Stolen Bases Only in Baseball

-

Photo Credit: online pic.

Thief! Thief! Call me anything else but not that word. It is understood that I will bring back your umbrella.  I don’t borrow it with the intention of not returning it. That is what stealing is, in a nutshell. The intention.

Not in America, and baseball in particular. They have something called ‘stealing bases.’ We couldn’t believe it when we first arrived in New York for college. Foreigners found it strange that ‘stealing’ was encouraged in sports. Isn’t burglary a crime? Mama never approved of stealing. That’s why she gave us a whup-your-behind when neighbors came to report that we stole peaches and guavas in their yards.

I don’t know how stealing bases started in baseball but I ended up enjoying the artistry (I’m sorry mama). I didn’t regard it as theft anymore. Speed is important obviously but other factors come into play. The potential ‘thief’ assesses the situation, like the government deciding how much to punish us for smoking. It’s called the ‘sin’ tax.

I digress. Where was I? Yes, the thief looks at the bases, the pitcher on the mound, his catcher and men on the field. Can he make it to the base he wants to steal, on time? Then he dashes off. The umpire does a scissor-like motion with his arms to show that the thief is ‘safe.' Is he called the umpire? Never mind. The thief is safe. He is good in math because there is a lot of mental calculation and supposition involved.

However, baseball brilliance or not, stealing is wrong, unless you are a millionaire with an army of tax consultants, to make it legit to the government. Ask Donald Trump. He tried to re-engineer the English language. He tried to steal Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, then turned around and said Biden stole his election.

I guess, there are no stolen bases in politics.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elections And Political Bullies

-
Image
Forget democracy.   It should be called political bullying. We are watching it in the prelude to the Canadian election on the 19 th of October, 2015.   Americans have also started their political bullying for the looming presidential election next year. So many trees wasted on books about democracy.   Some countries have big budgets for invading other countries ‘ to defend democracy’ but it is seldom practised in campaigning for elections.   Calling opponents names and printing flyers attacking each other is behaviour that will not be tolerated in kindergarten, but it is all legal, in campaigning.   It is irritating and such a let-down to the whole notion of democracy.   Grown-up men and women behaving like Grade One kids. It is also misleading because many voters believe it is real hatred.   Don’t let that fool you.   These politicians play golf together, attend the same dinner parties, eat and drink at the same social events, share jokes and cut deals in parliament.   They
Read more

Comfort Food As Regret Food

-
Image
Chicken curry. Comfort food is good for the soul, which usually bleeds in winter from icy roads, bad drivers that want to annihilate pedestrians, frozen fingers and toes that take a sabbatical.   What happened to my toes?   I thought I was wearing special socks for boots? We therefore have a right to comfort food which throws doctors’ orders out of the window and has no loyalty to calories.   No calculator on the table, thanks very much.   Piece of bread 5 calories, half a banana 10 calories, sugar-free cheesecake 2,000 calories.   Ah! Ah!  We only live once. Naw!   Comfort food is old school food with its compulsory second helping.   It involves licking fingers and giving a big sigh, about the good life, which is shelter, food, love and debt.   The problem is the zip.   The jeans remind you that comfort food can also be called you will regret food .   Home sweet home is even sweeter in winter after surviving blowing snow and bumper to bumper traffic. What is more welcoming th
Read more

Einstein Passengers

-
Image
Being a passenger is very stressful.   You must listen to the owner of the car, nod and grumble yes to everything he says because you don’t want to piss him off. Two things can happen if you disagree with the driver: he can lose concentration and you all end up in a mash-up accident or stop the car and ask you to get out.   That is the driver’s prerogative.   You must listen to me if you are a passenger in my car.   Let’s flip the script for a minute and sympathise with the driver if she has a passenger who is more intelligent than Albert Einstein. He talks non-stop.   It is all about himself, how right he is, how good he is, how stupid his boss is. Einstein is also a driving instructor.   “Careful.   Look at that guy.   Is he crazy or something? ” says Einstein. Einstein is the unofficial pilot.   He presses imaginary brakes in the passenger seat when the driver stops abruptly for a guy who is texting on his bicycle. A certain Einstein took it to another level.   S
Read more