Siftings
Jul
23
Craig’s Friday Countdown - Favorite Games
The Central versus North QCTimes article reads like a who’s who of kids I know from Davenport youth baseball. As the Wildcats head to State and the seniors we’ve played with over the years move on, a countdown of my favorite Davenport youth baseball games.
17 – 350 (or thereabouts). (tie) ...
Jul
21
Horizons
Wanna throw me a bucket? The question could indicate several things. Someone could be feeling ill. The roof could be leaking. The boat could be going down. It’s none of those. It’s our version of Ray Kinsella’s “wanna have a catch?”. Colin would like me to throw him some batting practice. ...
Jul
18
A Rumble In The Distance
Thunder shakes the blue dawn over Bettendorf. Nary a cloud in the sky, but the foundation of TouVelle Stadium shudders with the collective weight of the varsity Bulldogs. Cruel and unusual punishment may be unconstitutional, but it is also an effective training technique. After an hour in the...
Jul
16
Malin IV
The screen door slams. Mary’s dress waves. So begins Springsteen’s epic Born to Run. His third album, and maybe his last. The first two didn’t sell well, so Born to Run was his last chance. Last chances are as illusory as any other fabrication, but imagined doom does have a way of distilling...
Jul
15
Makers
The prison woodshop was my refuge. In creating something, I left the reality of incarceration behind. To build something - anything really - was to set aside a captive present for a liberated future. The projects weren’t much; an oak-handled shiv, a plywood nightstand for the bunk, a...
Jul
07
The Wee Small Moments
The last time it was raining this hard at Modern Woodmen Park, CNN was bearing down on Davenport. That was the morning of June 13, 2008. The local record for rainfall in four hours was being set, steepening the Mississippi River flood crest also bearing down on us. There was heroic work all...
Jun
27
The Dismantling
The blade slices through the post like a presidential candidate cutting through a sidewalk crowd on their way to a donor’s check. The sawdust flies, the Sawzall chews the pressure-treated pine into a bulky waste pile, and we’re left with a gritty square where the sandbox used to be. We’ve...
Jun
26
Forward
The e-mail changes to craigthomasmalin@gmail.com. And its non-public! The cell phone stays the same. If you don't have the number, ask around.
Thank you, all. The best team ever.
Go Davenport.
Jun
26
Cleanings
Second to last post. Tom stops by and wishes me well. He brings along a collection of things he’s kept that I’ve written and asks that I read them later. Great guy, Tom is. Full of energy and positivity, the City was lucky to have him as an employee for a time. He’s moved on, as happens from...
Jun
26
Craig’s Friday Countdown - Things We Learn
Today’s countdown comes from Budget Management Analyst Mallory Merritt. My most grievous error this year (that’s a good - daily - countdown category) was not ensuring her office was included in the “Still Lifes” countdown. No matter, in typical Mallory fashion (see what I did there?) she was kind...
