gave up the ghost

After my third knee surgery at the close of the 2022 season and an unsuccessful reintroduction to bowling halfway through 2023, I gave up the ghost and retired from cricket, having chased my tail for the previous six seasons trying to rediscover the snap and bite I had prior to my first knee surgery.

How about this: All those orders you’ve placed with Amazon, not just for Christmas celebrations a month from now, but regular stuff, like sets of sheets, and replacement Nikes for your worn-out running shoes, and two new mattresses – the kind that come compressed and rolled up in a box – for new twin beds for your guest bedroom, and a new down jacket for that ski trip to Utah you’re planning for January, and a new coffee grinder to replace the one that gave up the ghost last month…

Don’t worry, says the president of the pumpkin farm: There are plenty to replace those that gave up the ghost.

The place seemed noisy and vibrantbut also all but impenetrable to a lay-user showing up occasionally and without much of a community — it’s the place where Twitter power users and online activists have felt most at home, and that’s great, but I kind of stared blankly for a few minutes, and after no new posts loaded for a minute or two, gave up the ghost.

After the Chelsea gave up the ghost, Mr. Kalfin continued to direct in New York and in regional houses; he was still working until recently.