Monday, June 03, 2013

Casey's 125th Birthday (1st appeared in newspaper this day, 1888) My Motivational Rendition

The outlook wasn’t brilliant once more for the Mudville 9 this day. The Mudville squad needed a grand slammer And Casey was working on his vocabulary. You see he had met with Lao Tzu and things were never the same So there seemed little chance of Casey attracting victory this game And this time Flynn popped it up and Barrows did the same And Enberg said OH MY and the thinning crowd articulated what a shame. The normally stentorian throated fans resisted a yell They detached from the outcome They were content with OH WELL Your attention ladies and gentlemen, now batting for Mudville, Casey coming to the bat. And while responding to the silence, Casey tipped his hat. Not many seemed to care a wit that Casey was at the bat. Few even snickered when Casey rubbed his hands with dirt. Some dared to protest when he wiped them on his shirt. And while the writhing pitcher dug the ball into his hip Casey took out a paperback from Lao-Tzu and from a Slurpee he took a sip And now the leather covered sphere came hurtling through the air And Casey stood watching it in haughty grandeur there Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped But Casey ignored it--- STRIKE ONE! The umpire said. From the benches black with people there rose up a muffled roar Like the beating of a storm upon a stern and distant shore. Kill him! Kill Casey! Shouted someone in the stand. And it was likely that they would have killed him if the arbiter had not raised his hand. The ump knew that Casey had become a student of a sage. He knew that one day it was likely that Casey would turn the page. He signaled to the hurler and once more the horsehide flew But Casey still was adamant and the umpire bellowed: STRIKE TWO! Fraud! Cried the maddened loyalists. Casey is a fraud! But one startled look from Casey and the audience was awed. They saw his face grow stern and cold. They saw his muscles strain. But they had witnessed this look before and they were in no mood to see it once again. The smile is gone from Casey’s face His teeth are clenched in hate. With cruel violence, he pounds his bat upon the plate. And now the pitcher has the ball And now he lets it go And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow. Oh somewhere in this joyous land the sun is shining bright And somewhere men are laughing And somewhere hearts are light And somewhere bands are playing And somewhere children shout And today there is joy in Mudville Casey has hit one out. There’s a drive to deep right field. It’s way back there--- To the track---to the wall---it is going---going It is gone! Mudville wins! Mudville wins!!

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