2004-04-19 - 12:45 a.m.

Sometimes, no, usually.

Yeah, usually it's okay to drink beer in the afternoon on a glorious Sunday in a rather dark bar, watching the Sox.

Even if they lose, it's usually okay.

And watch the day slip away from you like evelven bad pitches in a row, and you woke up so early with the day ahead of you, but here it is and that breaking ball didn't break, and the day could have exploded--that kind of day--but it didn't.

In a bar watching the Sox lose on a glorious outside day--with the bad weather behind you and Spring has been rainy the past couple of years, it might be the one perfect day if it gets hot soon and your window always has to be open.

You got a cheap bat and ball set on Easter and the sticker would peel off the bat if you used it five times, but it's protesting the weather inside and it's not peeling at all.

The bat and ball are there because that's where you last left them, and you're wondering where the twilight should be 'cause it's 6:00 and it's not there yet and the day should be behind you and you've got nothing done.

It's never okay to let the ball slip through your hands, in the outfield, and cost your team.

It's always okay to waste a glorious Sunday if you want to waste it.

You can't not show up when you're supposed to--I'm not talking about that. And you can't waste forever, or you're never going to get to that ball in the outfield.

So I guess there's rules to wasting.

And it's this--you can waste a day. Even the best of days. You can waste it all.

But it's only for good if you want to.

Not hard.

Not a pain.

Easily solved.

Just make up your mind, ahead of time, and say although this day is so full of potential, I'd like to waste it, because I want to do X.

That's it. Ahead of time.