Note to file: I still don't know what I'm doing. In professional terms, I am trying to work out the writing voice I'll need to transition from journalism to memoir.
But that effort is an uneven process. I'm still more of a journalist than a journal writer. As big news stories break, I get distracted. There is so much news that is poorly covered in this country. American foreign policy, such as it is, is a complete disaster. The continuing failure of any political leaders to take bold action to assist the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast post-Katrina is our national shame.
The immigration debate in this society reflects some deeply racist and exclusionary tendencies that need to wither and die so our multinational future can begin. (I figure I can do my part by dating Asians, okay?)
Around here, my large extended family is coming and going. The little guys are headed east tonight after a week of heavy partying with their Tennessee "cousins."
Meanwhile, my older kids and their partners are headed back home as our family starts planning for the wedding on July 21st. As they arrive, a few dozen bottles reflecting our color experiments will greet them. Like father, like daughter: My youngest is handling the bottle project now.
Everything is growing and blooming and ripening all around me. I've reached an age I appreciate small details of live around me -- the birds, the flowers, the way the light illuminates our rainbow bottles (presented originally in honor of Gay Pride Weekend.)
Baby Bonds now has 750 home runs, and is five from tying Hank Aaron's record. Thanks to our hometown newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, and its misconceived attempt to destroy Bonds' reputation by publishing select portions of secret grand jury testimony leaked by an attorney trying to deflect attention from his client's role in the steroid scandal.
Bonds has never tested positive for steroids. Even if he used the substances the Chronicle alleges he did, they were not illegal in Major League Baseball at that time. And, he was hardly alone. It appears that many, perhaps most players used performance enhancers, not only in baseball, but also in all major sports.
Fine-slicing the rules seeking an advantage is an old tradition in sports. Therefore, one can only conclude that the heated national outrage directed at Bonds relies for its fuel, ultimately, on racism. It's not that he supposedly cheated; it's that he is an arrogant black man who allegedly cheated.
As any statistician knows, it is essentially irrelevant whether Bonds used steroids. He achieved a level no one else ever reached -- 500 stolen bases and 500 home runs -- before the steroids era hit its peak. On the basis of those achievements alone, he qualifies as an all-time great, and no one can deny him those honors.
Now he's old (42), has weak knees, and faces horrible outpourings of hate everywhere he plays (except in San Francisco.) Nevertheless, he is batting close to .300, has 16 HRs in less than a half season, has stolen a bunch of bases, and leads the planet in walks, intentional walks, and on-base-percentage.
No one alleges he is using steroids now, so what explains his continued success at an age most players are retired?
I, for one, will stand and cheer when he breaks Aaron's record. He's worked hard and endured more abuse than anyone in sports to get to the top. he belongs there.
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