WHERE'S THE BALLGAME?

[WAHOONBOX]

SINCE I HAVE 3/4's OF THE DAY OFF TODAY ....I DECIDED TO GET ON MY BIKE AND RIDE AROUND IN MY HOOD AND LOOK FOR THE LOCAL BACKYARD BASEBALL GAME....YOU KNOW THE TYPE....SECOND BASE IS A BIG PATCH OF THICK WEEDS....AND THIRD IS A BALD SPOT...

4 LAPS I WENT AROUND THE COMMUNITY AND NO GAME.....WHAT THE HELL? I'M SPEECHLESS AT THIS POINT! YOU MEAN KIDS DON'T PLAY BACKYARD BASEBALL ANYMORE? NO MARBLE GAME? GEEZUS H WE HAVE AN OUTSIDE BASKETBALL COURT HERE...AND AN INSIDE COURT...PING PONG ROOM IN THE CLUBHOUSE....TWO TENNIS COURTS AND A POOL AND AT 11:00 AM ...THIS CLOUDY JULY 10TH DAY....SATURDAY MORNING....NO KID NOR ADULT WAS IN SIGHT AT ANY OF THESE ATHLETIC PLACES.


WHEN I WAS TEN I WANTED TO WIN EVERY FRIGGIN' MARBLE BABYFACE JOHNNY ROSE HAD IN HIS MARBLE SACK.......CAT'S EYES, BUBBLE BEES, GOLLY WHOPPERS, STEELIES....I WANTED ALL THE MARBLES....BUT TODAY......TODAY NO MARBLE GAME WAS TO BE FOUND.....NO BASEBALL...NO DOUBLES....NO INSIDE THE YARD HOME RUNS.....NO BASKETBALL....NOT ONE KID ON A BIKE TO BE SEEN

I GUESS THE COMPUTER ASSAULT HAS FINALLY TAKEN OVER THE WORLD'S YOUTH....YOU CAN'T GO OUT TO EAT WITHOUT WATCHING EVERY CHILD WITH A CELL PHONE BANGING ON THE KEYPAD DURING DINNER.....YOU CAN'T DRIVE DOWN THE HIWAY WITHOUT NOTICING EVERY SOCCER MOM SENDING A TEXT WHILE DRIVING.....AMERICA IS INFECTED I TELL YA! I AM SO TIRED OF VOICE MAIL AND TEXTING THAT I COULD PUKE UP MY NEESE'S RIGHT NOW.

NOW BACK TOO MY MORNING BIKE RIDE....I THOUGHT THAT WHILE GIVING MY LEGS A GOOD WORKOUT I WOULD POSSIBLY FIND ONE OF THE LOCAL TEENAGERS OUT IN THEIR YARD AND I WOULD SEE IF THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN MAKING SOME EXTRA SUMMER CASH....I NEEDED SOME YARD WEEDING AND A FEW BALES OF PINE STRAW DISPLACED ACCORDINGLY...

WELL I FOUND ONLY ONE KID HANGING OUT ON MY RIDE SO I ASKED ANTHONY (14 YRS OLD) WOULD HE BE INTERESTED IN MAKING SOME GOOD COLD SUMMER CASH ....I TOLD HIM I PAY VERY WELL ALTHOUGH I NEVER MENTIONED A FIGURE. .....THE FIGURE I HAD IN MIND WAS 10 GREENBACKS AN HR CASH....

ANTHONY THEN STARED AT ME LIKE I WAS A LUNATIC MAD MAN AND THEN SAID " DEPENDS". ...."DEPENDS ON WHAT IT IS".............

A .378 HOLLOW POINT ....280 GR.....HORNADY JUST BLINDSIDED ME IN THE GUT.....DID HE JUST TELL ME IT DEPENDED ON WHAT KIND OF WORK I WAS OFFERING UP WHETHER HE WOULD TAKE THE JOB OR NOT??? ....IF THE JOB WAS TUFF I GUESS HE WOULD PASS...IF IT WAS EASY HE WOULD TAKE IT....I MEAN I WASN'T GOING TO HAVE HIM CLEAN UP MY HOG PENS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT....HELL NO. I WASN'T GOING TO ASK HIM TO SHOVEL HORSE SHIT FROM A 20,000 SQUARE FOOT HORSE STABLE.......

WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER....AND I HAD GIVEN THE ANSWER "DEPENDS" WHEN ASKED IF I WANTED TO MAKE SOME EXTRA SUMMER CASH......MY FATHER WOULD HAVE WHIPPED MY ASS WITH HIS ALLIGATOR SKIN BELT UNTIL THE LEATHER HIDE TURNED SMOOTH.

DEPENDS? DEPENDS ON WHAT? YOU MEAN A 15 YR OLD KID HAS THAT MUCH PAST JOB EXPERIENCE THAT HE CAN SCRUTINIZE SUCH EMPLOYMENT OFFERS?


I JUST WALKED AWAY FROM HIM WITHOUT FURTHER COMMENT.....HE STARTED HOLLERING BACK TO ME AS I PEDDLED OFF IN AMAZEMENT... "DOING WHAT MR. HIATT"...."DOING WHAT?" he screamed.


I NEVER LOOKED BACK.....I COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE.....I PEDDLED HARD .....I WANTED AWAY FROM THIS KID AS FAST AS I COULD GO....THE INFECTION IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS....I DANG SURE DIDN'T WANT IT.




WAHOONBOX....WELCOME TO MY WORLD

[Foul Hook'd]

Your right Box, kids aren't what they use to be, $10 a hour when I was a kid would have got you shoveled $hit or a cleaned out ditch or weeded garden. Computors and games have sent kids now days in the tank if in ain't sitting on the couch with a PS2 controller in their hands your $hit outta luck and parents wonder why kids grow up to be worthless?

Foul Hook'd

[bigfish4me]

I hear you box.....on wednesday the 14th I will be 35 years young....my first job was when i was 12 years old working for my uncle who owns his own plumbing business. The first day on the job was to crawl up into a storm sewer that was silted up with a small shovel and a bucket....I got paid $5 an hour....that turned into the entire summer working monday through friday.....then again the next summer, 12 years old making $200 a week, a glorified gopher....go fer this and go fer that lol....but it instilled a work ethic that I carry on to this day. A month before my 16th birthday I bought my first car with my own cash....$2000 for a 1984 ford mustang....not many kids going to do that these days.....its amazing how kids have changed from just 23 years ago.

[SeaBiscuit]

Changes come with each successive generation. Some good some bad. I imagine that the WWII parent generation has a lot of similar "issues" with the pampered baby boomers. According to those getting older, the young never had it better. I am not so sure about all that. Marbles, backyard games well into the summer evenings, a ripe fruit straight from the tree and "yes sir, no sir" was awful good.
Time will tell Reverent Box. Time will tell.
SeaBiscuit

[Glenn W]

I think you're at least 15 or 20 years late bro--- I bet it's been a good 15 years since I've seen a real sand lot tackle football or baseball game. I ain't for sure, but there must be a Federal law prohibiting kids from mowing grass--- can't remember last time I saw such a thing.

Here's an oldie for ya--- remember when any mother in the neighborhood had the right (and duty) to flag down any kid she saw on the street to help unload groceries from her car-- no ands, ifs, buts about it?---- the nice ones would give you a popsicle on your way out of her house after toting her sacks of groceries.
Try doing this today and you may be arrested for kidnapping or some unfair labor practice.

[HOLWACHAGOT]

His parents probably just had a talk with him about getting in a vehicle with strangers...you probably scared the poor kid to death! Granted you probably shower more frequently than I do with fresh water... the way ya'll been catchin your certain to smell like death. Tell me the truth Reverend....was there blood drippin from tailgate? Aside from the certain evidence of carnage...you have to understand that now you are a man of the cloth, little boys are going to be scared!
Holwachagot

BTW...you still hiring?

[bigfish4me]

His parents probably just had a talk with him about getting in a vehicle with strangers...you probably scared the poor kid to death! Granted you probably shower more frequently than I do with fresh water... the way ya'll been catchin your certain to smell like death. Tell me the truth Reverend....was there blood drippin from tailgate? Aside from the certain evidence of carnage...you have to understand that now you are a man of the cloth, little boys are going to be scared!
Holwachagot

BTW...you still hiring?

Your killing me here......without a doubt one of the best senses of humor on sfc...you rock dude

[netman9]

Sure sign the weather has gone bad by the "WAHOONBOX THREADS". Got a good one going here.

Talked with a customer about his grandson and cutting grass in the gated/golf community he lives in. This kid being the only one in a 500 mile radius cutting grass for neighbors is raking it in. We're talking $'s per minute not hour and all I can say is good for him for the hustle.

As far as the games go in our neighborhood, we live in an area where the homes are located on large tracks of land and the games are a little different. 90* weather and the boys are in full riot gear for an all out "AIR SOFT WAR". Oh and then the fishing... didn't report that the boys gave their mom gas money to take them to a nearby dry stream bed in the 100* heat this week in search of a cold water trout. I was amazed! They caught, cleaned and delivered fresh trout to their swim coach Thursday, and Coach Daniel being a UVA student/swim team member was very pleased to have the fresh caught fish for dinner!

[merry marlin]

I know some boys that would drive from Mberg to Western MHC to do the job in exchange of a few good fishing or hunting stories from Rev. Box ....
MM

[Nauti Natured]

His parents probably just had a talk with him about getting in a vehicle with strangers...you probably scared the poor kid to death! Granted you probably shower more frequently than I do with fresh water... the way ya'll been catchin your certain to smell like death. Tell me the truth Reverend....was there blood drippin from tailgate? Aside from the certain evidence of carnage...you have to understand that now you are a man of the cloth, little boys are going to be scared!
Holwachagot

BTW...you still hiring?

Oh my God .... You just made me split my gut. You are one funny cat.