I don't often point out specific posts written by people in my Other Places list; that I've featured them there should be sufficient. In particular, I don't write about Joe Posnanski's blog, which is wonderful but mainly focused on sports (I love sports, almost any of them, but there are a lot of sports blogs out there), not surprising since he is a sportswriter for the Kansas City Star.
Joe, if I may call him that, started blogging as promotion for his remarkable book about Buck O'Neil, The Soul of Baseball. Quite honestly, even if you care nothing about baseball, this book is worth your time. If you want to get a taste of what's there, Joe posted an excerpt from his book on his blog - great story.
Another Joe post, only peripherally related to sports, relates three of his biggest mistakes, and they are quite funny (I know, my saying that is the kiss of death, read them anyway).
In the intro, Joe relates the time his bicycle was stolen, and how he felt better when he found out his friend's bike had been stolen the same day. In retrospect, he knew he should have felt worse, but "I think I felt a little less alone."
My story: My family moved to Michigan in the summer between 5th and 6th grade. I wasn't real happy about that, and the first day of school was tough for me. I remember the room was quite hot, I didn't know anyone, and time was just dragging - I couldn't have been more miserable.
Then, about an hour into the school day (seemed like a month), the door opened and the school secretary brought in a girl who had obviously been crying. On top of that, she was wearing a brown dotted dress with bells on the straps. That's right, little ringing bells, one on each strap.
And I instantly felt better. Someone else was new to the school, and whatever attention I might have drawn by being the new kid (almost certainly overstated in my mind) was taken away by the crying bell new girl.
Of course, within a couple of weeks Kathy was established as one of the generally popular kids, while I was more of a niche player, but for a few moments at least, I was not the most obviously out of place, and I felt immeasurably pleased. And, I, too, regret now (somewhat) that I took that pleasure in someone else's discomfort.
Joe, if I may call him that, started blogging as promotion for his remarkable book about Buck O'Neil, The Soul of Baseball. Quite honestly, even if you care nothing about baseball, this book is worth your time. If you want to get a taste of what's there, Joe posted an excerpt from his book on his blog - great story.
Another Joe post, only peripherally related to sports, relates three of his biggest mistakes, and they are quite funny (I know, my saying that is the kiss of death, read them anyway).
In the intro, Joe relates the time his bicycle was stolen, and how he felt better when he found out his friend's bike had been stolen the same day. In retrospect, he knew he should have felt worse, but "I think I felt a little less alone."
My story: My family moved to Michigan in the summer between 5th and 6th grade. I wasn't real happy about that, and the first day of school was tough for me. I remember the room was quite hot, I didn't know anyone, and time was just dragging - I couldn't have been more miserable.
Then, about an hour into the school day (seemed like a month), the door opened and the school secretary brought in a girl who had obviously been crying. On top of that, she was wearing a brown dotted dress with bells on the straps. That's right, little ringing bells, one on each strap.
And I instantly felt better. Someone else was new to the school, and whatever attention I might have drawn by being the new kid (almost certainly overstated in my mind) was taken away by the crying bell new girl.
Of course, within a couple of weeks Kathy was established as one of the generally popular kids, while I was more of a niche player, but for a few moments at least, I was not the most obviously out of place, and I felt immeasurably pleased. And, I, too, regret now (somewhat) that I took that pleasure in someone else's discomfort.
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