The SoapBoxers

Inspired by Andre Ethier’s hitting streak … at 29 games and counting when I wrote this.  If this jinxes Ethier … well, that’s kind of the point.  I hate the Dodgers.

Derek Bond looked around the sold out stadium. The old facility was bulging at the seams with a standing room only crowd. He smiled broadly, thinking of how the night would change his life. His appearance fee would certainly triple, to say nothing of the commemorative items that would make him a fortune.

Derek watched an inferior teammate ground out weakly to short. As the bum returned to the dugout, the team’s brightest star stepped to the plate.

The first pitch caught much more of the plate that the pitcher had hoped for, and Derek took a healthy swing and drove the ball to deep center field. The outfielder raced to keep up with the ball, then made a well time jump at the wall. He landed with a thud at the base of the wall, where he sat stunned for a moment. Then he jumped up, pulled the ball from his glove and fired it back toward the infield.

When Derek returned to the dugout, he took out his frustration on the water cooler as his teammates scattered. How sweet it would have been to extend his hitting streak to 56 games with a home run. It would have made him even more of a legend than he already was.

Derek had his second chance at history in the fourth inning. He wasn’t sure what the score was. He thought perhaps his team was winning. The important thing was to get a hit and keep the streak alive. An inside fastball brushed against his elbow pad and the umpire awarded him first base.

Derek came to the plate in the seventh inning, certain that this would be his historic moment. Unfortunately, the pitcher experienced a bout of wildness, and Derek watched four pitches sail wide of the strike.

“Hey, it’s the hitless wonder,” jeered the opposing first baseman as Bond took his place on the bag.

“I’ll get my hit” replied Bond sharply.

“Runnin’ out of time,” came the reply. “By my reckoning, you’ve got one shot left.”

Derek reflected on the situation and agreed that he’d probably only have one more at bat in the game. He’d have to make it count. After the next hitter struck out, his nemesis crossed Derek’s path on the way back to the opposing dugout.

“Hey, I’ll buy some of that champagne for half price,” mocked the first baseman.

Was it possible that the pitchers were actively attempting to break his streak, with little regard to how it affected the game? Was the pitch that hit him really an accident? Was it a coincidence that the pitcher couldn’t find the strike zone during his last at bat? Derek tried to put the thoughts out of his mind.

When Derek came to the plate in the ninth, the crowd gave him a thunderous ovation. History was still within his grasp. He just needed one insignificant little hit. A blooper to the outfield, a ground ball that found a hole – anything would do. One hit and he would be immortalized.

The first pitch was low and away and Derek took the pitch for a ball. The pitcher hit the same target on the next pitch, running the count to 2-0. When the pitcher hit the same spot a third time, Derek realized that he wasn’t going to see a better pitch. These bums didn’t care about the game – they just wanted to see his streak end.

As the next pitch neared the plate, Derek lunged to reach the pitch, which was far off the plate. He felt the bat make solid contact and saw the white missile shoot high into the night sky. The center fielder didn’t move an inch – he just watched the home run ball fly into the stands.

As the crowd went wild, Derek heard the umpire shout something.

“OUT!” yelled the man in blue, as he pointed at the plate. “You stepped on the plate,” he explained. “You’re out.”

And thus the streak ended not with a bang, but with a whimper – falling victim to a technicality.

I originally thought that I would write something about gas prices and how ridiculous they have gotten. How my family and friends, coworkers and neighbors have all vowed to change their driving habits, forego some vacations for “staycations” and even stick a “drill baby drill” bumper sticker on their car.

Having said that, this week the entire world was turned upside down with the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Having not yet beaten the horse to death, I thought I would cover yet another angle to this story: Repercussions.

First of all, let me say that this week was a repercussion of what happened in the United States nearly 10 years ago. It took a very long time for that justice to be served, but thanks to our intelligence teams and military teams the citizens of the United States can now feel that some sliver of justice was carried out following that tragic day that changed all of our lives forever.

On Monday as I slowly drove down the street of my quiet Fort Collins, CO neighborhood I was thrilled at the number of US flags that my neighbors had put up. My next door neighbor is a retired marine and he had his marine flag accompanying the US flag. There was obviously a great deal of pride that my neighbors felt with the news of Bin Laden’s death. For a moment it reminded me a little of the sentiment that filled our streets and hallways on September 12, 2001.

The media lit up following news of Bin Laden’s death and hasn’t slowed down much. Each day a few more details are spoon fed to us through the media as we try to digest what it must have been like for the team of Navy Seals to raid the Bin Laden compound. We have learned about their entry, the resistance (or lack of resistance) they encountered and we’ve even seen some pictures of the rooms where people there were found. One of the most prolific to date is the one of the bedroom showing the blood stains on the rug next to the bed. (You’ll have to scroll through a few pix)

I heard in at least one news outlet this afternoon (May 4, 2011) that the photo of the deceased Osama would not be released. However, if the photo of a dead Osama Bin Laden is released, can you imagine the traffic and discussion that it will generate? We’ve already seen viruses on the web exploiting people’s morbid curiosity to see what Bin Laden looked like following his demise. People clicking on alleged videos and pictures have found their computers infected with viruses, yet another repercussion.

Members of Seal Team 6 will have lasting repercussions as well. For the individual that took the shot and killed Bin Laden I imagine he will be filled with pride and likely wish that he could stand on the rooftop and shout, “I did it!” The other members of the team will also share the pride and enthusiasm of having taken down the most wanted terrorist in the United States history. They will all probably wish that they could have been the one to pull the trigger that night.

Now for the negative.

• We have already heard from an Imam that there will be revenge taken on the “western dogs” for killing Bin Laden.
• The media now has interviews with Bin Laden’s daughter that Osama was taken into custody alive then killed.
• Politicians are being mocked for expressing joy over Bin Laden’s death. (I will shout my joy of Osama’s death from a roof top)
• Individuals now believe that killing one person has virtually ended the Afghan war on terror and Al Qaeda.
• Airports have increased security following the death of Bin Laden.
• Terroristic threats against the US may increase
• Finally, Obama’s actions to support the military in this action do not undo his past wrongs. For example, the situation where a wanted terrorist was captured in Iraq. Three SEALs were court martialed for allegedly giving this detainee a fat lip. Actually, one for punching the detainee and the other two for not protecting the detainee. That shouldn’t have ever happened.

We haven’t been told of any new plots on the US following Sunday, (but in the UK) five men were arrested (two days after Bin Laden’s death) when they were caught sitting in a car very close to a nuclear processing facility.

The fact that US forces went in to a country that we are not at war with (and didn’t advise the country upfront) in order to carry out the plot has caused some grief and likely will continue to cause grief. That being said, based on the limited information I have, I believe that it was the right call and I applaud Obama for having the stones to make the decision.

As the American people, I hope everyone stands behind our troops for the flawless execution of this mission. While today we revel in this victory, we need to remember that there will likely be repercussions in the future from Al Qaeda. We know that we may have delivered a blow to these terrorists, they have not been defeated and they will not simply give up now. Americans be strong and show your resolve no matter what we face next.

I’d like to take a moment to welcome home a friend of mine from Afghanistan. Corporal James “OJ” Alvarado will be returning back to the US in the next week. He’s spent a long tour in the sticks and hills of Afghanistan away from his beautiful wife and baby girl. His family will be happy to have him home and I’m sure OJ will be the happiest one in the group. Now your Mom and Sister can sleep again, thank God! None of us can imagine what your tour was like. MRE’s all the time, no running water, brutal weather and being away from your family. I appreciate all you’ve done for us, for our country and for the war on terror.

Welcome home OJ!

 
Squeaky…

I got an iPod touch a few years ago, and I absolutely love it. I wanted one because it was the next greatest thing for music storage….way better than just a plain old classic iPod. Then I discovered the App Store. I think now I use the iPod more for the apps than I do to listen to my music.

Below are my top 5 apps, in no particular order:

1. Angry Birds (all versions) – I’m no longer addicted to the original version of Angry Birds, but I am addicted to Angry Birds: Seasons and Angry Birds: Rio.

The point of the game is to destroy the green pigs on each stage (there are several stages) and to do it by using the least number of birds possible. There are different “types” of birds that do different levels of destruction. On each stage, you get a certain number of birds, and you get 1 to 3 stars based on the amount of points you accumulate. The overall object of the game is to get 3 stars on every stage. I have yet to do this, but I’m close. There seems to be an update with new levels every few months, which keeps you coming back for more!

2. Bejeweled 2 Blitz – See my review of this app here. This could be my all-time favorite app. I’ve been playing it for a couple of years, and I’m still addicted.

3. Yahoo! Fantasy Football – I know, I haven’t used this app in a few months, and might not be able to use it for several more months with the upcoming season in jeopardy due to the lockout. But, if you are involved in a Yahoo! Fantasy league for football, this app is for you. All you have to do is login, and your roster is right there at your fingertips. Need to make a quick change and can’t get on the computer, a couple of touches to the iPod/phone and your roster move is complete. Need to check the scores of your current head-to-head matchup? It’s all right there! Definitely an addicting app during the football season.

4. Tiny Wings – The objective of this game is simple….you’re a bird, but you have tiny wings and can’t fly on your own. So, the game is filled with hills, and the objective is to touch the screen at the right time to make your bird “dive” on the down slope of a hill, which in turns uses the up slope to “fly”. It’s a very simple game, but it is fun and my newest addiction. The longer you fly, the longer it stays daylight. Once nighttime hits, your game is over!

5. DirecTV – of all the apps, this one is definitely the most boring (especially if you aren’t a DirecTV subscriber!). Download and login to the app using the same login information that you would use on the site to pay your bill, view your account, etc, and your DirecTV viewing guide is right there at your fingertips. Have a DVR and forgot to setup a recording before you left for work or to run that errand? No problem, just find the program on your guide in the app and hit record. It’s as simple as that. It’s very convenient, especially if you always forget like I do!

Those are my top 5 most used/favorite apps…..what are yours?

This article mentioned … the iPod Touch

Many times, when writing, external distractions will drive you away from you intended story line. My recommendation is to just go with it. Surely not every time, because then you would never get any story to even start to flow, but when something really big happens that everyone is talking about, you will be overwhelmed. This week is just such an occasion.

Prince William married Kate Middleton. I think that 80 of the 83 channels that I get with my cable package covered the event. It was historic, it was romantic, it was classic and it was on – everywhere. This is not something you can just ignore, even if you do not care about the British Royal Family. I am only mildly fascinated by the original “reality show”, but something like the wedding of the heir or a coronation are rare events that do catch my attention. Last week, Kosmo posed the question as to why Americans care about the royals. My response is that we have a certain amount of voyeurism. We want to watch, but we do not want a royal family of our own.

My take on the whole event was that it was nice. That is sort of a weak commentary, but it does cover my reaction. I am glad that the prince and his new wife will have a few weeks of privacy before there public exposure begins. The ceremony had all of the pomp and circumstance that the British are so good at. It was not a Hollywood production.

What I take away from the event is a catalogue of writing opportunities. Here are just a few ideas:

• The designers and seamstresses for the dress and the secrecy surrounding it
• The back room dialogue between the Prince and his brother
• The intrigue of introducing the idea of the wedding to the Queen
• A secret (and this is only fiction) plot against the couple on their honeymoon

The plot lines flow so easily. The characters already exist for any author to use. The backdrop, events, even some of the innuendo is already available. You just have to integrate your own ideas. For me, it would be a little difficult since I am focusing on science fiction right now (although clones and aliens could make an interesting twist to the story). But you romantics, conspiracy theorists, and historians should have a heyday.

So get off the couch, turn off the television and get back to writing. The opportunities abound, and someone in the world wants to read your ideas. You can start by leaving comments on any posting on TheSoapBoxers.com. Throw your ideas up here if you want. We (the contributors and other visitors) will read them and comment in return. If you write a compelling cover letter and a good story, I am sure that Kosmo will consider posting it. It is all about communicating ideas.

I wrote for CAPE PAC this morning, about how Obama has taken the credit for the death of Osama. But there’s something else that’s been bothering me.

As the wife of a soldier who was deployed, I know, first hand, the worries of those staying at home and having soldiers overseas. I know, first hand, the sleepless nights worrying about my husband, the medic, being attacked by Al-Qaeida. I know, first hand, the sound of bombs on the other end of the phone line and the sinking feeling in my stomach when the phone line goes quiet … and I know the tears.

I know what it’s like to sleep in an empty bed. I know what it’s like to see college kids out protesting with signs saying”NO WAR” and “BUSH THE WAR MONGERER”. I know what it’s like to have people give me “the look” when I said my husband was deployed. I know what it’s like to have someone call my husband a “baby killer” (no, really. This happened).

So when I see the college campuses erupting in cheers, I’m bothered. These are the same Obama zombies who called Bush the “war mongerer”. The same kids who shamed those who fought overseas. The same kids who voted for Obama. And if Obama had gotten his way (and kept his promises) we wouldn’t have gotten Osama. I can tell you that.

When I say “the same kids” I mean it both literally and figuratively. As a Conservative on one of the campuses I saw celebrating last night, I was called some terrible names. Even had a death threat via e-mail when I suggested that we go after Saddam even before it was mentioned by Bush. And, of course, my article one year after 9/11.  So, yes. I know how it feels. I understand being happy about Bin Laden being caught. I get it. But reflect to your actions of the past 10 years and see how you’ve made other people feel. Have you always supported our military? Have you always been proud to be an American?

Don’t get me wrong, they have the right to free speech, again something my husband fought for. But stop and think for a second. Would you be able to reflect on your writings in the last two years, let alone nine years ago and agree with yourself?

It’s time for all of America to reflect and grow.

We’re pushing Martin’s article back a day to allow writers to write about the death of Osama Bin Laden.  I’ll kick things off with some random thoughts.

• This isn’t a victory for Democrats or a victory for Republicans.  It’s a victory for the United States, more specifically the military and intelligence communities.  There is no need to decide which regime deserves “more” credit.  It was a nearly decade long goal of the government, achieved as a result of actions under two commanders-in-chief.
• Celebrating a death seems a bit callous.  However, I have no doubt that the world is a better place without Osama Bin Laden.  Al-Qaeda and organizations like it attempt to drive a wedge between Muslim countries and the West in order to achieve their own goals.  Does the average Muslim hate Christians and believe that they must join a jihad against the West, gaining glory by killing the infidels?  Of course not.  Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups have been successful in convincing many people that they speak for the entire Islam world.  This is not true, of course – they are simply a vocal minority.  While I don’t have a lot of Muslim friends, the ones I have are not sympathetic to the terrorists.  If we believe that the lunatic fringe speaks for the entire population, then the terrorists have won.  Al-Qaeda is no more representative of the Islam world than the Westboro Baptist Church is representative of the Christian world.
• Before the conspiracy theorists start … stop.  If Bin Laden isn’t really dead, and if this is all faked, we’ll find out in due time.  If Bin Laden is still alive, I’m sure he’s in the process of making a video tape and will be shipping it off to Al Jazeera any moment now.  If the photos of the body don’t look a lot like Bin Laden when they are released … well, getting shot in the side of the head has a tendency to distort facial features somewhat.  I guess the Navy Seals could have gone for a heart shot to keep his face recognizable, but I’m guessing that having him dead was more important that making sure his pretty face was intact.
• It seems that Pakistan may have some questions to answer.  It seems a bit hard to believe that Bin Laden could have been hiding in a compound that housed retired members of the military without anyone thinking “Hey, ‘John Smith’ looks a lot like that Bin Laden guy, doesn’t he?”.  For their sake, I hope that the Pakistani government does indeed have a good excuse.  Otherwise, the US-Pakistan relationship might he headed for rocky ground.  Too early to jump to conclusions, though.  It’s possible that there IS a good excuse.