My Impromptus today has some baseball in it (along with politics, language, and the rest). I’ll have a letter about baseball in a moment. First, a letter about North Korea. I wrote about Song Byeok, an artist who escaped. A reader says this:
Your article was sobering — and hard to wrap my head around. We take so much of our daily lives for granted. “This is what we experience, so it must be the norm. The norm for me, the norm for others. This is what life is.” Song Byeok thought the same thing — until he realized, “There must be something better. Less hellish.”
When he escaped to China, it was better! A lot better, certainly economically!
It’s hard to comprehend just how bad North Korea is, especially given that it shares a peninsula with South Korea, a vibrant democracy.
Yes. The Korean peninsula is almost a perfect laboratory test: dictatorship vs. democracy, etc.
When you open a post with North Korea, it’s hard to move on to something else — especially to something light and breezy. Let me gulp and do it anyway.
I had an Impromptus headed “Me ’n’ my algo, &c.” When we are online, using YouTube and other platforms, are we stuck in our algorithm? If so, what are the effects?
A reader says,
The title of your piece today, “Me ’n’ my algo,” reminded me of the Harry Nilsson song from 1970: “Me and My Arrow.”
You know, that was in my head, too! The phrase “me and my arrow” was in the background when I thought: “me and my algo.” But I must confess. I never knew anything about Mr. Nilsson’s song until the reader sent me his letter. I did know about the car — the Plymouth Arrow. And the ads for it.
Like this one.
In my Impromptus today, I have a note about Willie Mays, who passed away at 93. Settle back for a letter, a reminiscence:
Hi, Jay,
Lunch is over and I am sitting in my fifth-grade math class. I am a little nervous as I grab my Maxwell Smart AM pen radio. The earpiece is in my left as I slide the pen to KSFO 560, home of the Giants. It’s Game 3 of the National League Championship between those godless Pittsburgh Pirates and my beloved San Francisco Giants.
The year is 1971, let me interject. Okay:
Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons have the call. I am sitting in the back row on the far left of the room. Our teacher, Mr. Lesjack, has already handed out the assignment and class starts. The “pen” is in my left-side jeans front pocket and when I shift in my seat the pen moves and I lose the station.
So here I am trying to nonchalantly fiddle with the pen to regain the station when I notice Mr. Lesjack looking in my direction. I have the game on and just look down as though doing my math. All of a sudden there is a tap on my shoulder and he is there with a bemused look on his face.
Him: “What are you doing, Steve?” Me: “I am listening to the Giants game.”
By now the rest of the class is trying not to laugh as I see Mr. Lesjack’s hand open. He asks for my radio. I sheepishly hand it to him and he says, “See me after school.”
Two hours later, I walk into his classroom and he hands me the radio. He lightly admonishes me, then tells me we lost 2 to 1.
We still keep in touch all these years later and I emailed him this morning to console him over the death of Willie Mays. And to remind him how “mean” he was that day.
When I was a kid, Willie was my hero. Now that he has passed, I suppose it’s time to grow up.