The Great Minds of Baseball?

What's all the cheering about?

It's World Series time again, and it's an event

even non-baseball fans embrace.  In my spirit

of eclecticism, I thought I would celebrate by

featuring three of the great minds of baseball:

Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (or Jerome?)

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra and

Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel.

Few people would know these iconic characters

by anything other than Dizzy, Yogi, or Casey.

I've assembled some of their most famous quotes,

some related to baseball, and others to life in general.

I'll leave it to you to determine which of these may

have been "The Greatest Mind of Baseball."

Regardless of who claims that title, they have

enriched an already colorful game with their 

memorable thoughts, however strange.

“Son, what kind of pitch would you like to miss?”  Dizzy Dean

“Let the teachers teach English and I will teach baseball. There is a lot of people in the United States who say ‘isn’t’ and they ain’t eating.”  Dizzy Dean

“He slud into third.” Dizzy Dean

“Don’t fail to miss tomorrow’s game.” Dizzy Dean (as an announcer)

“The doctors x-rayed my head and found nothing.” Dizzy Dean

“Sure I eat what I advertise. Sure I eat Wheaties for breakfast. A good bowl of Wheaties with bourbon can't be beat.” Dizzy Dean

“It ain’t over till it’s over.”  Yogi Berra

“It’s like déjà vu all over again.” Yogi Berra

“Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.” Yogi Berra

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.” Yogi Berra

“Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel.” Yogi Berra

“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” Yogi Berra

“Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.” Yogi Berra

“I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.” Yogi Berra

“The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven't made up their minds.” Casey Stengel

“All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height.” Casey Stengel

“The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven't made up their minds.” Casey Stengel

“See that fella over there? He's 20 years old. In 10 years, he's got a chance to be a star. Now that fella over there, he's 20 years old, too. In 10 years he's got a chance to be 30.” Casey Stengel

“They told me my services were no longer desired because they wanted to put in a youth program as an advance way of keeping the club going. I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again.” Casey Stengel

“Son, we'd like to keep you around this season but we're going to try and win a pennant.” Casey Stengel

“Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It's staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in.” Casey Stengel

“Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa.” Casey Stengel

“They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that the ones who drink milkshakes don’t win many ball games.” Casey Stengel

Hillsborough Greenways and Outdoor Art

To wrap up my coverage of our visit to Hillsborough,

here are some "out and about" scenes, mostly, but not

all, from the prolific greenway trails.

Gold Park was where we had gone to view the solar
eclipse in September.  This time we took a couple of
strolls on the Riverwalk.

This portion of the trail begins in downtown Hillsborough, right
beside the Eno River.

This is not my photo, but shows the grandeur of this terrific
boardwalk trail.  Summit Design, the company that designed it, is located in
Hillsborough and they have won many national awards for their work.

This is everything you want in a greenway trail.

Beautiful view of the Eno.

Surprised to see a "stick house" on a greenway?

The view through the "smokehole" is my favorite.

Judy says we'd need a fire to stay warm.
I suggested we not try that.

Spacious, but not a lot of privacy.

These nearby buzzards were certainly watching us closely.
Let's move on.

A short connecting bridge back near the parking area.

This plaque explains we are near the former site of an early native
American village.

These palisades represent the ancient village.

I spent a few minutes deciphering this mysterious sign at a spot
on the Eno River where kayaks and canoes can be put in.
The message?  "PLEASE REMOVE TRASH."  Ha ha

At a place where we turned our car around, this message was clear.
We went.

A final look at the Eno-- at least for this trip.  There may have
once been a mill near this small dam.  We're not sure.

This final piece of outdoor art was randomly placed beside the
town parking deck.  In Hillsborough, there's always something
surprising just around the bend.  

To think that we did all this and returned home less than

36 hours after we set out is astonishing.  We'll go there

again for sure.  Hillsborough has endeared itself to us.

Occoneechee Mountain Overlook Trail

Our second and final day at Hillsborough, we returned

to the Occoneechee Mountain natural area where we had

hiked the 2 mile loop trail last year.  This time we hiked

up the Chestnut Oak Trail connecting to the Overlook Trail.

It was a great choice for a clear, cool fall walk.

On the whole, not a lot of leaves have turned at this point.
But here are a few early birds.

The chestnut oak is one of my favorites.  It is also prolific at
Morrow Mountain State Park, but not seen in the Sandhills.

Here's where the trail turned upward, but only moderately.

No, I can't identify this fungus.  But it sure stood out.

This mountainside is home to many amazing rock formations.

Many unusual trees abound, too.

Does this look like a black bear climbing a tree to you?

It makes an otherwise ordinary tree stick out in a crowd.

A patch of Cranefly Orchid, one of my favorite wildflowers.

But my number one favorite must be Pipsissewa,
my original Camp Cherokee Indian name.

On our Farm Life Nature Trail, we have Jack, Will, and Tom, three
trees that grow from a common trunk.  How about if we name these
"Larry, Moe, Curly Joe, and Shemp"?

More gorgeous leaves as we ascended toward the summit.

This is a caution for Liz Taylor and any other adventurous friends
who may take the trail to the overlook some day.

A view straight down, to what was once a quarry.  The mountainside
is dangerously unstable; hence, no rock climbing.

A view worth climbing for! That's Hillsborough in the distance.

The mountain is not so high, really, but is the highest point in
Orange County.  What a view, and what a beautiful day for it!

In the very center, you can see the blue of the Eno River.  A little
misleading, because the water was assuredly brown, but the blue
is the reflection of the sky.

Same view, but looking through the branches of a Virginia Pine.
This is common only in the mountains and in the northern piedmont
of North Carolina.  It is rare south of Durham and Orange Counties.

Near the parking area, we saw this display for Kids in Parks,

a really nice educational program for children.  Here's a link

to help you utilize this fine resource.  Particularly good for 

home school activities, I think, and it's a national program,

so check out other locations that may be near you.

http://www.kidsinparks.com/occoneechee-mountain-state-natural-area

Occoneechee Mountain is a good local substitute when you 

can't get away to the Blue Ridge.  We loved our visit.

The Historic Occoneechee-Orange Speedway

On our visit to Hillsborough, NC, we were eager to

walk this unique trail for the first time.  The Occoneechee

Speedway was one of the original dirt tracks of NASCAR,

scene of racing action from 1948 to 1968.  At the end of

this post, enjoy a few vintage photos from those early days.

Some visionaries made sure this historic site was preserved
for the enjoyment of future generations.

A timeline of the track's history and a record of  winners over the years.

Many familiar names from my own childhood.

One of the straightaways on the one-mile oval track.

The rusty metal fence which kept non-paying folks from
sneaking a peek.

Signs mark the various sites to give you some historical perspective.

A vintage Dodge Polara.

A forest of trees have long since taken over the infield.

An original "outhouse".

The "fancy" stand for dignitaries, press, and announcers.

The cement bleachers.

Another old out-building.

Beyond the race track, part of a trail follows a portion
of the Eno River.

Big Bend was the final turn before the last straightaway.

Before we say goodbye to the old track, here are

some vintage photos I gathered from the internet.

As a Ford guy, Freddie Lorenzen was my pick.

Daddy had a '48 Ford, and there were no doubt some
of them in that inaugural racing season.

Compare this to the earlier photo of a forested infield we saw.

Things have changed, but at least enough is preserved
for visitors to imagine those glorious times.

Whether you're a racing fan or not, the trails

at the historic Occoneechee Speedway are

well worth spending some time on.  These

trails will eventually connect up to an

impressive network of other nearby trails.