Baseball Mandala

[John Roca]

At 11:07 PM 8/30/95 -0400, Bonnie Surfus (ENG) wrote:
>Well,  While the game of baseball has an anesthetizing effect on me, 
>Steely's thoughts do not.  
>
Of all the fine discourse prompted by my listening to the Indians beat up on
the Blue jays Tuesday night, and the recollection, or the faint memory
rather, of the now infamous "pyn-ball" connection, it seems to me that
Steely's and Bonnie's are the most close to "home"--no pun intended.

Bonnie's is particularly interesting because she doesn't like the sport.  in
this respect, the search for the Goddess, and the notion of "Center" and the
pitcher's mound all serve to confirm that the game of baseball is clearly a
modern fertility rite.

Pastoral origins, phallus-ovum-womb made up by the batter, pitcher and
catcher, nine innings and nine month gestation period, season reaching its
height during the summer solstice, umpire as god...

these aspects go on and on.

By the way, I first read GR during the summer of 1993...finished at the end
of a 22 inning marathon in miinnesota where the indians lost in the top of
the 22d...the last out came just as the Rocket settled down on that delta
point on the theatre on the last page.

Things just haven't been the same since...

Thank you all.