Playing Ball

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Prelude xi
4. cast of characters xiii
5. I
6. Walnuts 1
7. Never Chicano Enough 5
8. Suddenly Blank 7
9. Nice Meals 8
10. Down the Little Arroyo 9
11. Never Dreamed 11
12. A Dark Side 13
13. Talking with Mom 16
14. Fastest Naked Sprinter 19
15. In the Cactus Chronicle 21
16. The Chaser Mystique 23
17. II
18. Playing Ball 27
19. Sports People 29
20. All about Fun 31
21. A Quiet Guy 34
22. In Formation 35
23. Champagne in a Martini Glass 37
24. White, Black, or Blue 41
25. My Inner Mexican Comes In 42
26. No More Oranges 45
27. No Emblem 46
28. Ode to Ralph 48
29. I’d Like the Job 50
30. III
31. Not from Tucson 55
32. Ornamental Oranges 57
33. I Never Liked You 60
34. A Place to Stand 62
35. Fiftieth Reunion 64
36. I Was Shaking 69
37. Three Months Older 71
38. Guys on One Side 73
39. In the School Yard 75
40. Erased 76
41. You Won’t Do Well 77
42. IV
43. Observing 83
44. Never a Fighter 85
45. Papá y yo hablamos 86
46. Dad and I Talk 87
47. You Were or Were Not 89
48. Raw Eggs 90
49. My Brother Raúl 92
50. I Remember 93
51. An Old Story 97
52. I Am a Chaser 99
53. My Dad Died When I Was Six 101
54. Packager 103
55. Sure Hope We Can Enjoy a Few More Years 107
56. Acknowledgments 109