It's a Toss-Up

This is Day 18 of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Coin. Please visit the other participants for more stories.

What do you think of when you hear the word coin? Money, more specifically change. However, that simple word has more meanings than the quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies rattling around in your pocket.

The process of making coins by stamping them in metal is called coining. Dimes were once coined from 90% silver.

New words or phrases are said to be coined, as in "to coin a phrase". While no one knows who actually started, or coined this phrase, it may have come about by the aforementioned making of coins. As the freshly-minted coins were new, the phrase "to coin" took on the meaning of something new, and by the sixteenth century coining new words was popular. It appears that has not changed, and new words are added to the dictionary regularly.

Coin can also refer to your fortune, or lack thereof. One who has much coin is considered rich.

Coins have two sides. First the opposite, or flip side of the coin. For example, the great news is it's raining, the bad news is game is canceled.  

And then where a thing is seen as having two sides that are closely related even though they don't seem so. Light and dark are two sides of the same coin - darkness is the absence of light and therefore light and dark are related.

The coin is also used to make a decision by tossing a coin and seeing how it lands. Heads we go out, tails we stay in. 

Finally, if two options are of equal interest or value and you can't decide, you may say it's a toss-up, in which case you may want to employ a coin toss.


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Homes Runs From A Different Era

This is Day 17 of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Home Run. Please visit the other participants for more stories.

I will admit that I have never been to a baseball game, and I haven't watched a game on TV in years. As mentioned in Baseball and Hotdogs, I used to watch or listen to the Red Sox back in the 70s, and while there are a number of ways to score a run in baseball, there is nothing more exciting than a home run, unless it is a grand slam home run.

When you recall the names of some of the heavy hitters, you think of Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755), Barry Bonds (762), and for the Red Sox fans, Carl Yastrzemski (452), some of whom have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of fame.

These are just some of a much longer list of players who's talent for hitting homes is well known.

However, there is a name that is not on that list, only because he played in the days before blacks were allowed in the major league. That name is Josh Gibson. One source states he supposedly hit around 962 home runs during his career, but statistics in the negro league were not accurately kept, so the world will never know how great some of those players really were.

Some statistics from Gibson's career:

In 1933, he hit .457 with 55 homers in 137 games against all competition (They commonly played outside their league).

In 1934, he hit 69 home runs against all competition and 11 homers in 52 league games.

His Hall of Fame plaque states he hit 'almost 800 home runs' during his career.

Statistics vary and his career batting average was reportedly anywhere from .350 to.384, the highest in the negro leagues.

He was born in 1911 and began playing in 1930 at age 18, and continued until 1946.

He died from a stroke in 1947 at the age of 35. His death came just three months before Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major league.


Sources: List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders and Josh Gibson


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Not Just Another Vacation

This is Day 16 of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Vacation. Please visit the other participants for more stories. 

Be an explorer. The universe is filled with wonder and magical things. - Flavia


Whether it is across the globe or in your own back yard, the world is a fascinating and wonderful place. Go check it out!

Photo credit: Ashley Morris

This was indeed a wonderful and magical experience. You can see the video and read about my experience in Linda Meets the Manatee. 



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