Sunny skies and truant thoughts

The World According to Carp
    By Benjamin Carp

"What are my ent'usiasms? What brings me joy? Base- ball."--Robert De Niro as Al Capone in The Untouchables, 1987.

I don't want to bash you over the head with this week's opinion (chuckle), but spring is in the air, daylight savings has begun (except in Riyadh and parts of Indiana), and the weather's getting nicer. People are wearing skimpy clothing (generally not to their advantage), the Women's Table is back on, and folks are burying their winter coats in the closet. In other words, it's time to start playing hooky.

I ran into my friend (the irrepressible Allan Abinoja, SY '98) at the post office on Tues., Mar. 31, and offered to walk with him to lecture. "I'm not going to class today," he said. "I'm going to opening day at Shea Stadium. Wanna come? We've got a seat left in the car." I hesitated...my senior essay was due in less than two weeks and I had a million other things to do.

"Just give me a second to drop off my books," I said, and we wheeled our way to Queens. By pure luck, we got great seats behind third base, and it turned out to be a great game. Pitchers' duels are not always exciting to watch--we sat through nine scoreless innings surrounded by beer-swilling lunatics--but it was almost 90 degrees on that March day, and it was fun.

I have to confess that I haven't followed baseball closely since middle school. But now I've caught the bug--I've already been to more Major League Baseball games this season than last season; in addition to the historic 14-inning Mets game, I used a trip to Capone's very own Chicago as an excuse to watch the Cubs trounce the Expos last weekend. At Wrigley Field, the scoreboard is manually operated, most of the fans still remember a time when night games were nonexistent, and everybody stands up to sing during the seventh-inning stretch. I don't want to belabor this national pastime idea, but there is absolutely no better way to enjoy a Kosher hot dog.

Besides, baseball isn't the point. Cutting classes is the point. It may seem odd that, as a future graduate student (and therefore a future TA), I'm advocating that you bag your lectures and sections to enjoy the day outside. But what else is spring for? These may be the last years of your life when you can blow off a commitment and spend the day outside. Even my dad, a lifelong high school teacher, is a covert supporter of the annual Senior Cut Day--but as an adult, he's stuck there. He was jealous that I could see the Mets while he was inside.

Enjoy the fresh air! It'll be like Stanford or Duke, but with more brainpower! Don't sit outside to grapple with Joyce--just sit outside! Spread out a blanket and do your best to get rid of that pasty-pale scholarly vampire complexion. You may have to endure those insufferable Frisbee players with their atrocious aim, Old Campus residents who feel compelled to share their bad taste in music with the rest of us, and (dare we hope?) the return of random screaming preachers, but it's well worth the time.

You won't regret cutting your afternoon class. Or, if you insist on going, then beg, cajole, and demand of your TA that section be held on Cross Campus.

In other words, to quote Sean Connery, again in The Untouchables, "What are you prepared to do?" Sit inside and ponder a seminar paper, or live life as it was meant to be lived--barefoot with the grass between your toes? (As long as we're quoting The Untouchables, then "I think I'll have a drink," might be another respectable answer.)

For most, the idea of cutting class to go outside is not a brilliant discovery (in fact, some Trumbull freshmen have elevated it to an art form). But every once in a while, particularly during the end-of-semester crunch, Yalies need a reminder. Never put off 'til the summer what you can do today.

And remember, watch out for poorly aimed Frisbees. As my buddy Al always says, "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.... After that it's just a game called Find the Eye."

Here's hoping you find it outside.

Recent Herald Columns by this Columnist:
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• Class mobility: your future at Yale, 3/27/98
• When sex gets dirty: Yale, watch out, 2/27/97
• The Can't-get-busy Tales: V-Day at Yale, 2/13/97

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