Dirk Hayhurst's Blog

Words and thoughts still trying to make it to the big leagues...

MAR

2011

Branding Your Beliefs

I was in the bookstore today. I love bookstores, I love the feel of them, I love how you walk around surrounded by knowledge, and, if you’ve written anything yourself, the feeling of being ensconced by the fruit of days, months, and years of work crafted into print. There really is nothing quite like a book; it’s one of the oldest art forms through which knowledge is recorded in our civilization, and you can pick it off a shelf and hold it in your hands. Today I was looking for a Christian...

FEB

2011

Mrs. Garfoose’s Tips for Parents of Special Garfooslings

The following is an excerpt from an email my wife exchanged with an individual looking for help with his Garfoosling, concerning language development skills. I hope anyone out there looking for similar advice finds this useful. Bold words added by Mr. Garfoose. Hello Darth Vader (and family), First, let me say that your boy is adorable! Now, on to the ideas! As a music therapist, I have worked with over a dozen nonverbal kiddos with Autism in 1:1 music sessions. Even though the general need...

FEB

2011

Share Day

I’ve always contested that of our two jobs, my wife’s is the more relevant. In fact, I believe that most jobs are more relevant than baseball. There are some who argue this point with me, saying that baseball brings joy to people’s lives and provides role models and thus plays an important role in our social structure. However, I fail to see how that makes baseball unique from several other profession that could easily do the same, and do it better. What I mean to say is,...

FEB

2011

The 10 Commandments.

Behold! The Ten Commandments of Social Networking as a professional athlete. 1) Be yourself. Don’t have your agent, your media guy, or your “people” post on your behalf. That’s lame, and it always sounds like someone selling school fundraiser tickets is tweeting as you. Even if you only post once in a blue moon, fans want to hear from you, not your representation. Language and the way you use it says a lot about who you are. 2) Don’t do this because you want attention. If you do, you’ll...

FEB

2011

Belly Dancer

On the third day of our series in Colorado Springs we were snowed out. The second game, a businessman special, was played in sunny 60 degree weather. Come 9 p.m. that night, snow was falling. It came down fast, in fine mountain country fashion, smothering the area in 4 to 6 inches of fluffy white powder. Off days are a rare commodity in the minors, we get only a handful sprinkled in a 142 game season. When an extra shows up, it’s to be enjoyed. However, a nature-made off day in a road...

JAN

2011

4 Preseason Predictions.

Four Pre Season Predictions from your friendly neighborhood Garfoose. #1. I will need headphones while working out in the Ray’s weight room. Likelihood: High. It’s not that I don’t like rap, hip-hip or country. It’s that I hate them. Yes, I know, you probably like those things and are now desperately maneuvering for the unfollow button on your twitter account. It’s okay, I understand, and I don’t take it personally. Unfortunately, my music likes—or dislikes in this case—aren’t shared by the...

JAN

2011

Thanks Mom

We saw things very differently, partially because we were on different sides of the country, and partially because bad news has a way of hitting harder depending on where you take the punch. She was standing on the front porch in a pair of fluffy slippers, surveying the wreckage. I was laying in a posh, big league hotel bed I was hoping to drown in. My mother had called to tell of her latest elation. Her son making it to the bigs would already serve as an effective bragging point, the...

JAN

2011

More Cowbell.

Well hello there, Rays fans. As you might imagine, there is a lot going on in my little world right now. Signing with a new team less than a month from the pitchers/catchers report date tends to send things into a whirlwind. Regardless, I wanted to take time and say hello to all of you Rays fans, thank you to all my Jays fans, and a big thank you to the Ray’s organization for this wonderful opportunity. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again; players talk about which clubs provide the...

JAN

2011

Full Circle

*I wrote this about a year ago, when the light at the end of the tunnel was nothing but a rumor…* I sit, shirt off, feet dangling from the medical table, staring at the wall. The doctor grabs my arm, one hand under my elbow, the other just below my right armpit. “Does this hurt?” he asks as he starts to manipulate my arm like someone trying to break limbs from a sapling. “No.” “How about this?” “No.” I know where it hurts. My right arm and I have an intimate relationship. It has fed,...

JAN

2011

More Perfecter Than Thou Art

I’ve been out of church for about a year now. I can’t tell you why I’ve been gone so long, at least not concisely, anyway. I think that’s because I don’t really know why I left myself. Even if I had to stand before the Big Man and give Him an account on why, my best reasoning wouldn’t rhapsodize in a way that could save me from someone’s insistence I was a back sliding, no good, wayward, excuse making, sinner. Call it a New Year’s resolution, call it a penitent change of behavior, call it...