Hello walls

From the desk of Pigpen Price...


Hello walls.

The above is a title of a song written by Willie Nelson and released by country singer Faron Young in 1961. The tune is about a down-hearted man who lost his lover and is all alone in his house with nothing to do but stare at the walls and the ceiling.

Here we are in 2020 and quarantined in our home because of a virus, an unseen enemy which is  steamrolling across our country, infecting more than 100,000 of our fellow Americans and killing  2,000 of our citizens in the past 29 days.

Here in Arizona, the total infected has reached the 700-mark. We have lost 13 citizens.

Our schools are closed, our restaurants are reduced to take out only, our college campuses are closed. We are reduced to daily runs to the grocery stores, the pharmacies, the gas stations and a quick return on a side street back to the friendly confines of our home.

The old are  "the most vulnerable" to the virus. I fit the category. I'm among 'em at the age of 74 and pushing 75. Underlying health conditions? Yep, I fit that category as well with bypass surgery (12 years ago), asthma, breathing problems and a narrow esophagus (Who I inherited that from I do not know).

It's been seven decades and I'm still cruising. And you know what? This coronavirus, which has nothing to do with my favorite beer, will not get the upper hand. This too shall pass and I'll soon join my teammates on our 60-and-over baseball team and return to action.

Although I have to admit, I'm chomping at the bit to get back on the playing field with the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS). The organization has been around since 1968 (52 years) and we will not let this coronavirus keep us away from playing America's favorite pastime.

The TOTS received a new pitching machine today (see below). A beautiful piece of equipment with the ability to toss pitches up to 70 miles an hour.  Chances are when we do return to action we'll tone it down a bit to maybe 40, 50 or 60 mph.

The TOTS could be out of action for sometime. After all, the Major League Baseball season has been pushed back a couple of months and the Summer Olympics has been put off until 2021. Not a lot of sports going on. Right now the coronavirus has the upper hand, but the American people -- along with the politicians, the doctors and nurses, the first responders -- will win out in the end.

Someday soon, the members of the TOTS will make their way back to Udall Park and get back to baseball. Until then, I will have to keep busy at home and I'll try my best to keep from having conversations with the walls and the ceiling.

I'll keep writing, putter around the house and try not to annoy my readers too much.

Remember: Practice social distancing.

Photo: Our new pride and joy.