Today is Red Sox opening day. It is a day that heralds the beginning of Spring and the renewal of Hope for millions of baseball fans. The game of baseball will be a part of the daily fabric of our lives for the next seven months. There will be moments of great joy and bitter disappointment throughout those months and no single piece of literature captures the roller coaster ride that is a baseball game better than the poem Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. It is a song of hope and despair and it is one of my favorites.
Here it is:
Casey at the Bat
The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.
But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.
Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.
From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And its likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.
With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."
"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.
The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.
Opening Day: Casey at the Bat
Talking Hot Dog Drive in Trailer
Fans of this site know I love these schticky old drive in trailers almost as much as I love hot dogs!
OK So McDonalds DOESN'T HAVE HOT DOGS....
....AND their food sucks, but it sure is clean!
There are several ubiquitous character actors in this bit of business-but I don't know their names....
This is a classic from 1973. My fourth grade class actually performed this song for a school chorus assembly and we got a standing ovation! Ya gotta love show tune style advertising!
Dinner at the Drive-In
I love these old drive in movie ads. Nowadays this family would be dining at the mall and going to the Cinemaplex for a film.
I'd love to have this car today, what a classic! Imagine getting this dressed up to slurp ice cream at the drive-in...
Dirty Harry on Ketchup
Kinda sums up the whole ketchup on a hot dog thing.....
"God this stuff isn't getting to me - the shootings, the knifings, the beatings. Old ladies being bashed in the head for their social security checks. Nah that doesn't bother me. But you know what does bother me? You know what makes me really sick to my stomach? It's watching you stuff your face with those hotdogs! Nobody - I mean nobody puts ketchup on a hot dog!"
In another famous scene, Dirty Harry munches on a hot dog as he blows away the bad guys.
Armour Hot Dogs
Who remembers the old Armour Hot Dog song? Come on now....
Hot dogs, Armour Hot Dogs
What kinds of kids eat Armour Hot Dogs?
Big kids, little kids, kids who climb on rocks
fat kids, skinny kids, even kids with chicken pox
love hot dogs, Armour Dot Dogs
The dogs kids love to bite!
You can listen to it HERE
And good luck getting it out of your head!
Where do Hot Dogs come from?
There are always lots of questions as to where hot dogs come from. Some say they come from scraps, fat or "lips and asses." The true answer is it depends on what type of hot dog you purchase.
Imagine my surprise when I found out hot dogs actually grow on trees, as evidenced in this video.
Armour Franks
I love these old intermission trailers, especially when Hot Dogs are involved! Such catchy tunes.....
Let's all go to the Lobby
Classic Snack Bar Trailer- My apologies if you can't get it out of your head!
Don't Touch The Weiner
While this isn't a "classic" hot dog commercial, it is kind of funny. I never saw this one on TV, I just came across it on YouTube....
Hot Dog Days Redux
I had this video on the site last spring but it was removed from YouTube. I found another posting of it the other day so I thought I'd share it again. This is my favorite campy hot dog intermission clip. This is the type of stuff they played between movies at the drive in theaters in the 50's and 60's. Drive In Theaters largely disappeared in the early 80's as developers found more profitable uses for the land they occupied.
Remember, Hot Dog Days are FUN DAYS!
Just Don't Call me Johnson
With the Super Bowl on tomorrow, there will be a whole new crop of funny ads to laugh at. The beer ads are usually the funniest. This ad from the 70's for Anheiser Busch Natural Light was an instant classic. I remember people going around saying "you can call me Ray..." all the time. I had a customer once named Ray-Jay after the commercial!
Enjoy.
Here's Ray doing the same schtick years later.
