Elsie's Notes from New England - THEMission edition

It's that awful sort of weather When my nostrils stick together When my fingers lose sensation; Tingling, numb for the duration Twenty minutes just to dress me Winter's wonders so depress me

I apologize up front for having no photos to post today.  Photos would be crucial to this post.  I just don't take photos.  I can't, as in, I am not capable of it, nor am I allowed to.  Ask my family.  If you and I were on a desert island and you wanted a photo taken of you next to the hut we just built, you'd be better off hunting down some coconut-eating monkey and asking it to take the photo than asking me to do it.  Trust me. Nonetheless, on days like yesterday, I wish with all my heart that I actually owned a real camera, and that I was actually capable of taking an acceptable photograph. My phone doesn't count as a camera -- if you've seen my phone, you would understand.  I don't dare insult it any more here, because it might overhear this conversation, and then I'd be completely sunk. Just trust me on this one, too. It's just that yesterday was a magical day in southeastern New Hampshire, and taking photos would have been apropos. See, on

In 1969, baseball player Curt Flood, a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, refused to be traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.   He wrote a letter to the commissioner of Major League Baseball asserting that he did not believe that he was a piece of property to be bought or sold with no input or choice in the matter, and asking to be allowed to be a free agent and make himself available to play for other teams. The commissioner refused.   Flood sued MLB, sitting out the 1970 season and taking his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.   His case was struck down, and the Phillies traded him to the Washington Senators, for whom he played 13 games in the 1971 season.   His baseball career was over.   Free agency was not instituted until 1975, but Flood’s lawsuit and his willingness to stand up for his rights as a ball player paved the way for other players. The idea that human beings are agents unto themselves is an ancient concept.   Freedom of choice is one of the mo