kill the ump

Lost last night's game. What made it worse was the performance by the league's worst ump. I didn't realize who he was at first, because when they're dressed in those unflattering blue outfits they tend to look alike. They're all squat little smurfs.

THIS ump was the same one I had words with in the middle of a game last year. I was pitching pretty well, dropping them right behind the plate where they should be. Perfect. He wouldn't give me a strike there. (He might occasionally give me a strike about 3 inches inside, but that's his problem.) Finally, after several miscalled strikes, I stopped pitching and stood there and said, calmly but clearly perturbed,"What is it you WANT? What exactly is your strike zone?" And he tried to explain how the ball's descent has to pass between shoulders and blahblahblah, I KNOW this already, but that doesn't matter. Umps give you the strike if it lands right behind the plate, shoulders and knees and other body parts notwithstanding. It's understood. Right? So I tune him right out and walk toward him--at which point he would've been within his rights to eject me--still jabbering on about his inconsistent and misinformed strike zone. We share a few more words. Finally, I realize that this guy is just a short little guy feeding his puffed-up ego, strutting around wielding his mega-supreme umpire power over us women, and I back off. Jerk.

And damn! A year later, and he still sucks.

Took a walk today and was quite thrilled, if only for a moment, about the auditory confluence of ipod music, singing birds, and lakeside fountain. That warm and fuzzy feeling quickly gave way to disgust as I noticed the graffiti on the bridge and the litter lining the bank of the lake. I don't understand litter. There are several trash cans at the lake. Why is there trash IN the lake? Are these the same folks who can't return their carts, they can't manage to throw their trash in a trash can? And there are always a few of those little plastic no-name drink barrels lying about, I think you get them at the Aldi for a buck a case or something. ALWAYS those plastic barrels, especially on the banks of the Delaware. WTF. I just don't get it.