India v South Africa at the MCG: Ind - i - a Zin - da - bad!

I strangely neglected to bring a camera to what was an exceptionally colourful day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and my first cricket match since moving to this cricket-happy continent nine years ago. Nearly 87,000 people packed the MCG on a hot Sunday in February to see India take on South Africa in an early round of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Both teams were evenly matched though the 'Saffers' were favoured to win. You couldn't have convinced the men, women and children who comprised at least 90% of the crowd that India wasn't destined to win on this day, however. India's diaspora did their nation proud waving flags, chanting slogans, banging dhols and cheering wildly at every Indian run, catch and bowl. I'm an American and therefore genetically wired to loathe cricket but it's a fascinating game to watch in person, especially in a stadium roaring with smart, sober and vociferous fans. The 8-hour 'one-dayer' was won by India 307-177 in a blowout.

Bahut acha.

Game summaries and statistical breakdowns of the match can't compare to the effectiveness of these two photos at revealing the day's events: Our favourite Saffer Hayley with Aradhna early in the afternoon ...

... and much later in the day. Sorry, Hales.

Nuttin' ta see heya .....

The bucolic North Jersey town I grew up in is a 15-minute ride from Paterson, the first industrial city in the U.S. but which during my childhood was a drug-infested, crime-ridden wasteland. Of course I thought nothing of it: Like the illiteracy rate of Eskimos or night-time temperatures on Jupiter, it was never thought of by me or anyone I knew. Even driving over it -- highway engineers guaranteed Paterson's figurative invisibility by placing it in the shadows of a multi-mile overpass that allowed suburban travelers to magically avoid its distasteful decay -- failed to generate conversation or concern.

I was reminded of this casual apartheid reading this tremendous essay by a self-proclaimed 'former spoilt white brat' of South Africa.

While my Morris County ilk may have overlooked Paterson's woes, Hollywood didn't. Morgan Freeman portrayed bad-ass Eastside High principal Joe Clark in the 1989 film Lean on Me.