Be silly

Wisdom from this book:

I do feel better on days that I try to do at least one thing that serious people would regard as silly. What’s the point of being serious all the time?

Does any one remember a silly 1970s-era commercial for Carefree Sugarless Gum with actors playing (debunked!) baseball inventor Abner Doubleday and his wife that went like this:

“Oh, Abner,” his wife scolded. “Don’t take the world serious.”
“That’s IT!” Abner said. “THE WORLD SERIOUS!”

Ever since, I’ve usually called it the World Serious, though I don’t keep up with baseball. Still, I’m excited that the Braves and the Astros will meet in the World Series. I grew up with the Braves as the closest thing to a home team (we lived about an hour and a half from Atlanta), and I will always love the Astros (Houston) for winning the championship in 2017 (a HUGE morale booster for Houston after the Harvey flood).

They are the only two baseball teams I’ve ever seen play in person in their home stadiums. What makes it more exciting is my friends, who are definitely in rival camps on this matchup. FUN!

9 thoughts on “Be silly”

  1. Obvi a rays fan … but for a long time I was a Rangers fan because of pudge… and every team he went to after that.

    1. I know next to nothing about baseball.

      I saw Paul McCartney in the Rangers’ Arlington stadium in 2019 before they moved to their new stadium in 2020. That is the total of my Rangers knowledge.

      No idea who Pudge is, so I looked him up and discovered he played for the Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Washington Nationals. That’s a lot of teams you were a fan of, including the Astros.

        1. LOL, with butter melting on it?

          It’s one more strike for you against my character who you don’t like. =(
          I can see why they’re her team, They have an amazing history that includes some of the greatest legends in all of pro sports.

          Things I decided as I got old: I can eat cornbread (without sugar) and still know the right side won the War Between the States and it’s okay to marry a Yankee and also to love art, music, books, fashion, architecture, and Tim and Timmy: all from above the Mason Dixon line.

          1. My Dad said marrying a Yankee was a “mixed” marriage.

            Why would she like the Yankees? Bad name and corporate baseball.

            I love the minor leagues most I missed seeing them play because of the COVID

            GO THRESHERS

  2. Isn’t it wonderful that that quotation came from Horace? Even the Ancients knew we all need a little silliness in our lives.

    1. We have such capacity for joy and happiness. While some humans live in intolerable situations without fault to them (and I mean things like poverty, war, famine–real world problems and disasters), it amazes me the number of people who actually choose misery.

  3. When I worked at a book-slash-record store in DC, there was something called Life’s Little Instruction Book that my co-workers found horrendous. I don’t remember why except it did contradict itself. On one page something like “Never make a spectacle of yourself” and on another “Don’t forget to dance on tabletops.” There was a spoof title called “Life’s Little Destruction Book” which had gems like “Always give little kids clothing for Christmas.” Also, with apologies to the Astros, I found out I’m still from New York b/c in 2017 I unintentionally rooted for the Yankees.

    1. That book sounds so familiar, like so familiar that I just went and checked my shelves for it. It isn’t there.

      I’ve confessed to my Astros friends that I was pulling for the Braves. Part of it is loyalty to Lynne, but they were the team of my people back in the day as the closest thing we had to a local baseball club. So I was okay with the outcome. (Though I rooted for the Astros in 2017.)

      You could totally hang with my character who’s a Yankees fan. You and she would like each other for a lot of reasons, that being only one. =)

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