irony of irony — the schools baseball team headed for their game — and eventual loss. I noted that the station added the loss and score to the information. I thought I might get some credit for sending the picture, but since they added the score, I am not so sure.

C-Mo just cranked a homer to make it 4-2. The Tigers relief staff is hurting, with all the injuries (pun not intended) and I forget that we just have amazing pitching compared to the other teams, who’s best is equaled to our problematic staff.

Ninth inning and the Tigers are winning 5-4. The Indians have a rally going in the eighth inning — but are still losing 4-2. We are soooo lucky to have Gary Sheffield. He just got a walk, stole second and on a error went to third. He didn’t score, but he makes things happen. It’s up to Todd Jones.Inning starts with a single and the Tigers’ Manager, Jim Leyland, runs out and talks to Jones. As a coach there are so many times I want to do things like that. An example would be in our last game where I let a girl who normally play outfield — play short stop. She had three balls hit to her and the first two times she tried to throw out the runner to third. It is a tough play and considering who we had playing third it was nearly impossible. So after the first two ‘mistakes’ I yelled out, kind of looking at her, lets get the runner at first. She did and after that the inning was down to the last out and I think we got a pop up.

O.… jeez a single, runners on first and second with no outs. Jones has done a great job for the Tigers, but not without a few of these moments.

CRAP 6-5 loss and the Tigers’ loss streak is now four. Ouch!!!!

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