Ahm, Victor? It's May 2nd...
Damnit, sorry.
Nonetheless........ how are ya? No, REALLY, how.are.you?
Happy? Sad? Fulla vim/vigor? Tired? Old? Achy? Excited about much? Same ole same ole mebbe now a good thing? Tired of FOX/CNN battle, prattle?
Yeah, me too. Alla the above.
The other day I felt El Crappy. Sicky. I ain't married. I don't have a sibling or a parent to call. I DO NOT feel sorry for myself. In fact, I kinda giggled when I thought, "Whointhehell should I call........ if anyone... and, whointhehell would care anyways?"
Sudafed taken (No WallyWorld, here's my license, I won't be making Meth), Alka Seltzer (Generic brand) two aspirin...... Much better....... and then I thought...... I DO know who I'd call. I DO know who would care. As I peek out at who might possibly be so kind to swing by here to read, I see most of you are coupled. Cool. "You and me and rain on the roof, caught up in a Summer shower"....... Lie down here honey, lemme put this cool washrag on your forehead... relax... time for a backrub.
You lucky. I lucky. Folks that care. We have em. We've got spirit (and folks that care) we've got spirit (and folks that care) how bout you?
I know there's gotta be folks that don't have that... and to me, that's tremendously sad. This blog ain't going the direction I'd intended, but, ain't that kinda life-like? It can be a bitch (sorry to cuss, but, really not really) once them training wheels come off.
Salvy. As in, Salvador Perez, the Kansas City Royal's Captain, and All Star Catcher.
Victor? Yep? That's me! What? I'm tired (truly) of tariff talk, but whatinthehell does Salvy have to do with the Price of Tea in China, ie, the juxt'a this dayum blog?
Lots.
Salvy, with Kansas City Royal's photographer Jason Hanna tugging on his sleeve, consented to take an offseason, 11 day trip to Kenya.
If you perhaps live in Colorado, San Diego, Illinois, Oklahoma, Vivion Road, Puerto Penasco Mehico, Spokane, WA or wherever, and you might need a birdseye on whointhehell Salvy is - well, first, he's one helluva baseball player. Secondly, he's of Venezuelan descent. If you are from one'a them towns, States, Countries above, then you prolly ain't never hearda Helzberg Diamonds either. Huh? TBC...
Huh? Yeah, Helzberg. A Kansas City based jewelry chain with stores in 36 States that ran the infamous "I AM LOVED" ad campaign for lucky folks on the receiving enda one'a their products. With every diamond, ruby, gold chain, yada sold, they too would get a red 'button' thingy, with I AM LOVED to affix to their top.
In Kansas City.... Venezuela... mebbe from idle Spanish chit-chat between he, sometimes KC first baseman, and Latin opponent who'd just hit a single - you can distinguish........ SMILE abounds. Umpires. Teammates. Opponents. Little kids in a North Kansas City neighborhood that Salvy happened to be driving by one day after 'work', stopped, joined them in a game of wiffle ball.. clubhouse attendants.. cops that sit share, monitor the dugout - PEOPLE ... LOVE... SALVY..here Salvy, put this I AM LOVED button on your chest protector... conversely, SALVY... LOVES.. PEOPLE.. (And life, and baseball... and... "How are you my friend?")
Even little kids in Kenya love Salvy and they don't speak either of the same languages Salvy speaks, have no idea what baseball is.. how bigga star he is.. for that matter, they don't even know what a star is....... it's his smile, infectious humor, gentle touch, care, concern for mankind that makes Salvy Salvy. Salvy puts his heart, money and time where his mouth is - as last year he won the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award 'awarded annually to the player whose humanitarian efforts exemplify off-the-field service.
So.......... Salvy and the Royal's photo guy..... took a kajillion pics of........ leopards.. over 3,000 Elephants... roaming.. free.. spiders the size of a catcher's mitt... Hippos ("No te acerques demasiado amigo", don't get too close my friend)... the lion.. "The most beautiful beast of all" per Salv'.)
Back to the little kids. The newspaper this morning had a pic of Salvy with a group of little kiddos... they were staring into the huge lense of one of the cameras, and it came to Salvy that it was probably the very first time the kids had been able to see themselves... no mirrors.. "Huyo ni mimi?" ("That's me?" in Swahili)..
My mom, a child born just before The Depression, used to say "Po, but didn't know it." Same for the Kenya kids. Happy they were, in spite of....... living in villages of roughly 60-70 people... 'homes' constructed of mud and dung.. little bitty openings, 'windows' for light, but, again, small, so as to keep all of the above animals out.
Running water? Hardly. Most days, kids, families shared as the animals bathed in the waters...
Salvy said the trip was an eye opener. He thought about growing up in Valencia, Venezuela.. dirt floors.. crime infested neighborhoods.... and he compared it to life for these kids.....
"They're just blessed to live every day, to wake up in the morning when nothing happened to them... they don't know if they're going to have food the next day... and they live so happy every day, dancing.....it's unbelievable."
And........ let's see........ Victor? Wasn't it you that was worried about, thinking about, who cared, who ya gonna call Ghostbuster because you had a bad cold?
Guilty your Honor.
Bailiff, whack his peepee.
Much of the above stolen from a wonderful article in today's Star by Vahe Gregorian, KC Star Sport's writer.
Love, Victurd
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