prayers and processions - hammerin' hebrews

another from the prayer's and processions series i'm working on

++++

I'm glad I'm not with the Yankees” jokes Jo Rosenblum.

Rosenblum, 61, isn't Alex Rodriguez, but she isn't pretending to be either. All she wants is to learn to throw a little better, and Richard Yanku is helping.

A clank of an aluminum bat punctuates the air. It's opening day for the Jewish Community Center Softball League in Virginia Beach. Yanku, the pitcher for the Hammerin' Hebrews, encourages her as she takes another toss. “It's like driving,” says Yanku. “When you first learn how to drive it's not that easy, but with practice you get better.” Both attend Temple Israel in Norfolk.

“I'm not coordinated at all,” adds Rosenblum, “But I'm trying.” The Virginia Beach resident hasn't played softball in 45 years. Yanku, on the other hand, began playing in 1973.

“I wanted her to feel she could get on the field and participate,” says Yanku. “You ask yourself, what are the little good things you can you do? It's my way of leaving a legacy behind as a Jew – it's just the little things that you do.”

Rosenblum adds: “Being around other Jewish people, it makes me feel good. I feel like I can be more free. I don't feel intimidated out here.”