Redeemer Almost Home of the Braves

When I first got my Redeemer summer newletter to read there would be a baseball tournament, I was a half past ecstatic then, finally be able to smack a nice 9 inch out the park and beyond. Last time I played baseball at the school, in my freshman year there, dudes were catching my monkey pitches and swings off the side of Augustine Hall, a la West Hill from Siberia Parking Lot, without any windows smashed or damaged. For the first time ever, I came into the student roundup on Labour Day happy as ever, ready to sign up for playing a sport at the institution, but wait man, was I truly in for quite the surprise.

Looking over at the guys by the intramural signup table, I noted the words softball and immedately my heart sunk, with no other real choice, I signed up anyhow just to do some batting practice in for the year, adding right under skill level in the game 0.

So, there we all were playing coed intramural softball as the Braves, taking out the Cardinals, Angels and Expos at James Smith Park on Garner and Fiddlers Green from 9 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon, maxing, relaxing and suntaxing into the playoffs. Breaking from our Division 1 play, we got over to Meadowlands Park and rocked the semi final at 4, winning after I stole some bases then almost got caught in a rundown, only to get the ball beaned of the top of my head, which brought in the winning run and me home too. At 6 however, we got smoked in the championship final, though I made three catches at the end to keep it close, all of which made me wish I had never picked up a softball bat in my life and hopefully never again make that same mistake.

Carolina, you did good, lady!

Early last evening, I got the call from home, Carolina, my pet Heinz Fifty Seven cat, was fading and eventually within an hour, had passed away. This cat was my own personal one, following Christina's Katherine and Hans' Spotty, but was different in that it was neither a full house or barn cat, as she lived her youth as a barn one and her mature life as a house one, yet did many of the same attributes both had performed while alive. But indeed age caught up to her, only a day ago was just walking around, today collapsed down to ground.

My best memories of her were how she knew how sick I was during the near death illness early in the 2000s, she, like the rest of the family, stayed by my bed, knowing how important such a kind act it was, even though I openly asked everyone to go on about their business through my suffering. She would join me and often the rest of the family on walks far back past the creek and into the bush, doing those special acts only a pet can do for you, to remember them as what they are to you. Most importantly though, like the other cats of my siblings, Carolina would come up to you when you were out of sorts and know just how to pick you up when you were down, usually with an oddly human like action that brought on back that joy you may have temporarily lost.

Being away from home with such a call really puts one totally off their game, no matter where they are or what they do, but at least Mother knew the plan, that she was to be now buried where the other two have been put to rest in the front lawn, just like the family cat she truly was. We know she was not human, pets like other animals only have the special qualities we instill within them, but there were always those magical times when they almost seemed to understand what exactly was being said and respond in kind as a member of the family. Indeed, she did good, so truly sorry to hear of her going, but everything in life with a purpose has a place and surely a time, just sadly her's was now.

Why on youtube is his facebook still up and linkedin her twitter all in myspace on you digg?

Cautiously, I think social networking websites are slowly taking over our human face to face, or maybe that is faith to faith, lives and I am sure I am not the only individual in our greater society that sees this. I noticed at Redeemer, a very small yet smart post secondary university, with academics on par with Mcmaster, Toronto and York for example, people have bubbled themselves within the bubble itself. Nobody takes a personal initiative to socialize collectively unless some autonomous decision is made by the school, a subgroup within the campus or a subgroup without, the shirking of which has made a weaker student body, dare I say proving those coming up are soon going to suffer because of this lack of responsibility on the part of us more senior level students.

Per example of all this, as we signed up or reeed up for ReDee, and throughout the freshmen F.R.O.G. or L.A.U.N.C.H. or whatever they call their rookie orientation week now, the more and more I saw its participants using their cell phones to tweet, facebook, myspace or digg around with others far away inside the cyberspace, instead of right there with others in front of them outside with reallife. One instance had a greenhorn Redeemer gal, with parents beside her, punching in frantically what at that second was going on about her for registration, check in and move in day, while both her father and mother looked over her shoulder to join in and read her thoughts, ideas and overall excitement, is this what is left of the allround sharing and caring family time? Another newcoming bud was already getting palled up, giving people out his network address and trading back with theirs, which ironically here used to be done easily with the bodybook, a paper book that easily held the photos and facts of all students and faculty, if ever one needed to know who anyone was, but just where did that great invention go, shame!

Understandably, online social networking is a part of our society's technological, industrial and scientific progress, modernity and supposedly positive forward push into the idealized future, thus we can not just buck today's bricks of goals that make up tomorrow's wall of morals, ethics and values for its own sake. But rather if we actually want the ancient morals, ethics and values of yesterday, in any way, shape or form, to be like and as they were then, we need to go back to our past, look at the origins without technology as they were, see what their meaning, purpose and nature actually were and are even now with modernity next to it. The prospective time in our succeeding place to be will allow us to see the wisdom of such thought, with the reason of faith or faith within reason abounding our every step forward, as we remember and never forget all those we took behind us to get here.