Sunday, April 08, 2007

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a great (albeit cold) Easter Sunday. We had a great weekend here – Hank and Tina Hayes came out for the wheekend and there was much joy and merriment. The four of us went to the Sellersville Theater in PA on Saturday to see The Smithereens, and they were phenomenal! It was the first time Mon and I had seen them live, and they really blew the roof off the place. It was awesome!

Of course, the drive from NJ out to PA yesterday was not without a degree of difficulty – heavy snow squalls provided some challenges, and getting back from there provided us with a scenic driving tour of greater Tinicum township – but we were none the worse for the wear today, enjoying a wonderful Easter dinner with the parental units at a nice, fancy-schmancy restaurant.

Hope everyone’s weekend was just as good!

Monday, April 02, 2007

Hope Springs Eternal

It's been a bit of a while since my last trip to the blog-o-matic, but what better a day than Opening Day?

Mere hours from now, the Yankees will take the field against the Devil Rays. Yankee Stadium will no doubt look as splendid as it always does on this special day, with the smell of freshly-mowed grass and hot dogs in the air, the sounds of various high school marching bands, the sight of red, white and blue bunting waving in the air and the sound of baseballs popping into leather gloves. Opening Day is always a grand day no matter which team you root for. The slate has been wiped clean, and as the Tigers demonstrated last year - anything is possible.

For those that have never experienced Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, it is truly something to behold - with all the pomp and pageantry of a military ceremony combined with the tradition and memories of great days gone by (and to come). On TV, it impressive; in person, it is stirring.

More than anything else, it is tradition-laden spectacles like Opening Day's splendiferous grandeur that make Baseball the king of all games - and form where it draws its' strength to survive. Baseball survives - and thrives - in 2007, despite a long amalgamation of events that over history were supposed to be harbingers of the game’s “demise”, yet it has managed to outlive them all.

Baseball has survived the Black Sox scandal, Dead Ball era, the lowering of the pitcher’s mound, Astroturf, the designated hitter, Pete Rose, several work stoppages, the absolute worst TV coverage (FOX), the idiocy of Interleague play and it will survive no-necked idiots shooting bovine growth hormone in between their toes.

Why? Because what Baseball is – a myriad of imperfections wrapped up in a blanket of total perfection – is a lot like us, both as individuals and as a Nation. There are a lot of things about this country that may not be perfect – but when you look at the alternatives, it looks pretty darn good by comparison.

Play Ball – and GO YANKS!

Behind The Wall of Sheep

I love the Smithereens and I always have, since the first time I heard the "Especially for You"LP back in the summer of 1986. WHOT...