The Baseball Bat

"The baseball bat is pure, sleek, sure-balanced and nearly perfectly shaped. It has masculine force, feminine curves. It feels primeval in the hands -- mystical/mythical -- a club held by opposable thumbs and complex-muscled hands. It has the heft and hardness of the first weapon, an extension of the arms, the shoulders, the vengeful brain. Security, survival, success! A vestigial reminder that humankind once battled -- and batted -- truly evil things. It's a threat-thwarter, a defense against the demons all around."

- Washington Post writer Linton Weeks