Summer Haiku

Delicious taffy 

Corner of the worn boardwalk

Smooth chewy goodness. 

Fun summer pastime 

Crack of bat at plate and cheers 

Baseball up and out. 

Baked feet blistering

Bubbling shimmer on black top

Where are my flip flops?

For more haiku, free verse, limericks, samples of my funny bone, and both joyous and sad memories of family, see my collection of poetry, No Boundaries.

Would you like to add your own summer haiku below?

Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks – They’ve got the bases covered for fun

Article by John Steiner

Fargo, ND

When someone mentions Fargo, it’s been my experience that they reference either the extremely cold winter climate or the Coen Brothers movie of the same name. Some people might find it hard to believe, but the residents of Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, her “twin” city just across the Red River in Minnesota, have a real life outside of these two stereotypical references. Though many of us North Dakotans enjoy winter and winter activities, very few of us use a wood chipper to grind up our neighbor.

In the region centered on Fargo, much of the emphasis on sports revolves around three schools; North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University at Moorhead and Concordia College. However, in 1996, a new professional baseball team based in Fargo-Moorhead joined the Northern League. Teams in this league are not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) and serve markets that are not served by the MLB or their minor league affiliates.

Newman Outdoor Field is the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawk’s home turf. The team’s winning ways have drawn the crowds and the family friendly entertainment keeps the youngsters entertained. I will admit to not paying attention to the team in their early years. At some point, a chance invitation to attend a game taught me that there’s a lot more going on than just waiting for the 20-minutes of action that’s crammed into three-plus hours of a typical baseball game.

 

Between innings during pitcher warm-ups, games are played on the field that ultimately wins a prize for someone, and occasionally prizes (mostly discount coupons) for entire sections.

The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks finished that first season with a league-best 53-31 won-lost record. Though they didn’t win the championship that year, losing to the St. Paul Saints, that season set the bar high for these boys of summer. Over the years, the team showed themselves to be winners with 2011 being the only season in their history with a losing record of 44-56. The loss resulted in their missing the playoffs for only the second time in their history.

Their mascot, Hawkeye, a 15-year veteran of the team and the players themselves make personal appearances in the off-season. Hawkeye energizes the fans, during breaks in the game play. There is even a well-equipped playground at Newman Field for those younger fans who simply get tired of watching the game.

 

Ole, the “ball boy” entertains the crowd during home games. Ole’s original responsibility was to occupy a red rocking chair and make sure the plate umpire was supplied with baseballs. Since his introduction, though, Ole’s role has expanded. Ole wanders the stands while greeting and talking to the fans. Ole always draws a big round of applause when they play “Cotton Eyed Joe” and Ole does his signature dance.

I submit for your visual diversion, a gallery of images taken at Newman Field during a game between the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks and the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

 

John Steiner is a retired educator with a multitude of hobbies. John started in the classroom, however he transitioned to Information Technology in mid-career.

Since retiring, John and his wife, Lynn, alternate between winters in Arizona and summers in North Dakota. John’s interests include aviation, photography, technology, hiking and travelling. John has always enjoyed writing and has written four books, now long outdated and out-of-print, published by Prentice-Hall. In the 1980s, John was a columnist and also wrote “over-the-transom” articles for computer magazines.

Since John retired, he shares his interests in photography and travelling via his blog at Journeys with Johnbo.

 

 

Writing is like baseball

Writing has been compared to many things: creating great food from a recipe, a long, arduous journey, a trip to the circus.

I once compared it to Family Court – The writing life is like family court only family court was more fun.

My favorite comparison is Vaughn Roycroft’s What building my house taught me about writing. A must read for every writer!

I was struggling with a short story while watching a baseball game (Go Phillies!). And boing! I realized, “Hey, writing is like baseball!”

The writer is the pitcher

Consider the writer as the pitcher – the dude on the mound. But the pitcher is not the only player on the field.

Long fly ball or an infield out

You pitch the ball and the batter hits it. It’s a long fly ball! The center fielder snags the ball, throws it to the cut-off man, the cut-off man throws it to the plate – runner out!

You pitch the ball. The batter hits it. The shortstop snags it, flips it to the second baseman, the second baseman throws to the first baseman. Double play!

You may have pitched the ball, but you weren’t the only player handling it.

Your pitching coach

Do you have a pitching coach – an expert editor? She/he tells you where the ball was dragging, where it was too high, where you lost control.

Your team

Is the pitcher the only player on the field? No! The pitcher has eight other guys on the field with him and a load of other players in the dugout.

Think about all the friends and associates who follow your Fan Page, your beta readers, your blog followers, the people who allow you to guest post. These people are your team.

Looking good on the mound

Let’s not forget the uniform guys. The ones who make you look good when you go out on the field. Imagine what a book cover designer can do for you.

The Iron Horse

Lou Gehrig played for the Yankees until his stellar career was cut short by ALS, now commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Gehrig played from 1925 to 1939 and made it to the field for 2,130 consecutive games. This streak was considered unbreakable until Baltimore’s Cal Ripken, Jr., broke Gehrig’s record in 1995. Ripken went on to play 2,632 games.

Moral of the story…writing – and incredible baseball stats – is a long-haul sort of thing.

Don’t be an ass-terisk*

A few players are listed in the baseball record books with an asterisk. Why? They cheated to achieve their monumental goals (remember the writer guy who paid a few thousand people to write awesome reviews for his book?).

Let’s keep it simple – do not cheat.

See you at the Series

No player gets to the World Series by playing just one or two games. You have a long spring training and a long season ahead of you. And sometimes, you might have to wait several seasons to get the recognition you deserve.

So wind up, and keep pitching.

What other activity can you compare to writing?

Writing good fiction is like baseball

Writing good fiction has been compared to many things: creating great food from a recipe, a long, arduous journey, a trip to the circus.

I once compared writing to Family Court – The writing life is like family court only family court was more fun.

My favorite comparison is Vaughn Roycroft’s What building my house taught me about writing. A must read for every writer!

The struggle

I was struggling with a short story a while ago, while watching a baseball game (Go Phillies!).

And boing! I realized, “Hey, writing is like baseball!”

Consider the writer as the pitcher – the dude on the mound. But the pitcher is not the only player on the field.

Long fly ball or an infield out

You pitch the ball and the batter hits it. It’s a long fly ball! The center fielder snags the ball, throws it to the cut-off man, the cut-off man throws it to the plate – runner out!

You pitch the ball. The batter hits it. The shortstop snags it, flips it to the second baseman, then the second baseman throws to the first baseman. Double play!

You may have started with the ball, but you weren’t the only player handling it.

Your pitching coach

Consider the expert editor. She/he tells you where the ball was dragging, where it was too high, where you lost control.

Your team

Is the pitcher the only player on the field? No sir!

Consider all the friends and associates who follow your Fan Page, your beta readers, your blog followers, the people who allow you to guest post. They give you feedback, they have ideas, they guide you and support you.

Looking good on the mound

And don’t forget the uniform guys. The ones who make you look good when you go out on the field. Consider what a proofreader might do for you.

The Iron Horse

Lou Gehrig played for the Yanks until his stellar career was cut short by ALS, now commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Gehrig played from 1925 to 1939 and made it to the field for 2,130 consecutive games. This streak was considered unbreakable until Baltimore’s Cal Ripken, Jr., broke Gehrig’s record in 1995. Ripken went on to play 2,632 games.

Moral of the story…writing – and incredible baseball stats – are a long-haul sort of thing.

Don’t be an ass-terisk*

A few players are listed in the baseball record books with an asterisk. Why? They cheated to achieve their monumental goals (remember the guy who paid a few thousand people to write awesome reviews for his book?).

So, let’s keep it simple – do not cheat.

See you at the Series

No player gets to the World Series by playing just one or two games. You have a long spring training and a long season ahead of you. And sometimes, you might have to wait several seasons to get the recognition you deserve.

So wind up, and keep pitching.