‘Yogi must have had a crystal ball.’

I’m sure there are many of you who do not remember Yogi Berra. Maybe you do remember Yogi Bear, one of the most cleverly-named cartoon characters of all time, or at least in my opinion. (Incidentally, I just found out by reading this Wikipedia entry that the Human Yogi sued the Cartoon Yogi’s creators, who claimed the name was “just a coincidence.” Yeah, right. And the Kirwood Derby wasn’t a goof on Durwood Kirby. Read more about him in my piece “Eenie Meanie Chili Beanie.”)

But back to the Yogi of Yogi-isms fame.

A study in checkerboard: my foot and the floor of the Mexican Place in Amagansett that was so crowded that no one went there. Well, except that one time

To cut to the chase, Yogi was a Hall of Fame baseball player and manager. (You can read more about his amazing career right here.) But even if you’re not a fan (and, yes, there are people out there who don’t like baseball; they also hate tv and eat pizza with a fork) — yes, even if you’ve never even seen a baseball game I bet you know some Yogi-isms.

Yogi’s the guy who said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” And “It gets late early out here.” Also “If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.”

“Take it with a grin of salt,” Yogi would have said

And Yogi’s the genius who came up with “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” — the inspiration for today’s photo at the top of this piece. I came to that particular fork in the road when I was out on my morning walk the other day. Yes, I took it. And then put it in the trash.

My beloved Favorite Sister Laura doesn’t throw her corks in the trash: she uses them to make smiles. Follow her at uneedtheschneed on Instagram

But the Yogi-ism I find myself pondering most in these days of sheltering-in-place is “No one goes there nowadays; it’s too crowded.” Which kind of sums up social distancing, n’est-ce pas? (And yes, please pardon my French.)

“Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.” Which I hope to be doing again sometime in the not-too-distant future, along with having coffee with a person — in person

As I say in my subhead: Yogi must have had a crystal ball. Because no one is going anywhere much nowadays — everywhere we used to go is just too darned crowded for our own good.

There was nothing in this road — not even a fork — but this was rural Illinois, where every day is social distancing day

Which brings me to my last Yogi-ism for today: “The future ain’t what it used to be.” You can sure say that again, dear Yogi.

Amagansett, New York. May 2020