Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Ichiro Suzuki, Human Highlight Reel There are two players in baseball that I consider drop-everything players:  Ichiro and Barry Bonds.  These are the guys who, when they're up to bat, you stop eating, put down the newspaper, stop whatever you're doing to watch them. Ichiro, it's helpful to remember, is also a stunning defensive player.  And yesterday, he proved it yet again with a breathtaking catch where he literally climbed the wall.  And yes, I know "literally" is overused, but look, folks, he literally climbed up the wall, spun around with his foot on the wall, caught the ball, and fell back to earth.  Check out the video for yourself here (low-speed) or here (high-speed).  The Mariners lost yesterday, but who cares?  Little league kids across America will be imitating this catch for years to come.  7:19:46 AM     Speak up!  []

Weekend in Winthrop I was up in Winthrop this weekend for a conference.  It was truly a beautiful location.  Winthrop is located in the Methow Valley in north central Washington, on the other side of the Cascade Mountains.  I drove up Thursday afternoon from Seattle.  The first time I had ever gone to Winthrop, and naturally enough, I wasn't exactly sure of the best route.  I had three choices, and like any smart puppy, I chose the first one - Highway 2, over the renowned Cascade Loop. It took freaking FOREVER.  I didn't arrive until nearly 11 pm.  The Cascade Loop isn't actually a main highway - it's more of a state route that wanders through backwater towns like Sultan and Goldbar and Leavenworth (our peculiar little slice of Bavaria) and Cashmere (the birthplace of Aplets and Cotlets).   But the drive itself was magnificent.  I love driving through mountains, and I love the sudden change of landscape that comes with it.  Suddenly it changes from flat green land to foothills,  and then suddenly you're surrounded by giants.  Stevens Pass itself wasn't too bad - thankfully I got there before it got too dark.  (I'm not a big fan of night driving, especially on the sides of mountains.)  It did get a little slick, and there was rain, but I cranked up the Bruce Springsteen and made it across fine.  My favorite part of the drive was the last fifty miles.  I was puttering down back roads when suddenly I saw a sign.  "BE CAREFUL!  Methow Valley deer kill ___ drivers every year."  I didn't see the number,but it had three digits.  So I was spooked - I slowed down for forty and started beaming psychic signals to all the deer that they should watch out for the slow-moving Ford Escort.   I saw a couple of pairs of eyes and slowed down.  Then, just before my turnoff road, I saw a pack of five deer shambling along the side of the road.  They all looked at each other like drifter high school kids - "Whattaya want to do, Dave?  I dunno - what do you want to do?" - and then started wandering slowly across the road, brown fur illuminated by my headlights.  Not wanting to scare them, I stopped on the road until they crossed the road and then started walking on the white line of the side like obedient joggers, until they finally wandered off into the fields again.  The conference was for work.  Two hundred lawyers all in the same place, learning about entry wounds and closing argument techniques and such stuff.  It was fun - I enjoy the company of our members.  Defense attorneys are a lot like organizers in groups - they have the same loose esprit de corps and the same gallows sense of humor.   Things weren't as organized as they could have been, but I was able to repair most of the minor emergencies that happened.  I was definitely taking notes for next year's conference.  But it was the first time in years I've spent more than a night away from Mrs. B, and we both were pretty miserable.  Especially now, it was a hard time to be away.  Mrs. B's at 38 weeks now, and we may very well have a baby by Friday.  So I really didn't want to be gone, but she couldn't travel, and I had to go.  Some of the lawyers had their babies with them.  One woman brought her seven-month-old, a little smiley ball of happiness.  And one couple had their little eighteen-month boy, who had wild blonde curls like Gene Wilder.  I was working the registration table with two female college kids, and I was the one who kept going "Aw, look at the cute little baby!" And of course, my cell phone didn't get reception inside the building, so every time I wanted to call (four times a day), I had to go into the parking lot.   Every other staff person stayed through Saturday night (and who can blame them, for taking an extra night's stay  at a fancy resort), but since I wasn't needed, I took off and was home by 7:30.   Next year, our conference will be on the beach, and by then, Oliver will be nearly a year old.   It will be great to bring the family along to next year's shindig. 6:38:01 AM     Speak up!  []