Just learned from the PWL Commish that the bureaucrats over at the National Park Service are putting an end to our glorious wiffleball Sundays at Gravelly Point:
The formality and lack of a personal nature caused my senses to prepare for bad news immediately. I’d received several notices from the United States Department of the Interior over the last few seasons. Usually a confirmation of the permit to engage in organized sports activity, in this case wiffleball, at one of the National Park Service managed properties, in this case Gravelly Point, part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway National Park.
This form letter, however, was different. It was notifying me that the last thing that was right about America was about to change. It was shattering not only my hopes and dreams, but taking away something that has become so much a part of the lives of close to 60 people.
Starting January 5, 2008, weekend sports activities at Gravelly Point will only be permitted from 6 AM to 9 AM.
No, that’s not a type-o…three short hours, 180 minutes, and quite possibly the worst 180 minutes of the day. For league that plays from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM, the new rule is a death certificate.
The federal government’s anti-wiffleball stance does not surprise me, as it is generally acknowledged that the federal government disapproves of any activity that its taxpaying citizens might enjoy (i.e., travel to Cuba, Cuban cigars, absinthe, and large scale securities fraud).
You can sign a petition to the NPS that asks them to reconsider their anti-wiffleball stance, but I think this calls for some real action, like making protest signs and marching on the Department of Interior headquarters.
If the NPS still says no, then why not continue to play regardless? Would the Park Police really arrest us for playing wiffleball? On second thought, they probably would.
