danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

On my way home from school or work, I often pick up lunch or dinner.  Next to Larry’s Giant Subs at 13th Street and 16th Avenue, I often see a custom motorized bicycle with ridiculously tall handlebars, banana seat, and multiple baskets.  It reminds me of the glory days of my motorized bicycle, The Green Monster, which I rode daily early last year.

I had learned about motorized bicycles when I stumbled upon an eBay auction for an engine kit.  Since I go to school or work–and usually both–every day, and sometimes make multiple trips, the prospect of shaving several minutes off my commute was appealing.  Moreover, the cold winter mornings and blazing hot summer afternoons are unpleasant on a regular bicycle.  But I rationalized that they would be more tolerable on a motorized bicycle, since I’d move quickly, and, thus, spend less time in the winter cold, and expend little energy, and, thus, get less sweaty in the summer heat.  I bought one of those motor kits on eBay and made my machine using a bicycle given to me by Sarah Jean Russell.  When I began riding my Green Monster, I learned that, indeed, riding fast in the cold beat riding slowly in the cold, and I appreciated that my commute took half the usual time.  But I didn’t get a chance to learn about beating the summer heat:  I only rode my motorized bicycle until mid-April, when concerns for my safety, and annoyance at the myriad problems associated with motorized bicycles ultimately exceeded my passion for speed.

That all came back to me this afternoon when I finally met the owner of the custom motorized bicycle outside Larry’s Giant Subs.  He was an older fellow, and in incredibly profane language he told me how much he loved his bike, but how much trouble he got into with the police, who don’t seem to agree on whether motorized bicycles are motorcycles that require special licenses and registration, or bicycles that don’t.  And he alluded to the fact that his wife took out an insurance policy on him.  I can do without all that.

Filed under: General, Technology, Transportation on April 16th, 2010 | No Comments »

April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball.  So, today, as all players on all teams wear the number forty-two on their jerseys, here is mine.  This was my jersey when I played for the South Clayton Athletic Association Braves at eight years old.  I was number forty-two.

This jersey, which Miriam sometimes wears, is in the Dana Heritage Project Catalog of Significant Objects.

Filed under: Dana Heritage Project, History, Special Occasions, Sports on April 15th, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Though it is still spring, I have declared this the Summer of Baseball.  As I have already written, I have attended several Florida Gators baseball games, and intend to attend still more.  Last weekend, I went with my father to watch the hated New York Yankees play my hometown Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Though Tropicana Field is a soulless place, and though the Rays lost, and though the hated Yankees’ haughty fans were ignoble in their victory, I still was glad to spend the afternoon with my father.  But, in the future, I will plan to attend games in which the Rays play the Orioles or the Indians.  For now, the Rays are tied with the Blue Jays for first place in the American League East.  I look forward to the rest of the Summer of Baseball.

Filed under: Sports, Travel on April 15th, 2010 | 4 Comments »

The Major League baseball season has just begun, but college ball has been underway for some time.  I’ve seen many of the Gators’ home games this year, and have had a great time.  I went last night, when UF crushed Jacksonville, and last weekend when UF split the series with Vanderbilt.

UF plays good ball, and I now have a favorite player: center fielder Matt den Dekker.  Last Friday night against Vanderbilt, UF was just barely ahead late in the game, and Vandy was threatening with a runner on third.  That is a dangerous situation, of course, because any deeply hit ball is liable to see that base runner tag up and score.  When the Vanderbilt batter hit one to deep center, I fully expected to see UF’s lead slip away.  But den Dekker caught the ball, and in a feat I could not believe–one of those feats that happen from time to time and that make baseball such a wonderful game–he threw the ball like a laser to home plate.  I don’t think the ball hit the ground before the catcher caught it.  No cut-off man was involved.  Den Dekker just threw the ball all the way from center field to home plate, and the Vanderbilt runner didn’t get more than a few feet off the base before turning around and heading back.  It was amazing.  The “Bleacher Creatures” sitting out in left field have a variety of chants.  When Matt den Dekker comes to the plate, one fan will shout “den!”, and all respond, “Dekker!”  Now I know why.

The Gators are going on the road for a week or so, so I won’t be seeing them for a while (though I would like to go see the Softball team play a double-header against Kentucky on 17 April).   But this weekend I will go with my dad to see the Rays play the Hated Yankees at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.  Watch the game on Television, and see if you can spot us out by the right field foul pole.

Filed under: Sports on April 7th, 2010 | No Comments »