In “Field of Dreams” Kevin
Costner leaps out of the Iowan corn fields , not listening with his third ear, he would have heard Stan the Man Musial playing his harmonica in the
outfield for 22 years...Stan the Man
Musial’s celestial swan song at ninety two years.
II
An outfielder for the Cards,. He
patrolled the right field at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field whiule his Terry Moore and
Enos Slaughter mustered their feet, arms and eyes, with their mitts in center
and left field.
The bleacher knot hole kids
bouncing on their schoolboy discordance of fifty five cents, didn’t know
Musiasl, living up to his 22 years of a Ted Williams aura of Iowan cornfield
War time service and “Field of Dreams”.
A puree of a first time Hall of Famer., a
twenty time All Star.
III
Even a realist, like President
Obama recognizing Stan the Man’s dream playing out. No, not the “luckiest man
on the face of this Earth”, Lou Gehrig, but the joy of playing his harmonica once his day time job
had come to its nine inning (extra inning) inevitability.
“The most singles, doubles,
triples. Three time most valuable player,” said the President, at
those “Field of Dreams” honors in St Louis’s Sportsman Park.
IV
He was a born Hero.. A harmonica
player disguised in a baseball player’s uniform. He wore his heroics like
humble clothe, the modesty so natural , like pitcher Harry the Cat Breecheen,
warming up in the bullpen, waiting for the telephone to ring...”You
ready,Cat?”
The Gas House gang of Pepper Martin the Waner
brothers (Paul&Lloyd, “Big Poison “Little Poison”) “Ducky” Joe
Medwick and Leo the Lip Durocher “nice guys finish last”, and the
Professor. Branch Rickey, who later broke the color line with Ucla’s
Jackie Robinson in Ebbets Field’s “Field of Dreams” His 7th heaven
hand and eye coordination already tested and proven, plying ping pong in Ucla’s
men’s gym.
So Stan the Man’s quest unlike
Orestes slaying the Minotaur, was the harmonica. His hand mouth
instrument.
Boris Mikovovitch and his Musial musketeers... Larry Adler
notwithstaning his pleasure
principle.......his soul
feasting on the Brooklyn turf, always up for the bus ride, the train, the
hotel, the grub. The sweepstakes of a knothole kid’s hero worshiping.
Studying his stats, his left
handed batting average: the hits he made in his times at bat.
Dividing the hits and home plate
appearances for his batting average.
V
“Wow! Aweseome!”says the 21st
centuiry information age. A genius of a Musial, playing the harmonica,
while playing out his National Pas time’s “Field of Dreams” .
The Ebbets Field center field bleachers above the once upon
a time Abe Stark clothier sign . The harmonica’s blues sounding out the drift
of a 331 lifetime batting average.....a legendary melody, sweeping thru the
ceiling of our skies.
“On the ole coyote prairies.........stout hearted men stood
the test of time, testing stout hearted “field(s) of dreams....
“We will fight for
the right to be free.”
St Louis, Missouri, January 19, 2013
