8/2/22
Still a bit too atwitter with what’s going on in the here and now to focus long enough to write something new and coherent, so I’m rerunning an early post about Yogi Berra, one of my favorite people that I’ve never met. (Well, actually kinda did when I went to a sports show many moons ago just to get his autograph (and a handshake!). Paid for his signature no less; proof of how much I appreciate this dude.) Also added a video of Bruce Springsteen, another New Jersey icon, after seeing my favorite local band do a great cover of one of his tunes recently.
Not to brag, but it only took me TWENTY years to get my associates degree! (I can be a bit slow at accomplishing some things :)) I had taken a philosophy class somewhere toward the beginning of this educational odyssey and loved it. When it came time to do a report on a philosopher I wanted to do it on someone most people wouldn’t think of. I told this to another instructor I had at the time and he mentioned his philosophy class had included Yogi Berra as a modern day wise man. I immediately knew that was who the report had to be about! I had heard of Mr. Berra but didn’t know much about him. By the time I was half way through the research he had become my hero, initially because of his self honesty and ability to laugh at himself, (something I’m relearning how to do), then later because of some of the things he did, which were never publicized. Since my class never mentioned Mr. Berra as a philosopher I decided to write a couple pages proving why he should be considered a great guru of our time. Here’s ‘The Proof’.
Proving Yogi Berra is a philosopher shouldn’t be too hard, provided you keep an open mind. (Wide open, that is.)
First of all, there’s his name. When put in the same group as Aristotle, Pythagorus and Thomas Aquinas, it sounds distinctive, unique, and wise. The names all have four syllables, too.
Secondly, he is definitely one of the most quoted men in recent history. How many times have you heard: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”; “If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”; “How can you think and hit at the same time?”; “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.”; “Dickey was learning me of his experience.”; “When you see a fork in the road, take it”; when somebody asked him what time it was he replied, “You mean right now?”; and probably one his most famous quotes, “Thank you for making this day necessary” when giving a speech for Yogi Berra day in his home town. There are many more where these came from, too. It seems like everyone (well, maybe one in ten or twenty people) have their own favorite Berraism.
This brings me to my next point. As with most great philosophers, after a while it gets hard to tell if Plato, Socrates, or Pascal actually said something that was attributed to them. It seems that their disciples (or fans and reporters) start putting words in their gurus’ mouths. Any book or article on Yogi Berra will mention this idea. Mr. Berra plants his seed of wisdom into many people’s minds and then they create their own Berraisms. He’s very inspirational (or contagious).
For my fourth attempt at trying to convince you that Mr. Berra is a wise man, I am going to describe some of his actions. (Sometimes actions speak louder than words.) Yogi Berra was at a father and son banquet one night where all the boys were given a baseball and bat which Mr. Berra would autograph for them. He noticed one of the tables of boys didn’t have any bats or balls. When he asked why, someone told him it was because the boys were from an orphanage, and the organizers just thought it would be “enough of a thrill for them to be here”. Mr. Berra left the head table, went over to the orphans’ table and signed anything the boys had. When he was asked to return to the head table to make a speech he replied, “Go on with the program, I’m talking to some friends”.
One of Mr. Berra’s famous, most repeated actions was that he always swung at bad pitches and he frequently hit home runs. After hitting a grand slam one time he was told that he had hit a bad pitch. His reaction was: “A bad pitch isn’t a bad pitch if you hit it into the seats”. In other words, no matter what life hands you, whether seemingly good or bad, it’s up to you to do the best you can with it no matter what other people think.
In conclusion, it’s easy to make fun of Yogi Berra because he always takes it well, and laughs in the process. At a time when people resort to serious mudslinging when they find out someone isn’t ‘perfection’ it’s great (comforting?) to know that there is someone out there who doesn’t care what other people think of his imperfections. Yogi Berra is a man who says and acts on whatever he feels, letting people see the real man instead of a reasonable facsimile of the ‘perfect’ man. Sometimes, all that is more important than great words spewed out, written and edited by a staff of writers and publicity agents. Sometimes, the Man, his actions, and sense of humor about himself are more important that the all-mighty, all illusive ‘perfection’. In the words of a great (in my opinion) philosopher, “I’d be pretty dumb if all of a sudden I started being something I’m not.”
Thank you, Mr. Berra, for not pretending to be perfect. (R.I.P., Sir.)
There wasn’t a song in the initial post, but when I saw my favorite local band recently they played “Born To Run” by Bruce Springsteen. (Did an awesome job OF COURSE!) Got to see Mr. Springsteen (and Clarence Clemons – gotta love him, too. R.I.P., ‘Big Man’.) a couple of times; once in the mid 80’s and again in the late 90’s. Excellent shows, as one might expect, and this song live is so amazing because EVERYONE knows and loves it, and they all sing along in harmony. (Well, ALMOST everyone. Ahem. Choose to believe all the other voices drowned out yours truly. 🙂 Hopefully!!) There are two ‘Born To Run’ Videos ‘cuz I couldn’t decide which one. The first is a highlight reel, the second is a concert clip from Barcelona, Spain in 2002. It gives a glimpse of the energy and audience participation of that song played live.
