Taken from former Rolling Stone writer Neal Karlen's 1999 paean to the independent leagues, Slouching Toward Fargo: A Two-Year Saga of Sinners and St. Paul Saints at the Bottom of the Bush Leagues with Bill Murray, Darryl Strawberry, Dakota Sadie and Me.
"I don't want to waste my time on the bus if I'm not going to make it," says Solomon. "There are other things I could do besides baseball. I'm not sure what . . . but I know they're there."
Marty Neff, the Saints' most famous head case, hears Solomon and paints another picture. "I knew I'd never get back after the Pirates released me and started talking trash about me," the twenty-six-year-old says. "So I'm just here to have fun and enjoy doing something I don't have to get up at seven A.M. to do. I like The Life."
The Life. Sleeping until noon. Playing ball at night. Guzzling beer until closing time and chasing what ballplayers still call "puss" after the game. The Life, be it baseball, rock & roll, or the carnival: where time is turned upside down, and the straight nine-to-five world is looked upon with contempt.
Tags: Karlen, Baseball
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