At the conclusion of a morning Fajr prayer a phrase came to me: ‘Step Up to the Plate’. It did seem that this was the fragment of a message and that it might have something to do with the faith. Hence, it is time to explore the concept.
I was aware that its origins were in the the game of baseball. I rediscovered baseball late in life, upon acquiring a new friend. Judy was an avid baseball fan – the Oakland A’s – not the nearby famed San Francisco Giants. During baseball season we religiously drove over the Richmond-San Rafael bridge, having a grand and glorious time. We began watching the game on the bar television, accompanied by white wine – later finding our seats. Fond memories of Judy may be found on this blog. Go to Books in the Menu , and there you shall find Judy’s Matzo Balls Soup Recipe, If, and when, the Gaza Genocide ends, and a solution is successfully reached I shall take over the restaurant kitchen of where I am living at the time and prepare enormous quantities of the soup in celebration. The ‘recipe’ was written at least fifteen years ago. It has a conciliatory ending, most appropriate for that occasion. Quoting me.
“The secret of matzo ball soup is the Jewish tradition itself. It is warmth, soul, depth and intensity. Without these essential ingredients Judy’s matzo balls would be flat and tasteless, the Seder cold and lifeless,” (I admit to some slight editing of that sentence, see if you can find it.) Judy and I lost touch with one another when I went to London in 2013. Upon my return to San Francisco, discovered, to my utter dismay, she had died from breast cancer. Learned of her death at the Village Shopping Center where we had first met. I was distraught, A woman companion brought comfort. .
She: I know you are so sad, but you will remember her when she was well, you will remember the good times.
Such wisdom! It is absolutely true. I cannot imagine what Judy would be thinking of me now, if she was alive today. This an imaginary conversation.
She: What do you mean you are a Muslim???? We can’t drink before the games, and what about our drunken brunches.
Me: Judy!! Judy!! Judy!! I can drink non alcoholic beer and Saudi champagne. It is not the end of the world!
She: Okay! Okay! Okay! You do not need liquor anyway. You act drunk when you are sober.
The sad thing is this – if this ‘problem’ with Israel does not resolve itself, it may be the end of the world.
Oops! All of this is commonly known as a digression, which is a a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing.
Alter Ego: You did digress!
Me: Okay! Okay! Okay! I admit I did get off on a tangent, got sidetracked, lost my thread, and rambled.
Back to “Step up to the plate” means to accept a challenge or responsibility for something; to rise to the occasion. It means to take action when something needs to be done, even though this is difficult. The expression quickly became metaphorical to describe a person stepping into a role of responsibility or rising to an occasion similar to placing oneself in the batter’s box to face the stress of taking a turn at bat. Today, we use the idiom to indicate encouragement, accountability, and self-reflection.
I assume, therefore, that I am to feel encouragement, accountable and to indulge in self-reflection. Okay! Okay! Okay! The Miriam Webster site has an interesting quote by Barbara Lewin: “The mother either needs to continue to be the disciplinarian or get the father to step up to the plate and be a team player.”
By the way, here is the cite to “Step up to the plate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/step%20up%20to%20the%20plate. Accessed 14 Feb. 2024.
Somebody needs to step up to the plate and discipline Israel. I volunteer!! I will go to Israel, pretend I am Joan of Arc (without the horse because I have only been on a horse once). I will march the Israelites to NEOM, it is not that far. They can live there, happily ever after (or at least for some time). They cannot complain, it is new, has the best of everything and they can have the place all to themselves. It started from ‘scratch’ according to MBS so they will be the first people there.
I have just stepped up to the plate. I have been to NEOM, so I know the way. I was there in July 2023. I did not take many photographs as it was just ‘scratch’. I have recently seen videos showing the enormous progress that has been made. I can only speak English, but that should not be a problem. I can hire a translator with a loud voice and a megaphone. I may have to do this march in an air conditioned car if a solution is not found during Middle East winter. I get very grouchy when overheated.
Alter Ego: Would that be a problem?
Me: Oh yes! I get so miserable. I once said that if I lived near the Equator I would become a mass murderer.
Alter Ego: Why are you living in Saudi Arabia then? Are the people safe?
Me: There is air conditioning AND I became a Muslim and cannot kill.
Alter Ego: Okay! Okay! Okay!
The next step on this self appointed task is to enlist the help of Qatar in negotiating this deal. Qatar is excellent at negotiations. Visited Doha quite recently but did not see much of it. It was ridiculously funny in a way – it is a blessing to have sense of humor. I was residing in Abu Dhabi – decided that Qatar was a short flight away and I desperately needed a renewal of my UAE tourist visa. There was an App that I was unable to unload on my phone, even with the help of many employees of Ethiad Airlines. Arrived at the Qatar airport, thought I was going to have to stay at the airport for the duration of the visit because I did not have the App. It was coronavirus prevention time, Qatar was desperately trying to rid their country of it before the World Cup. A compromise was reached _ I could stay quarantined in a hotel until I passed inspection. So I did. It was of course ridiculous as I had proof of vaccinations and had been pcr tested on an almost daily basis in Abu Dhabi. I saw Doha from out my hotel window. I have no desire to return to Doha – but this time, I guess somebody would pay my way. It would be inexpensive, there is a causeway between Khobar and Bahrain and then between Bahrain and Qatar. Someone could just hire a car and a driver. I have a valid California driver’s license but one does not drive a rented car on an important diplomatic journey.
If you have any doubt about the veracity of any of this please type Qatar into the search engine of this blog. There are 244 entries. There are actually many untold stories about my Qatar connections. It will have to wait. Trust me it is utterly irrelevant to any negotiations. You can absolutely trust me on that (and practically everything).
Decided to scroll through the Qatar to discover the date of the ill-fated visit, knowing I handwritten a blog from there. This the title of the March 2, 2022 blog.
Back to the History of Qatar; This More Recent and UpToDate; Information Taken From Wikipedia Wikipedia Who Perhaps Does Not Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth; The Oath Explained and Illustrated; Advantages of Telling the Truth For Individuals and the Society; An Example of Peace Keeping Not Reported in the Western Press; Photograph of Alexis with Face Painted as the Qatar Flag; All of Qatar Loves You
With some degree of curiosity I read the blog in its entirety. I quote from the last paragraph.
“The photograph is me with my face painted like the Qatar flag. Photo taken on April 5,2021 and was posted on Instagram and probably on the blog. At that time someone wrote:Anonymous: All of Qatar loves you! Most unusual but true. You can see the photograph – it is real and so am I.”
This blog began speaking of the origins of ‘step up to the plate’ but then digressed, then digressed again, and then digressed again. Wikipedia says this about digressions:
“Digressions in a literary text serve a diverse array of functions, such as a means to provide background information, a way to illustrate or emphasize a point through example or anecdote, and even a channel through which to satirize a subject.”
Digression as a rhetorical device can also be found in present-day sermons: after introducing the topic, the speaker will introduce a story that seems to be unrelated, return to the original topic, and then use the story to illustrate the speaker’s point.
It looks like I know what I am doing. Hahaha
Do have to admit that it had been a rather unusual morning. Photos include one sent by AK1 of the landmark Khobar Water Tower during an electrical storm, Another photo of my Khobar hotel room, sent to a young woman I met in July, 2023 at the Riyadh National Museum. She and her husband were visiting the museum from Mecca, where he is a high school teacher. She and I developed an instant rapport although we not speak the same language. She gifted me with the stylish hat she was wearing, accepting later the California hat I was wearing. Her hat was much prettier. She gave me another stylist hat on a subsequent July visit. We stay in touch using WhatsApp. I sent her a photo. Me: Your hats and me in my hotel in Khobar. She: (a voice message) Love the photo. So beautiful. Me: (voice message) Your hats are with me always. To Canada then back to Saudi Arabia. Love the hats. Love you.
The day could not be complete without this amusing encounter with a Saudi man, who arrived at the hotel brining me a four months supply of my daily required medication (a blood pressure med and a statin) Saudi Arabia does not have the same onerous process required to get prescription drugs – if the drugs are not a controlled substance. Medications can be obtained without a doctor’s intervention but with the caveat that one should overdose. Therefore, the following conversation took place.
Me: Thank you for the ample supply of meds, it gives me peace of mind. I promise I will not take them all at once. He: I was hoping you would. Me: I hate it when you are funnier than I am. That was a joke wasn’t it? He: No. Me: Now you are in real trouble.
How can one not love Saudi Arabia? The Saudis are kind, wonderful, generous and hospitable people. I am so blessed to be here and planning to stay. Alhamdullah.
