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Friday, August 11, 2017

The Writer's Life 8/11 - Handshake & a Hug

There was a magical moment in minor league baseball last night. Former Heisman Trophy winner and ex-NFL QB Tim Tebow is playing for the upper A affiliate Mets team. That's one step up from the lowest division. Although he is a phenomenal athlete, his chances of advancing to the major leagues are slim. He hadn't played baseball for more than eight years before his return to the game. Anyway, while he was standing in the on-deck circle, an autistic boy called out to him from the stands. Tebow shook the ecstatic kid's hand and gave him a hug. The kid's mom filmed it and the subsequent at-bat. Tebow hit a three-run homer, and the kid went bonkers. Kudos, sir. How I would love to see him make it to the bigs. It would be fun to see the haters go ballistic again.



And then there is the sad QB saga, that of Colin Kaepernick, who was on top of the football world only a few years when he led the 49ers to a narrow loss in the Super Bowl. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, he refused to stand for the national anthem before games this past season. It incited a strong backlash, and Kaepernick now finds himself on the outside looking in, his lucrative career on hold. This may surprise many, but I support his right to be wrong. to be a young fool. It should be protected as free speech. He has the right to earn a living, to pursue what is suited for his talents. Of course, I'm not a team owner who has to deal with the wraths of fans.

I haven't patronized Dunkin Donuts more than once or twice a year. I won't ever again unless the worker who refused to serve police officers is fired - or he apologizes. He has no right to deny service to anyone who has the means to pay for it. It is bigotry.

For the first three hours of today's session of the floating book shop, all sales were of books in Russian. My thanks to the sweet elderly woman who bought three and the gentleman who purchased one. Eddie, the super of the main building of our Atlantic Towers co-op complex, showed with a bag o'books as I was breaking down the display. That slowed me down enough for a young man to come along and purchase F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the late Marilyn French's War Against Women, and a large hardcover collection of classical literature. The donation contained five paperback novels of the ever popular Sidney Sheldon, as well as other best sellers. My thanks to the kind folks who made the endeavor worthwhile.
Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc
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