Satchel Paige

I was reading a baseball magazine the other day and the wondrously accomplished Satchel Paige was highlighted at one point. The essay, published in a Sports Illustrated magazine (highly recommended) is titled, “Pitcher for the Ages”. The man started to play professionally at 26. His first year in the majors didn’t come until he turned 42 (when most players are packing their socks and bats forever). Until that time he was a superstar in the Negro leagues  and also played in the Dominican Republic. He first played in the majors with  Cleveland. That first year he had a 2.48 ERA and went 6-1. He had an outstanding, although short, career in the ‘bigs’ . He was an all-star in 1952 and 1953 and he pitched until he was…are you sitting down?…59 years old.

It is not uncommon for me to look back on the various ‘chapters’ of my life now that I am 71. Nostalgia is powerful and it ‘hoovers’ you into long reveries. Typically, I think, we Pro-Tools our past. In other words we edit the memories until they are more acceptable, more joyful, less negative. Hide away the bad stuff, at least put in a storage locker where all you can hear is muffled tones from the truth tellers.

We do have evidence of our lives twists and turns. Lots of photos, video, and in the case of musicians, often recordings, some of which are listenable!

Okay, enough about my past. I think it is healthy and likely life extending to stay physically and mentally active. And move forward…even baby steps….just forward. This is not a new insight, of course, but it was reinforced when I read a phrase coined by the great Satchel Paige,

”Never look back, something may be gaining on you…”

Today I will continue to work at shortening my wish list, or at least make it less daunting. The one that is toreally learn…I mean in depth, the Bach Goldberg Variations.  Why not?