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Under the Bleachers

A lot of people sit back in life and have their overview, compared to my underview, where I scout, under the bleachers, for what life has dropped.

-Barry Hannah, Boomerang

I picked up this book at the library. I’m growing to appreciate Barry Hannah. For starters, he grew up in the town in which I’ve lived for the past 10 years. But that’s not important. He’s a compelling writer, that’s what’s important. He once wrote an interesting introduction to the Gospel of Mark, by the way.

Hannah was great at observation. Almost great writers are. Why was he so great? He lived life under the bleachers, looking for what life drops – the non-significant events, the pain, the ugliness, the trash, the dregs.

I’ve likened Solomon’s observations in Ecclesiastes – life ‘under the sun’ – to Hannah’s idea of life ‘under the bleachers.’ You have to open your eyes to see it. You have to get under the bleachers and live life there. You have to at least imagine life without God in the world. If you were converted as an adult (like me, at 19), then that shouldn’t be too difficult. Don’t forget the underview.