Obsessions

It has been revealed to me recently that my family has a problem - myself included. The first part of that revelation was no surprise to me, but the last part most certainly was. We have a couple obsessions that don’t mix well sometimes - the outdoors and baseball. From their surface appearance, these two things sound like apple pie and ice cream, but maybe instead of saying, “outdoors,” I should say “a very long ways from civilized outdoors.” I can remember trips when I was a kid where we’d bring a small portable radio and try to pick up Seattle Mariner games on some far away AM station. I used to spend a lot of time with my cousins at my aunt and uncle’s cabin on the Owyhee Reservoir, which is accessible only by a thirteen mile boat ride. There is no electricity, of course, so my aunt stores her battery powered portable radio and listens to games amid the static. Some people become irritated by the mostly static noise blaring from the speakers. Some shake their heads in wonderment. Undeterred, though, she just leans her ear closer to the static in hopes of catching a score or some snippet of audio from the announcer to try and piece the game together. I suppose looking at it through other people’s eyes, sure it may be a little odd, but I love my aunt because of it. This isn’t a weird obsession, this is baseball! I think that a good fishing trip is hardly complete without a baseball game streaming through on a lazy summer day.

Satellite radio has made it possible for these two obsession to be brought together more reasonably. It dawned on me during a summer hiking trip in the Seven Devils of Idaho as my brother, Todd, turned his satellite radio on and tuned in to listen to the Mariners take on the Minnesota Twins, that satellite radio might be the greatest invention of my generation. Forget cell phones, microchips, etc…the satellite radio supersedes them all. For someone that enjoys the peace and serenity of the great outdoor, perhaps it is odd for me to feel this way, but in my opinion, a good baseball game does nothing to hinder the peace and serenity of the outdoors, but, if executed correctly, can certainly enhance an already enjoyable experience.