At the beginning of our history as a nation, there wasn’t very much to occupy a person’s free time such as sports. Of course, there was no television, so you couldn’t watch a baseball game. And it’s sad, what with the NBA championship coming up, there wasn’t even a game of basketball that had been invented yet. And no football either.

In a Peanuts comic strip, Lucy is wearing a baseball cap and leaning on a baseball bat as she talks to Charlie Brown. He’s also wearing a baseball hat. And a frown. Lucy says to Charlie: “You’re not a good manager . . . you know why?”

In the next frame Lucy adds: “You should be out there arguing with the umpire, and kicking dirt on his shoes.”

Lucy continues: “I’ve never seen you kick dirt on the umpire’s shoes . . . You’re just not a good manager, Charlie Brown. . .”

Lucy leaves. Charlie Brown sits on the ‘bench’ and with a scowl on his face he opines: “I MUST be a good manager . . . my stomach hurts!”

The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a game today. I think that’s how their manager feels about now.

But as for sports, James Madison’s wife, Dolley, liked horse racing. She liked it so much that she had a race track built at Montpelier, their home. She had her horses run in races on the track. Sometimes the jocky sat right on the horse, sometimes they ran with a small little carriagae—you’ve seen them. Dolley even liked to gamble a little on the horses (and other things).

But no baseball, football, or basketball. Or sports on TV. Just work and fighting for freedom. We should be thankful!

Dolley Madison–

She was a good manager!