The Sporting Life

1.   Three of us at St. Boniface Church, Sarasota FL (Andrea Taylor, Assistant Rector; Barbara Roth-Donaldson, Assistant Organist; and I) are fans of the Boston Red Sox.

(Andrea [Andi] served parishes in Belmont and Lexington, MA; Barbara was the organist at Trinity Episcopal Church in Newton, MA; and I served at St. James’s in Cambridge).


I will never understand the algorithms of what Americans call “Major League Baseball -  except that each year the champions of the American League play the champions of the National League in what is modestly called ‘The World Series”.

(How the teams get to be ‘champions’ involves all manner of weird and wonderful exercises in the voodoo which is called “wild card”).

Anyway, last night our beloved Boston Red Sox “blew it”: meaning that they are out of contention for anything worthwhile in the 2011 baseball season.

So Andi, Barbara, and I had a sob feast this morning at Church, even though I have attended only one Red Sox game, and I have no understanding of the mysteries of baseball.  It was my professional duty to mourn alongside Andi and Barbara.

And the truth is that Red Sox fans are never happier than when they are given cause to moan about the failures of their team.


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2.    Aldo Bari is the maintenance man for the folks at Glen Oaks Manor (the somewhat snooty community which adjoins my community:  Glen Oaks Ridge).

Aldo is in his mid twenties.  He is a student of architecture who does handyman work to pay his college bills.

He’s done some work for me. I’d rate him as a craftsman more than as a handyman.

Aldo is from Argentina. He will become an American citizen in early October.

He hailed me the other morning as I walked with Penne.  He asked “do you like Rugby?” I responded truthfully.

 “Aldo”, I said, “I am not very interested in any sports”.

Aldo said “England just beat Argentina in a Rugby match”.

I responded: “in that case I am a great fan of Rugby”.

Laughter all round.



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