What I did . . . . you wont' believe!

For years  when I had a pretty long commute to work, national public radio was my salvation.

It kept me focused on the early morning drives and for the evening return trips.  And, hey, it also gave me lots of conversational fodder for when I wasn't alone in the car.  When I could say with certainty, "Well I heard on NPR.......yadda yadda yadda.......".

Of course, I had my favorite broadcasters  --  people who became almost friends as I drove and listened, smiled in agreement, or shook my head in disbelief.   Among those favorites was --  well, I almost hesitate to say this  -- Bill Littlefield.

Bill Littlefield, you say shaking your head.

But ....but ....

Isn't he all about sports???

"Oh my god, 
is she going to turn this rather nice 
artsy, craftsy blog into a sports rant!" 
  

And just who is this Bill Littlefield anyway, you rightly ask?  Well, he's been on National Public Radio since 1993.  He teaches creative writing at Curry College in Massachusetts where he is writer-in-residence and is the author of several books which I haven't read; they are about sports.  What I like about listening Bill Littlefield on radio is that he talks about sports but in a different way than the heavy testosterone guys who present sports like it is really important to the culture and the fate of the planet.  And what's more he's funny.  Smart.  And, sensitve.  (I don't know if he's a "sensitive new age guy" or not.  He could be.)  And he has politically liberal leanings. Here's what the Boston Globe had to say about him.

“Littlefield isn’t merely a voice of sanity in the overly critical, overly hyped world of sports, he’s also a fine writer whose wry essays explore the pains and pleasures of fandom, the perseverance of great athletes in lesser-known sports like women’s ice hockey, and the intersection of sports and family. Littlefield blends a love of sports with a healthy perspective, a yearning to look at sports as one part of a life, but not the only part. . . . The author’s love of sports is abundant, but it’s an adult kind of love. In his final essay, Littlefield lyrically explains why sports are so beloved: ‘It is for the temporary connection to beauty that the game offers: the beauty of the perfect move, selected and executed for its own sake; the joy of the marriage of talent and skills developed from hard practice. It’s an image that celebrates life.’ Only a Game does the same.”

And anyway, I happen to think that Bill Littlefield is the non-sporting/thinking-woman's sports broadcaster.  I suppose I like Only A Game because I don't really need to know anything about sports.

And I don't.
Nothing.
Nada.
And, frankly, that's OK with me.  I like it that way ....... really I do.

But.

When I heard that Bill Littlefield was speaking in Portsmouth I had to go.  And I did.  Larry and I ate dinner out at one of our favorite Indian restaurants and then headed over to meet and listen to my commuting - radio - favorite. 

I liked him just as much in person as I expected to.

But I still don't know anything about sports.