FFB THE SOUTHPAW, Donal Hamilton Haines

 (From the distant past)

Kent Morgan writes (or wrote) a sports column for a paper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but spends most of his time puzzling over what to do with all the books piled on his furniture and floor and stored in his garage. More bookcases are not the answer as he has no room for them.

The Southpaw - Donal Hamilton Haines

I came across a copy of this juvenile novel at a recent charity book sale and quickly grabbed it for my baseball fiction collection. I didn't remember much about the story, but knew I had owned and read it in my youth. First published by Rinehart in 1931, Comet Books started reprinting it in 1949 and that's the edition I found. The book includes illustrations by Harold Minton and several panels on the back cover along with brief text provided the potential reader with an idea about the storyline.

"All Hillton Academy hated baseball, and every other sport except for hazing freshmen. For games bored Greg Elliott, a senior who had the whole school under his thumb. Then Bob Griswold arrived, like a one-man revolution. Bob loved baseball and refused to be bossed. That got him into a knock-down fight with Butch, Elliott's bully. And into much worse trouble with Elliott himself. Finally this undercover battle for leadership blazed into a revolt that shook Hillton Academy to its foundation."

The Southpaw with a cover price of .35 was #16 in a series of 20 mystery, sports, career and adventure tales published by Comet. Among the titles are The Green Turtle Mystery by Ellery Queen Jr., The Spanish Cave by Geoffrey Household and Sue Barton, Student Nurse by Helen Dore Boylston. The series also includes two other baseball books, Batter Up by Jackson Scholz and Bat Boy of the Giants by Garth Garreau, that I also read in my youth. My copies could be hiding from me in boxes in my garage.

Short Story Wednesday, "Premium Harmony" Stephen King

 from THE NEW YORKER.

 A couple, who fight over meaningless things, (his smoking, her weight) stop at a roadside store to pick up a ball for her niece. The husband and their dog wait in the car. It's a very hot day and after too long of a wait for her small errand, a woman comes out to tell him his wife has collapsed. He goes inside and waits until EMS arrives and confirms her death. She is only 35. He returns to the car where the dog has also died from the heat. I am not sure I would identify this as a King story if not for the references to Castle Rock. It was written in 2009. 

George Kelley

Jerry House 

Todd Mason 

Monday, Monday

 

BLUE, SUN PALACE, showing at the Detroit Film Theater was very slow but interesting. A first film, set in Queens, Baltimore and somewhere in Asia.

I seem to be surrounded by Asian fare lately. Also rewatched IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, which is such a gorgeous film. And reading MINA'S MATCHBOXES by Yoko Ogawa who also wrote THE MEMORY POLICE and THE HOUSEKEEPER AND THE PROFESSOR. 

Enjoying BALLARD (Prime), MURDERBOT (Apple). Not sure about the Lena Dunham show (Netflix), which has a hard-to-remember title Also liked PERNILLE (Netflix)

My hearing problem turned out to be wax, which Urgent Care removed,somewhat painfully. I can certainly hear much better. 

Weather been hot. I hate when I am tired of summer by mid-July because winter is so dreadful.

How about you?  

FFB: THE GREAT SANTINI, Pat Conroy

 

 

 

 You've probably seen the movie with Robert Duvall, but the book is terrific too. Conroy is a great writer and I've read most of his books THE PRINCE OF TIDES may be my favorite but this has the most memorable character in his work. This is a semi-autobiographical story of an ex-marine who runs his family like it's boot camp.Especially affected is Ben who fears, hates, and is anxious to feel his father's love and respect. "THE GREAT SANTINI HAS SPOKEN" is Bull's catch phrase and I can still picture Robert Duvall shouting that.  

Short Story Wednesday: "Something is Out There" Richard Bausch

 

Originally in MURDERLAND, this ended up the title story in his collection. 

A family returns home from the hospital where the father is spending some time after falling off the roof after being shot. They are having a rare snowstorm, and the boys begin to shovel the driveway and walk. The women try to piece together what has happened. The man who shot the father has been captured and was a former business partner. They are also waiting for the return of another family member away at college. They are worried about him out on the icy roads.

The dread in this story is palpable: the storm, the fate of the college student, knocks on the door, is the father involved in some crime? And then the power goes out. 

Bausch takes his time to make you feel what they are feeling. In fact, when a knock came at my own door (something very rare nowadays) I almost fell out of the chair. (It was the mailman). 

Bausch understands that the threat of violence can be more frightening than actual violence. He gives you enough information to understand, sort of, what might be going on. The story ends with the woman, standing at an upstairs window, with a loaded gun. The kids wait downstairs baseball bats and knives at the ready. The other woman waits too.

 Superb. There are probably pdf's online if you care to read it

George Kelley 

Jerry House 

TracyK 

Steve Lewis 

Kevin Tipple 

Todd Mason 

Monday, Monday

Going out tonight (Sunday) to celebrate Kevin's passing the IB (International Baccalaureate)  exams. These are the equivalent in his school of AP exams.  Yay, Kevin!

Enjoyed FILM GEEK (Max) which so encapsulates the years when my kids were growing up in terms of movies.  Finished THE BEAR, which never quite recaptured the magic of the first two years but still is better than most anything else right now.  POKER FACE is fine but they are too wedded to their concept. Much like COLUMBO, I guess. 

Very much enjoying THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE-which is a fantasy-romance novel. Or maybe add historical fiction too. Beautiful writing. 

Went down to Michigan Central (Detroit's one-time train station) again-this time on a tour. Ford has made a gorgeous building out of what was a complete wreck a few years ago. Now they charge $20 a head for the tour so they will probably come out ahead over time because they have many tours every day.  Unlike Grand Central, Union Station and Penn Station no trains will ever come through it again. There are trains that head to Chicago but not via this route. 

Heard a rumor that both Detroit newpapers are soon going to online only. Yikes! 

How about you?