Maps From The Stars

As you may or may not know from reading my past posts. I have a myriad of topics that captivate me.  Some are just subjects that hold my attention others can range from fascination to downright obsessions of mine.  But I especially love when two of my favorites can come together.  Recently that has been happening, thanks to a few astronauts on the International Space Station. 

I have a lifelong love of the space program.  Perhaps that is because I was born just slightly over a year before the Apollo 11 moon landing.  I can still remember seeing the final moon landing broadcast on television.  I watched through Apollo-Soyuz and Skylab, into the Shuttle program and continuing through the ongoing ISS missions. 

I also have a love of geography, specifically, cartography.  The study of maps.  I have sat and read an atlas the same way other people sit and read the latest Steven King novel.  I look for the detail, the proximity of cities and nations.  I pore over the relief maps to get a sense of natural boundaries and how nature influenced who we became and where we move and live.

When satellite imagery became part of all internet based map programs, I was thrilled.  I could now get a look at both maps, virtually at the same time.  I could toggle back and forth and zoom in, right down to my house if I felt so inclined.  And I have.  This is where two of my interests began to blend into one.

Recently, as I mentioned above, a few astronauts have been fostering this melding.  They have been sending out, via Twitter and other sources, photos of cities, landmarks and prominent physical features of our world down below.  I know they are not as detailed as some of the images already available, but there is something more to it. 

Two of the astronauts currently staffing the ISS are an American, Shane Kimbrough and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet.  They send out photos almost on a daily basis of what they see as they orbit our world.  Big deal you say?  Well, yes, it is.  It is more than just the photo they send down to us.  It is what they tell us as well. 

When I see the tweet, pop up in my feed with an image fresh from space, I immediately study it intently.  But what is great about what they say is the fact that they don’t just tell you what you are seeing.  They relate to what is in the picture.  From following and watching these pioneers, I not only get to live vicariously through them on the Space Station, I also learn a little about them.  In recent days, they have sent pictures of the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida shortly after the launch of a cargo ship on the way to them.  They congratulated the SpaceX team on the successful landing of the first stage of the reusable rocket.  I have seen Thomas Pesquet’s home town in France and learned that he would love to visit Beirut.  I learned that Shane Kimbrough is collecting photos of airports from space and sends out “good morning” or “good night” wishes to cities all over the world almost every day.

Then there are the earth’s natural features that they send to us.  In recent months, we have seen sand dunes in the Sahara and Brazil.  We received a spectacular photo of the Hawaiian Islands with the sun glinting off of the Pacific’s surface.  We’ve also been treated to sights like the Grand Canyon and stops all around the Mediterranean.  We receive beautiful underwater features like reefs and new islands just breaking the surface and then there are the volcanoes from New Zealand to Iceland.  All sights to behold.  We even see the not so spectacular scars we are leaving on the surface in the form of receding water lines, deforestation and climate change.  But I will save that for another time.

All of these wonderful, sometimes tragic, always stunning images link me to two of the subjects that I have held close to my heart for years.  I know the current group of scientists who are also just ordinary people fascinated by the same things we all are, have limited missions.  I can only hope that the future specialists assigned to the Space Station will continue to send these beautiful photos and maybe a little piece of themselves while they are at it, back to those of us who can only dream of being in their place.

If you would like the chance to see these wonderful photos on Twitter, please check out the International Space Station @Space_Station or to follow the astronauts directly Thomas Pesquet @Thom_astro or Shane Kimbrough @astro_kimbrough

In the meantime, I’m going to keep matching up the photos they send with my maps.  We can all keep looking up but don’t forget to take the time for what they can show us as they look down. 

Mount Vesuvius and the city of Naples, Italy

The cities of Philadelphia and New York, USA

The Hawaiian Archipelago 

Music is Better than Candy and Flowers: Make a Moment

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I go through my usual routine.  Someone at work will ask me “What are you getting your wife for the big day?”. I follow that with a solid, resolute, “nothing”.  Wait, before you gasp and think to yourself what a terrible person I am, let me fill you in on a few things.  I have been very happily married for seventeen years now and I am very deeply in love with this woman.  That is precisely why I do not need Hallmark or FTD to tell me I need to tell her so.  I bring my wife flowers unexpectedly (I hope) when I feel she needs them.  She may have had a bad day, so it is a pick me up or on a good day it’s a celebration.  I try to let her know every day how much she means to me.  So, I don’t need the guilt trip from my co-workers or the television to remind me.

What do I do?  Well, I try to show her by making her favorite dinner.  Yes, I can cook, I don’t just fumble around pretending to make a gourmet dish and coming out with a mess on a plate.  I will leave her a note or drop her an email in the middle of the day to let her know she is on my mind.  Yes, when you have found the right person this still happens after the six-month mark.  We also both really enjoy music, so we will leave musical reminders to each other.  Sometimes romantic, sometimes funny, sometimes it’s just off the wall. 

A song can be an overt love song, have only a line or two, or have no romantic intent whatsoever and it can still have meaning.  We probably have more or “our” songs than most people.  Some remind us of a particular day, others for what they say and some for completely unexplainable reasons.  Sorry, no explanation for the last one.  But music is one of the ways we connect. 

I will hear one certain song and always remember the way my wife sang it into my ear as we danced.  I will hear another and think of the dinner we were having when it played.  Sharing these moments with the person you love is what keeps you together.

In honor of the day that I hate more than any other (although there are some others very close, but that is another post.) here is my list of most romantic songs to play for your special someone, old school edition.  That’s pre-1980 kids.

So, without further ado and in no particular order:

1.      The Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes for You

2.      Sam Cooke – You Send Me

3.      Nat King Cole – When I Fall in Love or Unforgettable

4.      Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – The Nearness of You

5.      Frank Sinatra – Fly Me to the Moon, I’ve Got a Crush on You, or You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me.

6.      Etta James- At Last

7.      Dusty Springfield – The Look of Love

8.      Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

9.      Aretha Franklin – (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman

10.   Elton John – Your Song

11.   Paul McCartney – Maybe I’m Amazed

12.   Hall and Oates – Sara Smile

13.   Billy Joel – She’s Got a Way

14.   Patsy Cline – Crazy

15.   Al Green – Let’s Stay Together

Is this the definitive list, oh no.  Did I leave songs out?  Sure, I did.  Some of these songs may not even seem romantic to you, that’s okay.  You may have heard another version and like it better.  That’s fantastic.  This is just the start. 

I made a point to go with older songs because those that get radio saturation lose meaning when it is everyone’s song.  Choose an older song and it can seem like yours alone.  The song that will mean something only to you and your partner. 

Here is my wish for you and your special someone.  That you should find a few songs with a deep meaning or connection for only the two of you.  If I helped you find one with my list above, great.  If I only gave you a direction that is fine with me.  Everyone deserves to have a moment that no one beside the two of you understand.  You hear the song on the radio, your eyes meet and you just know.  That is better than flowers, a box of candy or even a ring that someone else told you to buy.  This moment was created by you and it is yours forever and you don’t need a date on a calendar to know it is special.

I won’t tell you to have a happy Valentine’s Day. 

I will wish you a very romantic day for you and that special someone, every day.  Turn on the radio, your song may be playing right now.

The Itinerary,What's Left on My List?

Everyone has a list of things they want to do or places they want to go before they die.  I am no different.  I have to say I am not fond of the term “bucket list” but to avoid a diatribe that does not belong in this post, I will keep it moving.  So, my bucket list is more of a, places I want to go rather than things I want to do list.  I have no desire to jump from a plane, cliff, building or anything else for that matter.  I do not need to go through a military style boot camp.  I am an adventurous eater, but have absolutely no need to take a Bizarre Foods road trip.  I don’t burn to climb Mt. Everest or swim the English Channel. 

I have to say that I have had the opportunity to fulfill many of the items that would be on most people’s lists.  If you don’t see the typical visit the Grand Canyon or the observation deck on the Empire State Building, it could be because I was there already.  I have been fortunate to have traveled quite a bit, at least through North America.  I have quite a few check marks already.

No, my list is much more simple.  Most people would probably call it boring.  But I like it.  Please note that this is my list today.  It could, and probably will change in the future. So, without further ado and in no particular order…

Visit Poland.  This is the place of my heritage.  Growing up I listened to my grandmother speak Polish and a bit of Ukrainian.  I listened to the stories of my family and how they made the voyage to America in the early 1900’s.  My family has even been fortunate enough to have a few of our relatives living there come for a visit.  I would like to do the same.  Poland has a rich history and I would like the chance to experience it firsthand.

Visit Ireland and Northern Ireland.  This is the place of my wife’s heritage.  Her family hails from County Cork, County Down and County Armagh.  I would like to see Ireland for all of the same reasons I want to see Poland.  I want to take in the history and beauty of the country and the understand the personal connections to this place.  Plus, I would have a much easier time communicating in Ireland than I would in Poland.

Visit St. Andrew’s Scotland.  While I am in the British Isles, I want to make my pilgrimage to the birthplace of golf.  I have been a golfer since the age of five.  I have loved my time on the course playing the only game that can simultaneously be the most relaxing and frustrating one on earth.  I am not alone having this location on my list.  Anyone who has chased a little white ball around with a crooked stick has dreamed of The Old Course and the town itself.

If you have read my past posts, you know that I love golf, but I am obsessed with baseball.  To that end, I have a few baseball related places on my list.

Visit two Halls of Fame.  I have been to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY, as a child.  I want to go back as an adult.  I also want to go to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, MO.  The first museum will always have a gap in its history, the second fills that need.  I want to experience the entire story.  Yes, I love the game, I can’t help it.

I want to experience a baseball game in Japan.  The game is as big in Japan as it is in the United States.  However, since baseball has been there for close to a century, it has evolved differently.  The game is played with the same set of rules, but the traditions are different and unique.  The fan experience is also very different there. The same holds true for South Korea and Taiwan.  I want to take it all in.

I want to experience a baseball game(s) in the Caribbean.  Baseball is one of our sports in the US.  In much of the Caribbean, it is the sport.  They live baseball.  I want to witness this firsthand.  I dream of seeing games in Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, Cuba, Curacao and while technically not Caribbean, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, and several other nations as well.

I want to visit all fifty states and a few territories.  I have visited forty states to date.  I have no particular location in mind, I just want to make it there.  I would also like to include a few of our territories like Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

I would like to do the same with our neighbor to the north.  I want to visit all ten Canadian Provinces and three territories.  I am a bit farther behind on this list.  I only have three provinces checked so far.

I want to experience the New Orleans Jazz Festival.  I have been a lifelong jazz fan dating back to when my grandmother first played her old 78s for me.  You can keep Mardi Gras, I will take the Jazz Festival.

I want to experience Philadelphia’s Mummer’s Parade as an adult.  I have been there but I want to see it through my adult eyes to better appreciate the spectacle of it all.

I want to look down into the crater of a volcano.  As a child, I wanted to become a volcanologist.  I am still fascinated by science involved with a volcano.  I would like to see one up close and personal.  I am not particular.  I would be satisfied with an ash spewing giant like Mt. St. Helens or an active cauldron of lava from Mt. Kilauea. 

I want to tour every Smithsonian Institution Museum.  Just limiting myself to the Washington DC area museums, there are eighteen.  I have made it to thirteen.  I was almost there but they opened a few more and that gives me a few new ones for the list.

I want to attend the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York, NY and the Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham, England.  I am an unabashed dog lover.  These are the Super Bowl and the Olympics respectively.  What else needs to be said here.

Then there is the one that I will never see come to fruition.  Space.  I, like most every other person on earth, has dreamed of traveling to space.  I did try to take it a step further.  I applied to Space Camp.  I did not make it, but in my mind, I always thought I could become an astronaut.  I follow NASA, the European Space Agency, the International Space Station, and several more.  I can still dream, can’t I?

Well, there you have it, my list. (For now) Like I said, not that exciting to the masses, but thrilling in my mind.  What does your list look like?  I would love to hear.  You can let me know in the comments or try me on Twitter @TWR_Individual.

Who's On Third?

As winter rolls on my baseball withdrawal worsens.  I search the internet for the latest hot stove moves.  I surf for the most recent prospect highlights from the Caribbean, Mexico and Venezuela.  I keep an eye on the Japanese Professional League whose season starts about the same time as ours.  I have even been watching the Australian League scores and Jim Kaat’s work in New Zealand.  My wife periodically asks me “How many days?”.  I can usually give her the countdown to when pitchers and catchers report, opening day and this year the World Baseball Classic.  Bonus! 

But as I look forward to the coming season, I find myself looking back to my own playing days.  No, you never heard of me.  I was not a hot prospect.  I was a good high school player with a plus glove and arm but only an average bat and little power or speed, although I was an excellent bunter.  Those tools may get you a chance to walk on for a college team, but no one was handing me any offer letters.  Thankfully, I have come to terms with my talent and I am definitely not one of those guys who’s past gets better as they get older.  If I did that, by my age, I would be ready to enter the Hall of Fame.

When I mentioned I was looking back to my playing days, I am actually referring more to my early days.  Specifically, to my inspirations in the beginning. 

Where I grew up in Pennsylvania, I was located in a small miracle like area of sorts for the new sensation of cable television.  We had stations from several major markets and I could see a ball game almost any time during the season.  I had stations that were either from or broadcast games for Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York and Pittsburgh.  In the 70’s and early 80’s I was truly the proverbial kid in a candy store.

For those not as obsessed as myself, let me give you a little run down of the teams in those markets.  Pittsburgh was a powerhouse through the entire decade.  Even after the loss of Roberto Clemente, the Pirates, led by Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and a solid pitching staff were rivaled only by the Reds in the first half of the decade.  The Orioles had one of the greatest pitching staffs in the history of the game (only the second staff with four 20 game winners) and appeared in three series in the 70s and six in a seventeen-year span.  The Mets had the miracle ’69 season and another Series a few years later but were beginning to fade as the decade progressed.  The Yankees made three straight Series appearances and four in six years.  These were the days of Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson and Catfish Hunter.  The Phillies finally shook off twenty-five years in the doldrums with three straight division titles and their first ever world championship followed by another Series three years later.

 Needless to say, I had great games to watch at all times.  This was the fuel to my fire.  The spark however, that was my father.  My Dad grew up in Philadelphia, in the heart of the City.  He was a diehard A’s fan idolizing Connie Mack, always hoping he would find a way to bring back a string of championships like he had twice in the past.  It was not to be and the A’s joined the move west to Kansas City and eventually Oakland.  My father remained an A’s fan until he passed away.  Dad also loved the Phillies and knew every member of the Whiz Kids.  He made me the baseball fan I am today.  Even when I got older and we had our typical father son disagreements, we could always talk baseball.  (Yeah, I know, it sounds sappy but it’s true.) 

So, when I decided I wanted to start playing, dad asked me where I wanted to play.  Well, that was the easiest answer of my entire youth.  Third base, of course.  When I looked around at the men playing third, I knew where I wanted to play.  The Pirates had Bill Madlock and the Yankees had Graig Nettles.  But then there were two Hall of Famers in the Phillies Mike Schmidt and the Orioles Brooks Robinson.  Why look anywhere else?

When I started to play Little League, I begged the coach to play third and he gave me my chances, but he also moved me around to other positions.  I gave each one my best, but I always wanted to go to “my spot”.  Dad worked with me and the following year I moved up a division and my new coach put me at third and that is where I stayed for the next decade.    

Then one day as he was working with me in the back yard he mentioned a new name to me. He told me about another third baseman who grew up in Philadelphia and became an All-Star playing in Philly.  Judy Johnson.  Now, at this point I was about ten years old and the name stuck in my head for two reasons.  First, my father loved the game and he was telling me about an all-time great who came from and played in his hometown.  Second, my mother’s name is Judy, and his name stuck with me for obvious reasons.  He told me what he knew about him.  He explained he played in the Negro Leagues and that he retired before he had the chance to see him.  This prompted a whole new set of questions about the Negro Leagues and why these players could not play in the majors.  At ten, this was as difficult to grasp as it is for me today.  Dad even had an old book with two photos of Judy.  I wish I had that book today but I can still see both photos.  The next fall I went to the Library and found a book about the League and read it cover to cover.  I learned names and read stories I never knew existed.  A whole new part of game opened up for me.  I soaked in all I could about Johnson, Robinson and Schmidt and wanted to be just like them. 

To some extent I emulated the three of them.  As I mentioned I had a plus glove and arm.  I was very good in the field and could throw out anyone from deep behind the bag.  Unfortunately, that never carried over to the bat.  So, my professional career ended long before it started.  Even though I never made the show, I do have a few memories of my playing days I will always cherish.  As a twelve-year-old, I played in Howard J. Lamade Stadium, the home of Little League Baseball.  I played third base that day.  I went 4 for 5 with 4 doubles and 4 RBI.  It was and still is my favorite day playing the game.  Earlier that same year, I also had the chance to play on the home field of the Original League in Williamsport.  This was not my home league, but the man who was my second father was an officer of the league and he made the arrangements.  He also introduced me to Carl Stotz.  A man I firmly believe belongs in Cooperstown.  How many professional ball players would never have had the chance without Little League Baseball?

In the coming years, I would find new and better information about the trio who drove me.  I learned that Judy Johnson was not actually from Philadelphia but nearby Wilmington, Delaware. Years later, I lived in Wilmington and was able to see how the city now appreciates and celebrates the man.  Through events, I was able to meet and shake the hand of both Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson.  I never had the opportunity with Judy Johnson.  They say never meet your heroes.  I met two of the three and I have to say I am glad for it.  From everything I have read about the third, I would not have been disappointed. 

Recently, I stumbled upon a gentleman on Twitter.  He happens to be the president of the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City.  After following him and seeing the wealth of information that he and his connections share, I was reminded of Judy Johnson.  That is what brought back all of these memories.  Thank you, Mr. Kendrick. 

Judy Johnson played his first professional season 98 years ago.  I am so glad my father introduced me to him so I could have the perfect man to round out the trio that I tried to emulate on the field.

If you are as obsessed with the game as I am and would like to discuss more about any facet of baseball history, please look me up on Twitter.  I am @TWR_Individual.  I may not have all the answers, but I will have a great time finding them with you.  I would also like to hear about who your on the field influences were.  Who did you want to play like?