Take the First Pitch

October 2024 | Vol. 68, No. 1
Written by Richard E. Johnson, DO

When I was growing up, I played little league baseball for about a year, it really wasn’t “for me,” so I never picked up the baseball lingo that kids that played from age 5 to 19 picked up and used as “common knowledge” verbiage.

When I got to college (last century) I joined a fraternity, and as most frats do, we played intramural softball. During our first game the “coach/brother” sent me to the plate with the charge to “take the first pitch.” Not really understanding what that meant, I swung at the first pitch, and missed. I thought the coach was going to have a cow. “What the hell are you doing, he proffered!?” To which I declared, “you told me to take the first pitch, so I did.” “No, you, dumb#*@, take the first pitch means to let it go and wait for the next one. Well, ain’t that great, be nice to know the lingo.

Moving forward about 50 years, I was recently discharged from the hospital after a 6–7-hour abdominal surgery with catheter and JP drain and about 20 pages of post op information and instructions. I read through them like a good patient and knew what it all said, my wife/intelligent and very competent caregiver, however, took it all literally and to the letter of the law, which is good, but has its downsides. The information and instructions were general recommendations for many/all related surgeries and had some conflicting information compared to what the surgeon discussed with us at my discharge visit.