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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1912)
Tom Long, Portland Blind Man, Tells How He Enjoys Ball Games as Much Now as He Did Before Going Blind. How the Ears Distinguish Between Balls and Strikes, and How the Mind's Eye Pictures the Plays. IlliW . .r 4 tr t v iln- J 4 I - y i xv1 .-v SltH J T s.V. J,. V ' V f - ' i V & J IT is not necessary to have eyes to enjoy baseball. As much real fun can be had by "seeing" a game with your ears as with your eyes, if you know how. So says Thomas Long, a blind man, who this year has gained the reputation of being one of Port land's leading ball fans and dopesters. Perhaps you have seen him at the ball park this last season. He looks Dsrkness, Shivers, Creeps and Groans! Mouldy Graves and Dead Men's Bones! Fairies. Goblins. Gnomes and Elves; Witches. 8wltches! Save Yourselves! Halloween Cheer. 0 YOU believe in ghosts? UNow, wait Don't be In a hurry with your answer, for Halloween is nearly npon us, and you remember the fate of Gabriel Grubb, who was kicked to death by the goblins in the srraveyard. whither he had gone of a Christmas eve, when others were mak ing merry, to pursue his vocation of gravedlgger. You remember Gabriel Grubb, I say, do you not?. The head goblin had rubber legs, as I remember him, and he made motions with them, like Tesreau getting ready to deliver one of his spit-balls, Just before he booted Gabriel neatly under the chin. Oh. yes, you must remember Gabriel Grubb, that Mr. Dickens told about. Gabriel, you recollect liked his Job liked It so that even on Christmas eve he took his cheerful lantern and his cheerful spade and went cheerfully to the churchyard, having Joyfully beaten a little boy, who wanted every body to be happy like himself. Just be fore he started out. He didn't believe In ghosts, Gabriel didn't How could he when he had put bo many mortals in the holes he dug and then tamped six or seven feet of hard earth down on them? REMEMBER his Jolly, song that eventful night? Brave lodgings for one, brave lodging's for one, A few feet of cold earth when Ufa is done; A atone at the head, a stone at the feet, A rich. Juicy meal for the norma to eat: Hank grass overhead and damp clay around. Brave lodgings for one, thae, in holy ground." Pleasant company, Gabriel, do you not think? ,Yes. you do not Well, the grave digger sot his, you knoy; got It rlftht under the laundry mark after he had been "invited" to a cocktail made chief ly of a white-hot blaze. And If all that could happen to G. Grubb of a Christmas, what In the world do you suppose might happen to one as skeptical as he on this ghost proposition, did he make such a fool ish declaration so close to Halloween, klV nf omii-cA la thai, exnrn .aTtln lar night the ghosts? It makes one shiver Just to think of It In spite of the encouragingly Joyful paragraphs wljich were surposely writ- IIWS- KWV r ri B to be middle aged, wears a Van Dyke beard, a brown suit, a felt hat, has sharp features 'and Is totally blind. Generally he Is rooting In lively fash Ion. When Portland is winning he nearly always is on his feet and when there is any excitement he is throwing his hat wildly. That is Tom Long. You would hardly believe he has been blind for 10 years. Mr. Long declares that he enjoys ten at the front end of this narrative, Just to get you In good, humor. You do believe In ghosts? Oh, well, that's different. That point being settled, you must not be afraid If you suddenly hear the door bang as you read this or If Thomas, the cat In pursuit of his right ful prey In the cellar, disturbs a ton or two of coal in his eagerness to be real stealthy. O.V THE evening of October SI two old ladies, with candle-snuffer bon nets, will arrive at your door on their broomsticks, (protected by Beelsebub patent No. 131313 from any infringe ment by Wright, Curtiss, et al.), and they will thoroughly brush from the walls and ceilings every bit of bad luck that has been in that domicile, provided, of course, there are no cyni cal folk therein. Should there be any such, let them beware b-e-w-a-a-rre! This ceremony having been gone through and you can see the witches themselves and some other things if you will sprinkle some salt In a tin dish of alcohol in the otherwise dark ened room preparations for thorough ly propitiating all ghosts and spirits may be gon forward with. Before making any suggestions to you along that line, which, with your kind permission, we will do, it will be well to recall the history of Halloween, as we ourself got it first hand. The ghost that told us we nave known and cultivated the acquaintance of several was a jolly old chap, who had been an orchardist and whose name was Jack Appel. A lot of his friends, he said, joked him a good deal by turning his name around and mak ing a crude Jest about "Applejack being a much better spirit than Jack Appel." WelL anyway, it was Jack Appel that first made It apparent to us that con trary to our general Idea beforehand. ghosts are not as a class, moody mournful folk. Of course, there are some that take death quite seriously. HALLOWEEN, Jack " made quite plain to us, is a sort of ghost's night off, when they would like to have as much fun and be of as much assistance to deserving persons as pos THE SUNDAY y -v r" c ;r f " fell III ' p v V 'Vli W ' ' . 1 ti ;,:!4 lit c fv . r - -v ul " , 1 v " - i'M ill K ': , J '1 1 1 '44 . '." it " r A If isl , ' - -$ . I ; ""it f j MJ-lM.w--rJiilii i'f'-'inniii " iff T Til r . -C; sic JVr? baseball as much now as he did before he went blind. He says It is about as easy to follow a game by sound' aB to see it, providing you know how. The art of hearing a game' Is not well known, he says, because blind men generally are not baseball fans and be cause others have no need for the hear ing system. "It's funny what things a person can do when it becomes necessary," said Mr. Long a few days ago. "The person who has all his faculties does not know to what extent they can be used. For instance It would seem strange to most people for me to say that I can see a baseball game with my ears. But it is a fact. When I go to a baseball game I can tell JuBt aoout as mucn Halbween - sible. It Is for this reason, possibly, that Cupid has chosen the same night to endeavor to straighten out crooked or tangled love affairs, or start some going in the right way. The spirits are his first aids on this night and do their best to help. Take it from us, who got It right from friend Jack Appel. if your last love potion didn t work, or you are In search of a sweetheart place your trust In the goblins, or ghosts, or elves, or fairies, or whatever branch of the family you most favor, and be of good cheer, for you will -have your desires unless you have made some s-e-r-l-o-u-s mistake. Remember the verse of Burns': Tbe auld guld wife's weel hoarded nuts Are round and round divided. An monle lad's and lassie's fates Are tbera that night decided." There are some who say that Hal loween la called so because it falls on the night before All Saints' day, No vember 1, on which day It was cus tomary in old religious times to visit cemeteries and place flowers npon the graves. That may be, and then again it may be Just a coincidence, but at any rate, we know that It la the night of the witches' frolic, when hearts are mated and front gates have wings and small boys seem to require more cab bage heads than they have any use for. But let us not get away from the point of things. You would like to know how to make the ghosts feel tickled and how to find a sweetheart VERY well then. The first thing to do, If you propose Inviting a few of your friends to your ghost party, la to prepare the house. If you were go ing to have Important guests you would want your home looking right for them, wouldn't you? Well, a ghost expects the same cour. tesy, but In getting ready for the spooks they don't mind being called that though they regard It -slangy you do just the opposite from what you would do were mortal, meat-made guests arriving. Therefore you should clear at least one room of most of the furniture. If you can take it all out it will be all the better. Make It look like a barn It you can, for barns are a ghost's. OREGONTAN, PORTLAND,, &a.?& what Is going on as the person who has two good eyes and can see. And I haven't seen the light of day for 10 long years. I can not only tell what is going on, but I can see it as well. I see, of course, only in my mind's eye. Close your eyes for a minute and think of some incident and see how quickly it will be pictured in your mind. That is how I see baBeball. I have developed my sense of hearing to such a point that I can picture every play as It comes off. As a result of 'this training I can enjoy baseball as much now as I did before going blind. i Long Practice As Player, "I was seized with blindness fn the prime of life following a spell of sick The Choi-i failing. We know a ghost once that fell out of a haymow but that Is an other story. " Well, after clearing the room, trim It nicely with Autumn leaves and corn stalks. Your only lights should be furnished by jack o' lanterns. One will do, but more will be better. Hal loween without at least one jack o' lantern would be as big a failure as sweltser cheeae without holes, or an oyster fry without any oysters or or anything like that Some sweet-smelling hay will add a lot to the barn-like effect, and some ripened ears of corn, with lots of ap ples and nuts, are almost necessities. Witches' brooms real witches' brooms. made of brush boughs, and not the, or dinary kitchen kind will help a lot In case some unseen visitor, who will surely be there, should lose her fly ing machine. THE guests being assembled, if you must hare seats in your ghost chamber, let them be wooden benches. No well-regulated ghost will object to such seats. He Is not constructed that way. Then prepare for. the rites. These must be observed with due decorum and solemnity to obtain the real ben efit and charm. A young couple should go, hand in hand, to where some green things are grown to a garden If possible; if not boxed plants will do. With- blindfolded eyes they should each pluck a stalk from the bed without shaking the earth from the roots. If the stalks are long and symmetrical the future will have nothing but good in store, and If much earth clings to the roots it is a sure sign that much wealth will come to the holder. Finally, the earth should be brushed off and the roots placed over the door way. The first person who enters will have a powerful Influence over the lives of the couple. This can be done by one person or t o, of course, but it is always most effective when two lovers perform this rite. An ancient rite is the placing of three bowls on a table, one containing milk and another- water, the third be in empty. Then, a feminine suest OCTOBER 13, 1912. a j i ness and since that time I have not even seen the flashes of light that some blind people see at times when their blindness is caused, by defective eye nerves. When my sight left me I determined I would not give up but would make the best of the senses I had left. I had been a baseball player and fan for 85 years, having started with the kids in the back yard and developed up to a point where I stood a good chance of gaining a reputation. I played with many Eastern teams. Inability to go to baBeball games, therefore, was one of the saddest parts of my condition, but 1 determined not to give up. I went to the games con tinually and gradually learned that eyes are not necessary in baseball. I oould not only hear what was going on but soon got so I could see as welL One of the chief essentials in "see ing" baseball by ear la to learn the style of the players. In the Coast and the Northwestern leagues I know each player and Just how he plays and how he standa I have got so I can almost tell who Is at bat even if the name of the batter is not announced. It can be told by the style of playing and the way the other players act. There Is something in the sense of hearing that seems to go far beyond the mere re cording on the ear drum of the noise of a movement. It is beyond explana tion. There is something in the air that tells of the movements at times when it would seem that there was no noise by which the movement could be distinguished. "When a man Is called to bat I set tle down and watch developments with Just as much Interest as any of the other spectators. I can usually distin guish between a ball and a strike mere ly by listening to the sound of the ball in the catcher's glove. I can gauge the sound, telling whether it is high or low. This Is another feature which is hard to explain. "When a batter hits the ball I can Is Nicfht Off. should be blindfolded and led to the edge of the table and there turned around. She Is told to reach toward the dishes. If she dips her hand Into the one containing milk she will win a rich and handsome lover; if into water she will marry a widower; if into the empty dish she will remain single. A ring, a thimble and a nickel should be hidden In the room. The one who finds the ring is sure to be married; the thimble Indicates a life of single blessedness; the nickel promises wealth. Apples are most distinctly a part of Halloween, coming almost next to ghosts themselves. Those who aTe looking for sweethearts should be pro vided with apples and Knives. Each apple should be pared very carefully so that there will be but one large paring if possible; this peeling should be whirled around the head three times and then dropped or placed on the floor; whatever initial the par ing most resembles will be that of the future husband or wife of the parer. If the peel is broken the holder will not be married before another Hal loween. THE same information as that pro cured by means of the apple-paring may be had by going Into a dark room and tossing a ball of white or rose-colored cord out of the window, holding one end tied securely around the third finger of the left hand. When the ball has reached the ground the holder should begin at once to re wind It repeating the alphabet slow ly backward. Before the ball is rewound a mys terious hand will catch the trailing end. The holder inside should then lean out of the window and faintly ask, "Who is there?" The name that will be whispered in answer will be the one most desired to be heard. Perhaps some of your guests may have supper with you. If so, a large cake should be placed in the center of the table, with as many candles around it as there are guests, each candle being a different color, as far as this is possible. The cake should be passed last The guests choose each a candle, selecting the color that Iff tell In an Instant whether It la a fair ball, a foul, a bunt or what. A fair ball has a full solid sound while a foul has a quick sharp snap. It is possible to tell almost which direction the ball takes when It is hit by the bat. If It goes straight back It is but an Instant before It hits either the catchers glove, the ground or- the grandstand. If it goes Into the air there is a peculiar snap and I can al ways depend upon the players and the spectators yelling at someone to get under it." "A fair ball has a very pleasant full sound If It Is hit out by a Portland player. If it is hit by a visitor it has a dull heavy thud. By listening to the crowd and the players can tell Just where the. ball goes and what becomes of It. In sitting in a crowd there is not an Instant that someone is not talking about what Is going on. Following the Plays. "Say a fly is. knocked Into left field, for example. I can tell Immediately that It Is a fair ball and that it has been hit to the left. The crowd and the players go to yelling at someone to 'get under It.' I know who is after it and what the result Is from the ex clamations of the crowd and from the general feeling In the air either of disappointment or Joy. When there is an exciting play under way I can't con trol myself. I get Just as excited as anyone. I can see every part of the play the same as If I had two good eyes. When there is some excitement I am generally up on my feet throw ing my hat Sometimes I get so ex cited that I wonder if I am not making a fool of myself. "The Interest In the game which holds the crowd seems to permeate the air. Have- you ever noticed that there is some sort of demonstration Or comment at every play in the game? I can tell Just what the play is with out anybody explaining It to me. Per haps It Is mental suggestion. Per- i pleases their fancy.' As they do so some one reads: He who takes the candle blue Will find his sweetheart' ever true. The pink, the sweetest of them all. Will wed a fellow six feet tall. Alas! for yellow, bright to see. Your lover e'er will jealous be, Happy he who orange takes; Now prepare your wedding cakes. Hopeless, houseless bachelor he. If white candle his shoud be. Crown her blest this very nleht Who has chosen crimson bright He whose choice inclines to red His heart's love Will surely wed. A pretty ceremony that will please the spooks greatly, no doubt, is called "The Witches' Cauldron." Three young ladles should be attired as witches streaming hair and winding sheets and all that They should hover about a cauldron (every nouse is equipped witn a factory cauldron, if one will but look for it) and should repeat some incantation, t The Terse from "Mac beth" will do. ALL of the guests should circle . about the cauldron and the witches, and each time the circle Is completed the witches should bid them stop and select one to come for ward. The person selected must come forward, reach into the cauldron with a ladle' and select one of the articles previously placed in it The parcel when opened will contain an emblem of what the future spouse of the guest will be. A toy shop will provide these em blems; a soldier, a sailor, a pen, an engine, a box of pills, a drum, a vio lin, a saucepan, a hat, a fan there are lots of things to indicate personali ties. The pen would indicate a writer, the fan a coquette, and so on. Any of the old-time customs, such as ducking for apples, snapdragon, eating the apple from a string sus pended from the celling, are In order and pleasing to the ghosts. Apples, with the initials of the guests, may be toasted in the open fire, should there be so- satisfactory a fixture in the home In these ripe, radiator days. The apples will perform strange antics and may be taken as prophetic in a manner that will be at once apparent. And don't forget the ghost stories. 1 : 1 r w-."':! t . ,'v- ..-.'x r.-i ,v-,t.i.v'.ft.' haps It Is something else. At any rate I cannot explain it. The only time I lose track of the game Is when I get excited and go to throwing my hat. Then I have to sit down and catch the drift of the game again. "I have all the sensations of baseball. I get angry at players when they make mistakes and I can tell mistakes Just as soon as they occur. I can cheer a player for good work as loudly as anyone. I can figure out how a player can improve himself and what is lacking in his baseball makeup; how a team can be strengthened and am considered a pretty good dopester. Bad Season fori Blind Mem. "The season which has JURt closed in Portland has not been a blind man s season because Portland has been los ing. To get the proper satisfnct i out of a game It is necessary for tna home team to win. I guess that the season has not been any worse for me than it has for those who witness games with their eyes. The home team has to win to give the proper . satisfaction for the eye witness aa well as the ear witness. "Nothing would please ma better than to be In the East to see the big world series. I could sit in the grand stand In New York and take as much Interest In one of the big games as I could In the games we have in Port lanw. I am an ardent follower of the sporting papers and know the Eastern players nearly as well as I do those here at home. Unlike the L. l.nB.v. 11 - wth eyes, I do not have to know the play ers by sight; I can tell them by style. It Is possible to get an Idea of the style of an Eastern player by reading; the papers." Mr. Long, besides being a baseball fan. Is a business man. Several yean ago he spent his last cent in establish ing a cigar stand at the City Hall. He has now built his business up until he has put In mahogany show cases and has one 4f the best paying stores la the city. The roem should be darkened and tiny candles, one for each story-teller, lighted. As each tale Is completed ths narrator should blow out his candle. The last raconteur will be sure t see things when he disposes of the "glimmer." The pan of alcohol, with, frequent sprinklings of salt, will aid, during the story telling. If you have never tried it and know not its effect there will be a surprise for you. Try it. A small amount placed in a deep pie plate is all that is necessary, and there is no danger If ordinary care la exercised. Pensioning Government Employes, For many years the proposed pension ing of Government employes has been a question of vital Interest at Washing ton, D. C. A plan lately submitted by . the President would pension all em ployes over TO years old, no person, to receive over J90 a year, about enough, with economy, to find them in clothes. This, it is estimated, would cost the Government not more than $227,000 a year. The present employes are as sessed not to exceed more than 8 per cent of their salaries. As one goes about the Government of fices and becomes acquainted with the scores of faithful and efficient clerks growing gray in the civil service, which is quite deserving as that of the mili tary, especially in times of peace, it seems as if a pension system is not only logical but necessary to maintain efficiency in the great army of clerks who are, after 'ail, the basis of the working administration of the Govern ment. The retirement of clerks at 70 would enable the department from time to time to recruit new employes and necessarily to Increase the force. Na tional Magazine. Rules for Bnjng Thimbles. "One of the hardest things for shop pers to learn is that the size of gloves and thimbles do not coincide," said a Sixth Avenue salesman. "If the woman who wears a No. 6 glove asks her hus band to buy a thimble for her she tells him to get a No. S thimble. If -he takes that size the chances are it will only stick on the tip of her little finger. She needs a No. g. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, for In thimbles, as in gloves, there are great differences in the makes, and a great deal depends, too, upon the peculiarities of the hand. But as a rule, thimbles run about two sizes larger than gloves,"' New York Times. -4
