Out of the hospital, enjoying "simply baseball"

First, let me say I am out of the HOSPITAL and I am grateful for the prayers, well wishes and visits that helped ease my hospitalization. I am now continuing my recovery at home.
Second, it's not so easy, holding a 600-page book in one hand on your back, while Vancomycin courses into your veins through an IV tube into your other arm.
I know, because I spent my morning balancing a big book on my chest, trying not to notice the uncomfortable sensation of a taped needle sticking into my arm.
It was worth it.
My friend BRIAN lent me an advanced copy of "WILLIE MAYS: THE LIFE, THE LEGEND" by JAMES S. HIRSCH, a former New York Times reporter.
Authorized by Mays, the book arrives in stores in February.
I am 51 pages into it, and I highly recommend it.
I have read about Mays' upbringing in the industrial suburbs of BIRMINGHAM, ALA., and now I have reached the section about Mays' teenage years as a sensational young player with the BIRMINGHAM BLACK BARONS of the Negro Leagues.
Here is how Hirsch described the travelers on the Black Barons' team bus, as it made its way along the Negro-League circuit with the youngest player, Mays, sitting in the back:
"There were memorable characters, such as pitcher Nat Pollard, who was called 'the prophet' and later became a preacher, and catcher Pepper Bassett, who by reputation never met a hanging curveball or a pretty lady he didn't like. Card games drained a lot of time. Tonk, a kind of knock rummy, was the most popular. Other players sang gospel songs, told jokes, or read newspapers; third baseman John Britton studied the sports pages and told Willie how many hits (Joe) DiMaggio had made. Some players discussed their sexual conquests. But the most popular topic was simply baseball."
"Simply baseball."
That's what I want to immerse myself in while elevating my recuperating leg on my couch at home -- without IV tubes or nurses waking me up in the middle of the night to take my blood pressure.
I am so glad to be home.