A day in the park

You should have heard the crowd. The announcer began: "The temperature in Boston right now is... 31 degrees -- and 26 degrees with the windchill. In Fort Myers, it's 81!" A roar goes up as thousands of current and sometime New Englanders (Red Sox fans all) pump their fists into the air. They are so happy to be warm! So am I.

Everyone around us here at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers was from Boston -- or so it seemed. Most had lived there at one time or another in their life. It's a decidedly older crowd than Fenway, although there are certainly some children and people in their 20s, too. At around 6,000 people, it's also much more intimate even than Fenway, and it can be eerily silent during lulls in the play. Not when the Sox make a good play, however.

It was a good day for the Sox, starting with a 14-0 win over Northeastern University. The game ended after the 6th inning. I couldn't tell if that was out of some sense of mercy -- or whether that's what they always do when they play the college kids. Then this evening, we left at about 9 pm in the 5th inning with the Sox ahead of the Cincinnati Reds 13-1. Clay Buckholz pitched three scoreless innings in the beginning. Love that kid. It was fun seeing some of the new folks on the field. In the game against Northeastern, I was really impressed with Angel Chavez, who was picked up in January from the Dodgers organization where he has been playing AAA ball. He hit a gram slam in the first inning, and another homer in the 3rd. Made some great plays from 3rd base, too. Keep your eye on this guy.

What I really, really liked about today was that I didn't have to be anywhere else except right here. Even took a little nap during the first game at around 3 pm. You know, I really think people are supposed to take naps in the afternoon. The Mexicans have it right! Why have I always felt that little twinge of guilt when I start nodding off in the afternoon? Didn't feel it today. No to-do list. Nowhere I had to be. No one wondering if I was going to get the article or the pastoral visit or the sermon done.

I had started the morning off by rereading some passages in Abraham Joshua Heschel's Sabbath. He talks about the two dimensions of time and space, and the obsession we have in technological societies particularly with space, i.e. the material world. His premise is that by paying so much attention to space, we neglect the importance of time, and when we do not master time (as we seek to do with space), time masters us.

So true. Just listen to what people say when you ask how they are. "Busy." Please forgive me if you've ever given that answer when I've asked how you are, but it really is sad. Or the other one, in response to "how has your day been?" "Productive." A temporal question, a material response. Life cannot be all about doing and accomplishing things, surely. Where's the sense of delight in being itself? Lots to think about in the coming weeks and months of sabbath time.

There's gotta be more time for a day in the park once in a while. Maybe even a nap in the afternoon.