A Reader's Advisory, readalike and new book blog. From Long Island with a Brentwood slant.
![Casey’s Revenge, by Grantland Rice (1906)
There were saddened hearts in Mudville for a week or even more;There were muttered oaths and curses- every fan in town was sore.“Just think,” said one, “how soft it looked with Casey at the bat,And then to think he’d go and spring a bush league trick like that!”
All his past fame was forgotten- he was now a hopeless “shine.”They called him “Strike-Out Casey,” from the mayor down the line;And as he came to bat each day his bosom heaved a sigh,While a look of hopeless fury shone in mighty Casey’s eye.
He pondered in the days gone by that he had been their king,That when he strolled up to the plate they made the welkin ring;But now his nerve had vanished, for when he heard them hootHe “fanned” or “popped out” daily, like some minor league recruit.
He soon began to sulk and loaf, his batting eye went lame;No home runs on the score card now were chalked against his name;The fans without exception gave the manager no peace,For one and all kept clamoring for Casey’s quick release.
The Mudville squad began to slump, the team was in the air;Their playing went from bad to worse - nobody seemed to care.“Back to the woods with Casey!” was the cry from Rooters’ Row.“Get some one who can hit the ball, and let that big dub go!”
The lane is long, some one has said, that never turns again,And Fate, though fickle, often gives another chance to men;And Casey smiled; his rugged face no longer wore a frown-The pitcher who had started all the trouble came to town.
All Mudville had assembled - ten thousand fans had comeTo see the twirler who had put big Casey on the bum;And when he stepped into the box, the multitude went wild;He doffed his cap in proud disdain, but Casey only smiled.
“Play ball!” the umpire’s voice rang out, and then the game began.But in that throng of thousands there was not a single fanWho thought that Mudville had a chance, and with the setting sunTheir hopes sank low- the rival team was leading “four to one.”
The last half of the ninth came round, with no change in the score;But when the first man up hit safe, the crowd began to roar;The din increased, the echo of ten thousand shouts was heardWhen the pitcher hit the second and gave “four balls” to the third.
Three men on base - nobody out - three runs to tie the game!A triple meant the highest niche in Mudville’s hall of fame;But here the rally ended and the gloom was deep as night,When the fourth one “fouled to catcher” and the fifth “flew out to right.”
A dismal groan in chorus came; a scowl was on each faceWhen Casey walked up, bat in hand, and slowly took his place;His bloodshot eyes in fury gleamed, his teeth were clenched in hate;He gave his cap a vicious hook and pounded on the plate.
But fame is fleeting as the wind and glory fades away;There were no wild and woolly cheers, no glad acclaim this day;They hissed and groaned and hooted as they clamored: “Strike him out!”But Casey gave no outward sign that he had heard this shout.
The pitcher smiled and cut one loose - across the plate it sped;Another hiss, another groan. “Strike one!” the umpire said.Zip! Like a shot the second curve broke just below the knee.“Strike two!” the umpire roared aloud; but Casey made no plea.
No roasting for the umpire now - his was an easy lot;But here the pitcher whirled again- was that a rifle shot?A whack, a crack, and out through the space the leather pellet flew,A blot against the distant sky, a speck against the blue.
Above the fence in center field in rapid whirling flightThe sphere sailed on - the blot grew dim and then was lost to sight.Ten thousand hats were thrown in air, ten thousand threw a fit,But no one ever found the ball that mighty Casey hit.
O, somewhere in this favored land dark clouds may hide the sun,And somewhere bands no longer play and children have no fun!And somewhere over blighted lives there hangs a heavy pall,But Mudville hearts are happy now, for Casey hit the ball.
SDN-009526, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum. [Library of Congress’ American Memory Project]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/fc6722d115cf622c0687a8907fb29fda/tumblr_mklh6tqeoj1qkvyg0o1_400.jpg)
Casey’s Revenge, by Grantland Rice (1906)
There were saddened hearts in Mudville for a week or even more;
There were muttered oaths and curses- every fan in town was sore.
“Just think,” said one, “how soft it looked with Casey at the bat,
And then to think he’d go and spring a bush league trick like that!”
All his past fame was forgotten- he was now a hopeless “shine.”
They called him “Strike-Out Casey,” from the mayor down the line;
And as he came to bat each day his bosom heaved a sigh,
While a look of hopeless fury shone in mighty Casey’s eye.
He pondered in the days gone by that he had been their king,
That when he strolled up to the plate they made the welkin ring;
But now his nerve had vanished, for when he heard them hoot
He “fanned” or “popped out” daily, like some minor league recruit.
He soon began to sulk and loaf, his batting eye went lame;
No home runs on the score card now were chalked against his name;
The fans without exception gave the manager no peace,
For one and all kept clamoring for Casey’s quick release.
The Mudville squad began to slump, the team was in the air;
Their playing went from bad to worse - nobody seemed to care.
“Back to the woods with Casey!” was the cry from Rooters’ Row.
“Get some one who can hit the ball, and let that big dub go!”
The lane is long, some one has said, that never turns again,
And Fate, though fickle, often gives another chance to men;
And Casey smiled; his rugged face no longer wore a frown-
The pitcher who had started all the trouble came to town.
All Mudville had assembled - ten thousand fans had come
To see the twirler who had put big Casey on the bum;
And when he stepped into the box, the multitude went wild;
He doffed his cap in proud disdain, but Casey only smiled.
“Play ball!” the umpire’s voice rang out, and then the game began.
But in that throng of thousands there was not a single fan
Who thought that Mudville had a chance, and with the setting sun
Their hopes sank low- the rival team was leading “four to one.”
The last half of the ninth came round, with no change in the score;
But when the first man up hit safe, the crowd began to roar;
The din increased, the echo of ten thousand shouts was heard
When the pitcher hit the second and gave “four balls” to the third.
Three men on base - nobody out - three runs to tie the game!
A triple meant the highest niche in Mudville’s hall of fame;
But here the rally ended and the gloom was deep as night,
When the fourth one “fouled to catcher” and the fifth “flew out to right.”
A dismal groan in chorus came; a scowl was on each face
When Casey walked up, bat in hand, and slowly took his place;
His bloodshot eyes in fury gleamed, his teeth were clenched in hate;
He gave his cap a vicious hook and pounded on the plate.
But fame is fleeting as the wind and glory fades away;
There were no wild and woolly cheers, no glad acclaim this day;
They hissed and groaned and hooted as they clamored: “Strike him out!”
But Casey gave no outward sign that he had heard this shout.
The pitcher smiled and cut one loose - across the plate it sped;
Another hiss, another groan. “Strike one!” the umpire said.
Zip! Like a shot the second curve broke just below the knee.
“Strike two!” the umpire roared aloud; but Casey made no plea.
No roasting for the umpire now - his was an easy lot;
But here the pitcher whirled again- was that a rifle shot?
A whack, a crack, and out through the space the leather pellet flew,
A blot against the distant sky, a speck against the blue.
Above the fence in center field in rapid whirling flight
The sphere sailed on - the blot grew dim and then was lost to sight.
Ten thousand hats were thrown in air, ten thousand threw a fit,
But no one ever found the ball that mighty Casey hit.
O, somewhere in this favored land dark clouds may hide the sun,
And somewhere bands no longer play and children have no fun!
And somewhere over blighted lives there hangs a heavy pall,
But Mudville hearts are happy now, for Casey hit the ball.
Gayatri Singh (References Services Coordinator & Librarian for Communication at the Social Sciences & Humanities Library, UC San Diego) brought Regina Andrews to our attention and shared this information from a talk at her library by Ethelene Whitmire (UW-Madison):
Regina Andrews…
Happy 99th Birthday Ralph Ellison (1914-1994) “The world is a possibility if only you’ll discover it.”
Pick up the books of the African-American Literary Master at your local library, by clicking here.
Thanks NYLA / Empire State Center for the Book
Shirley Chisholm - Equal Rights for Women
E Q U A L R I G H T S F O R W O M E N
HON. SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
of New York
In the House of Representatives, May 21, 1969
Mrs. CHISHOLM. Mr.Speaker, when a young woman graduates from college and starts looking for a job, she is likely to have a frustrating and even demeaning experience ahead of her. If she walks into an office for an interview, the first question she will be asked is, “Do you type?”
There is a calculated system of prejudice that lies unspoken behind that question. Why is it acceptable for women to be secretaries, librarians, and teachers, but totally unacceptable for them to be managers, administrators, doctors, lawyers, and Members of Congress.
The unspoken assumption is that women are different. They do not have executive ability orderly minds, stability, leadership skills, and they are too emotional.
It has been observed before, that society for a long time, discriminated against another minority, the blacks, on the same basis - that they were different and inferior. The happy little homemaker and the contented “old darkey” on the plantation were both produced by prejudice.
As a black person, I am no stranger to race prejudice. But the truth is that in the political world I have been far oftener discriminated against because I am a womanthan because I am black.
Prejudice against blacks is becoming unacceptable although it will take years to eliminate it. But it is doomed because, slowly, white America is beginning to admit that it exists. Prejudice against women is still acceptable. There is very little understanding yet of the immorality involved in double pay scales and the classification of most of the better jobs as “for men only.”
More than half of the population of the United States is female. But women occupy only 2 percent of the managerial positions. They have not even reached the level of tokenism yet No women sit on the AFL-CIO council or Supreme Court There have been only two women who have held Cabinet rank, and at present there are none. Only two women now hold ambassadorial rank in the diplomatic corps. In Congress, we are down to one Senator and 10 Representatives.
Considering that there are about 3 1/2 million more women in the United States than men, this situation is outrageous.
It is true that part of the problem has been that women have not been aggressive in demanding their rights. This was also true of the black population for many years. They submitted to oppression and even cooperated with it. Women have done the same thing. But now there is an awareness of this situation particularly among the younger segment of the population.
As in the field of equal rights for blacks, Spanish-Americans, the Indians, and other groups, laws will not change such deep-seated problems overnight But they can be used to provide protection for those who are most abused, and to begin the process of evolutionary change by compelling the insensitive majority to reexamine it’s unconscious attitudes.
It is for this reason that I wish to introduce today a proposal that has been before every Congress for the last 40 years and that sooner or later must become part of the basic law of the land — the equal rights amendment.
Let me note and try to refute two of the commonest arguments that are offered against this amendment. One is that women are already protected under the law and do not need legislation. Existing laws are not adequate to secure equal rights for women. Sufficient proof of this is the concentration of women in lower paying, menial, unrewarding jobs and their incredible scarcity in the upper level jobs. If women are already equal, why is it such an event whenever one happens to be elected to Congress?
It is obvious that discrimination exists. Women do not have the opportunities that men do. And women that do not conform to the system, who try to break with the accepted patterns, are stigmatized as ”odd” and “unfeminine.” The fact is that a woman who aspires to be chairman of the board, or a Member of the House, does so for exactly the same reasons as any man. Basically, these are that she thinks she can do the job and she wants to try.
A second argument often heard against the equal rights amendment is that is would eliminate legislation that many States and the Federal Government have enacted giving special protection to women and that it would throw the marriage and divorce laws into chaos.
As for the marriage laws, they are due for a sweeping reform, and an excellent beginning would be to wipe the existing ones off the books. Regarding special protection for working women, I cannot understand why it should be needed. Women need no protection that men do not need. What we need are laws to protect working people, to guarantee them fair pay, safe working conditions, protection against sickness and layoffs, and provision for dignified, comfortable retirement. Men and women need these things equally. That one sex needs protection more than the other is a male supremacist myth as ridiculous and unworthy of respect as the white supremacist myths that society is trying to cure itself of at this time.
“Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.”
-Shirley Chisholm, First African-American Congresswoman
In 1968, Chisholm won her first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Named to the Forestry Subcommittee of the Agriculture Committee, she protested on the floor of the House that there were no forests in Bedford-Stuyvesant for her to represent and that she wanted to work on committees that dealt with racism, poverty, and urban decay. Within weeks she was named to the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. In her seven terms in the House, she also was appointed to the Education and Labor Committee and ultimately became the only woman on the Rules Committee. Throughout her tenure, she opposed war and defense expenditures and worked for employment, housing, education, and antihunger programs for the poor. She also worked against laws and customs that limited women’s careers and supported abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment. Her women’s liberation views made her a popular speaker on college campuses. She also was an active member of its Congressional Black Caucus. (Biography Reference Center)
Read more about this amazing woman by reading her biography, Unbought and Unbossed by clicking on the link.
