Only One.

Kevin Costner’s character in the 1988 movie ‘Bull Durham’ said, "Know whatthe difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It's 25 hits. 25 hits in 500 at bats is 50 points, okay? There's 6 months in a season, that's about 25weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week. . .you get a groundball with eyes. . .and you're in Yankee Stadium."  My boys play a lot of baseball and although they favor the long-ball, they also know that a single is necessary to complete the cycle and sometimes a single base hit means knocking in one more run.  

When I think of the word single, I know that it has numerous meanings, especially when it comes to music.  I recently went to see the band Judah and the Lion perform.  Attending the concert by myself, I was able to absorb a lot of what was going on around me and was excited when the band announced that they were about to play their first single, “Take it All Back”.  Although it has not yet charted on Billboard, this first song from their new album, “Folk Hop n' Roll”, further blends the musical styles of hip-hop to folk, which I believe we will be hearing more of in 2017.

I definitively favor the album format, but I can admit that I used to purchase cassette singles (aka the "cassingle") as well as CD singles to hear what I thought could be cool, alternate versions of songs.  One of my favorites from 1993 was the Beastie Boys' “So Whatcha Want” with B-Real (from Cypress Hill) rapping a verse; however, the version of “So Whatcha Want” that I am listening to in 2016 is by The Record Company.   And the album that I cannot wait to listen to from start to finish is A Tribe Called Quest’s, “We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service”, not just the song labeled “the single”.   

I found myself focusing on the word single again this past week.  Although I am happily married, I recently played the role of Michael Keaton’s Jack, from the 1983 film “Mr. Mom”.   For 8 nights and 7 days while my wife traveled internationally, I was with my boys when they woke-up, got them to school, worked on homework right after school, fed them at dinnertime, made sure that they showered and went to bed.  We would then get up and do it all over again the next day, except on the weekend when we worked in time for basketball and pinball.

As much as I enjoy doing a lot of things on my own, this past week reminded me my family has become my team.  My wife is now back safely in Pittsburgh, my boys are becoming much more reliable in helping with chores around the house and I also realize that I do not need to be the power-hitting first baseman all the time to get things done.   I can go back to my collection of music singles, listen to Del Amitri's "Learn to Cry" and remember the line, "A familiar face with a loving smile greets you every day", and think that even when I am flying solo, I am a part of a great crew.

Thanks for reading.