Dusty Pixel
Balls in a Vise
Sometimes a little gutter humor works wonders.
Our little league baseball season ended a couple of weeks ago in a gut wrenching defeat. It was a true battle back and forth exciting even to the bitter end. We held a 1 run lead in the final inning, the opposing team was last to bat. The bases were loaded with 2 outs and they hit one over the fence. It’s called a “walk off” home run.
I’ve been on both sides of the “walk off”, winning and losing. I believe it’s the most brutal way to lose in baseball because emotions swing so quickly and so deeply in opposite directions. The winners are euphoric and their celebration just adds to the emotional destruction of the other team.
So I was looking for something to upload on FLICKR to let all my contacts know they wouldn’t be seeing our team on ESPN. I just didn’t have anything, so last week I decided I would stage something. I handed Michael his hat, told him what I wanted and watched as all his enthusiasm drained instantly. He is my best model and has never refused any crazy requests to pose in the past, but I knew his heart was not into this one.
Yesterday we were putting away baseball equipment in the garage, add a couple of beers and well you know the rest of the story, “Balls in a Vise”. It was the first time I saw him smile about baseball in weeks and then we laughed.
Balls in a Vise
Sometimes a little gutter humor works wonders.
Our little league baseball season ended a couple of weeks ago in a gut wrenching defeat. It was a true battle back and forth exciting even to the bitter end. We held a 1 run lead in the final inning, the opposing team was last to bat. The bases were loaded with 2 outs and they hit one over the fence. It’s called a “walk off” home run.
I’ve been on both sides of the “walk off”, winning and losing. I believe it’s the most brutal way to lose in baseball because emotions swing so quickly and so deeply in opposite directions. The winners are euphoric and their celebration just adds to the emotional destruction of the other team.
So I was looking for something to upload on FLICKR to let all my contacts know they wouldn’t be seeing our team on ESPN. I just didn’t have anything, so last week I decided I would stage something. I handed Michael his hat, told him what I wanted and watched as all his enthusiasm drained instantly. He is my best model and has never refused any crazy requests to pose in the past, but I knew his heart was not into this one.
Yesterday we were putting away baseball equipment in the garage, add a couple of beers and well you know the rest of the story, “Balls in a Vise”. It was the first time I saw him smile about baseball in weeks and then we laughed.