Should an Artist’s Signature Song Define Them? (My Way Isn’t the Only Way)

Anyone who has been reading my musings over the past several months knows I love the big picture. But at the same time, I love to revel in the minutiae. I have stopped and started a few posts on another favorite subject of mine, music.  The reason I stopped was because I kept going for the grand tour of my musical palate.  So, I have decided to cut smaller swaths and discuss a smaller subject in more depth.  For today’s swath, I want to open a discussion that I have had many times with many people about various artists.  Many singers and bands have a signature song.  It is the one that starts to play in your head.  You know the one that every television show will use as an introduction.  It is usually their biggest commercial hit.  

Is the signature song their best song?  In many cases, I don’t believe so.  Now when I say best, I am referring to the entire package.  The music, lyrics, presentation are all part of the song.  A great hook does not make a great song.  I want to make another distinction.  I am also not referring to a favorite song.  I have many favorites that are not an artist’s best work.  I am looking for the best an artist has to offer.  Let’s explore.

I will start with a classic example, Frank Sinatra.  The Chairman has an extensive catalog from a half century of recording and was a giant in the industry.  He will forever be tied to My Way.  (Sorry, unless you are a Yankee’s season ticket holder, it is not New York, New York.)  Is it his best song?  I say, no.  I have two personal favorites, You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me and Fly Me to the Moon.  I think the latter is possibly his best song.  Among my other candidates for best Sinatra tune are: All the Way, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, Come Fly with Me, and I’ve Got the World on a String.  I believe these songs showcase the best of his music. These vocals and arrangements are his best.

Next, let us look at the Rolling Stones.  Think of them and think of Satisfaction.  I love this song and Keith Richards opening riff is one of the all-time great intros in rock history.  It is not their best song.  Paint It Black and Sympathy for the Devil are both better songs but they only vie for number two.  Gimme Shelter is not only their best, but I feel one of the best rock songs ever.  The give and take between Mick Jagger and Merry Clayton is what drives the song but the music behind it is every bit as good.  I want to throw out 19^th Nervous Breakdown, not as their best but one of my personal favorites.

Billy Joel not only has a signature song, he is so associated with it that it has become his moniker.  He is the Piano Man.  While I do love the song, I don’t think it is even close to his best.  He tells a compelling story and yes, his piano sounds like a carnival, but he has so many better songs.  I will start with Just the Way You Are.  This has a depth of feeling Piano Man does not and the music is better composed.  For my money, this is number one.  I want to offer a few others I feel are still better than his signature: Movin’ Out, Only the Good Die Young, My Life and The Downeaster Alexa.  Okay, okay Joel fans, I know I did not include Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.  I love all seven and a half minutes of it.  It is just not his best work. 

Purple Rain is regarded as Prince’s signature.  Much like Billy Joel, Prince is tied to the song more because of how it relates to his persona than for the greatness of the song.  I think everyone agrees that When Doves Cry is his best effort.  Musically, emotionally, vocally, it is superior.  For Prince, I also think Let’s Go Crazy and Sign O’ The Times and Kiss are better songs. 

David Bowie is linked to Space Oddity. It is the song that made him a star.  I don’t think this is even a top ten song for Bowie.  Allow me to give a short list of better works from the Thin White Duke: Fame, Heroes, Modern Love, Young Americans, Rebel Rebel, Ashes to Ashes, and One that fits the bill for two artists, Pressure.  Yes, Pressure is not only better for Bowie, I say it is better than Bohemian Rhapsody for Queen.  Not by much mind you, but better.

I hope you can see where I am going with this now.  Let me jump into a list of artists, their signature, and what I believe is better.

Aretha Franklin – Respect

I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)

Do Right Woman, Do Right Man

Madonna – Like a Virgin

               Like a Prayer

               This Used to be My Playground

               Crazy for You

Otis Redding – Dock of the Bay

               Try a Little Tenderness

Elton John – Rocket Man

               Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)

               Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

               Nikita

Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven

               (About half of their catalog)

Michael Jackson – Anything from the Thriller album

               Anything from the Off the Wall album

My lists could go on and on from Elvis to Donna Summer, The Supremes to Coldplay, Chuck Berry to Metallica, The Beatles to Mariah Carey, Marvin Gaye to Usher.  You get the picture.

I don’t want you to think I feel this way about every artist.  There are many where their signature song is probably their best.  The Eagles - Hotel California, Gladys Knight and the Pips - Midnight Train to Georgia, Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire.  But even these great ones can be up for debate.  And that is exactly what I want.  I don’t want some DJ or iTunes telling me what the best song is from any particular artist.  I like to talk about it. 

Now I want to take a moment and explain the choice of artists I used for this post.  I stayed away from most current artists for two basic reasons.  First, I am nearing fifty and the artists above are what I listened to growing up and they are part of my core.  There are many others, but mostly in the same eras.  While I do keep up with much of today’s music, I have limited favorites and I don’t want to short change great talent by making a stupid comment because I am uninformed.  The second reason is that most of these artists have already put out the bulk of their catalog.  Can Madonna or the Stones come out with another album with the greatest thing they have ever recorded?  Sure, they can.  That would be incredible and I will take my copy on day one.  Rihanna, Adele, Drake, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Niki Minaj all have many years to create that one song that will define them.  I think it is too early to assign a song to them now.  Let’s give them all a few more decades and we can include them.

So now, I want to hear from you.  Do you agree with any of my examples?  If not, that is okay with me.  What are your thoughts on the best they created.  If you have other artists you feel fit the bill, please share them.  I love great discussion.

America’s Stories Are Closer Than You Think

The other day I was talking with a co-worker who knew I had lived in Philadelphia.  She and her family were considering a trip to Philadelphia and she asked me about Independence Mall.  Is it worth it?  My immediate answer was “Yes, absolutely!”  Then I followed with don’t limit yourself to just that small area.  There is so much more to see if you are interested in history.  I then gave her a short list of other must see sites in the area from Penn’s Landing up to Valley Forge.  We talked for about ten or fifteen minutes, but that got my wheels turning. 

When we started talking she mentioned just the Independence National Historic Park.  As I told her about other places in the area I was hearing myself say the same thing.  National Historic Site, National Historic Landmark, National Historic Park.  After our conversation ended, I began to think about all of the places I have been that fall under the auspices of the National Park System.  Just from memory, quite a number.

When I woke up this morning, I found myself still thinking about where I had been and began to look at the National Park Service’s website.  I was surprised to find just how many places I really had seen and experienced.  I have even lived very close to several of these sites.  That is not completely shocking since there are currently 413 places that fall under the Park Service.  They range from the largest at over eight million square miles to the smallest being the size of one historic home.  They also vary from the well-known and much visited Blue Ridge Parkway and Yellowstone to Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  There are also less obvious but well known places that are managed by the Service including Mount Rushmore and the White House. 

I am throwing out what may be boring statistics to some to illustrate that National Parks are all around us and probably even close to you.  To that end, I want to tell you about a few of the ones that have made the greatest impact on me. 

The Grand Canyon – The name really speaks volumes.  I had seen pictures all of my life of the canyon, but they did not really resonate until I went there.  To say it is beautiful is an understatement.  We did not venture down into the canyon itself, but we did make a point to visit several points along the rim.  We were at the very crowded south rim observation point at Grand Canyon Village and the views were spectacular.  From there we drove east stopping several times at less crowded places.  We did this until we reached Lipan Point where you have what I think is the best view of the canyon looking down river instead of across to the north rim.  That is a memory I will keep forever.

Zion National Park – This was a hidden gem.  When we left the Grand Canyon, we drove up through Utah and were heading to Las Vegas.  We both knew of Zion but had no plans to stop there.  I cannot tell you how glad I am that we decided to take it in.  If I am honest, it is more visually stimulating than the Grand Canyon.  Being at the bottom looking up does give a different perspective, but the rock formations and colors are amazing.  The Three Patriarchs, the Narrows, the Subway, the Pulpit and many other formations are worth the drive.  Among all of the parks I have been to where nature is the focus, Zion is my favorite.

Fort McHenry – The place that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen a poem that would become our national anthem.  The fort is on a point that is now in the center of Baltimore. To get there you need to travel the busiest of streets and find your way through some industrial areas, but once there, it is a little oasis in the city.  The site is well preserved and pristine.  The guides here are some of the friendliest that I have encountered in my travels.  They tell the story so well and at all times there is an enormous 15-star flag used as the focal point of the story.  If you are in a patriotic mood, this is a must.

The National Mall – Where do I begin with how great this is to visit?  It can be a little hard to define since it is not strictly the strip of land running from the US Capital Building to the Lincoln Memorial.  It is much more than that.  It includes all of the monuments from the iconic Washington Monument to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the Jefferson Memorial, the African American Civil War Memorial, and several more.  Then there are the buildings under the Park Services care including Fords Theatre and the Frederick Douglas National Historic Site.  I would also be remiss if I did not mention the Smithsonian Institution.  Although the many museums are not part of the Park Service, they frame the National Mall and provide endless days of enjoyment and education.

Shenandoah National Park – Blue Ridge Parkway – Great Smokey Mountains National Park – I group these together because essentially, where one ends the next one continues.  If you love nature this is a great place to visit.  It is a large part of the southern half of the Appalachian Trail, a hiker’s delight for longer than it has been a defined trail by the Park service.  If you are not that into hiking but still want to enjoy the park, this is one of the best driving parks we have.  In the fall the Blue Ridge Parkway is a foliage lover’s destination making it the most visited park in the system.  I have driven just about the entire length several times. These three parks are friendly to just about every level of outdoor aficionado. 

Gettysburg National Military Park – I saved this one for last as it is my absolute favorite.  My parents brought me to Gettysburg almost every summer for a few days and we would explore new parts every year.  Later in life, my wife and I lived there for about three years.  We would spend hours on the battlefield.  We rode our bicycles around some trails walked with our dogs down others.  Many of the monuments are beautiful and tell a tragic story of our history.  Yes, there are many monuments to the men who fought for the Confederacy, but the town also has a deeper history.  Gettysburg was home to a community of “free blacks”, African Americans who made a life for themselves and were a part of the greater community in a very contentious time.  Everyone knows about Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg, but George Washington also came through and stayed just outside of the town on his way to put down the Whiskey Rebellion.  There is so much more to learn about this great place.  I know the battlefield as well as some of the guides, but I learn new things all the time. 

I want to mention a few more that I have visited and have left a definite impression on me.  They are in no particular order; Saguaro National Park, Boston National Historic Park, Everglades National Park, Petroglyph National Monument, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Colonial Historic Park, Antietam National Battlefield and of course, where I started this train of thought, Independence National Historic Park.  There are more, but these are at the top of my list.  I have an entire other list of places I could go into but I have kept this to our National Park System.  You can find many just as fascinating place in National Forests, State Parks and private sites all over the country. 

Why did I limit this to the National Park System?  Because on August 25^th of this year, our National Park Service celebrated their 100^th birthday.  On a rough count, I am nearing a quarter of the sites visited.  I want to see many more.  I invite you to send the Service a birthday gift by visiting any one of the sites under their care.  You may learn something.  You may see things you have never seen before.  You may just sit and enjoy nature.  Take a look.  I bet you have one near you. 

I hope you have had the same wonderful experiences.  I would love to hear about your favorite National Park visit.  Please leave a comment.  You may give me my next excursion idea.

Extra Innings with a Seamhead

I have many obsessions. But I have only one addiction, baseball.  Well, two if you count coffee.  Baseball is certainly an obsession of mine, but like anything you are fascinated with you can put it away for a while.  I call baseball an addiction because I cannot put it away for the winter.  The first embers of the hot stove are heating up.  My twitter feed is filled with teams, networks, writers, leagues, anything that will feed my need.  I surf websites regularly to keep up on the trade rumors, free agent news, history of the game, or any other nugget of information that will satisfy me.  I am a Seamhead.

Baseball people have a unique way of looking at their sport.  You have camps.  In other sports, the measuring sticks are the same throughout most of their history.  Yes, stats evolve, but the arguments remain the same.  Baseball has old school traditionalists and new age Sabermatricians.  I find myself somewhere in the middle.  I understand and find value in the cold hard numbers, but I believe there is more to the sport than just stats.  I see value in the intangibles a player brings to a team.  But intangibles do not win championships.  I favor a healthy blend of both worlds.  This approach comes in handy when watching the sport at other levels.

As a devotee of the sport, I love more than just Major League Baseball, and I am endlessly enthralled by every level of the game.  I pay close attention to both the Little League and College World Series.  I am very happy now that the MLB Network carries the Caribbean Series and I am looking forward to the return of the World Baseball Classic this Spring.  I constantly read about the history of the game reaching as far back as the true early days in the late nineteenth century.  I feel great joy in seeing where the game is going.  Australia and Europe are experiencing a surge in the popularity of baseball. New players are introduced to the game at the youth level.  The game is as strong as ever in Latin America and East Asia. I would love to see games on MLB from here also.

As for me, I spent my youth playing America’s pastime.  When I went as far as my talent would allow, I coached Little League in the Senior division for six years.  Then I moved into umpiring.  I called thousands of games.  I started at the Little League level and worked my way up through high school and then into college.  I became pretty good.  I was asked to work in a summer wooden bat league for talented college players.  I also tried my hand at administration for several years.  I was the umpire consultant for my local league and was on the district board as the administrator for the Big-League level (16-18-year-old players). 

All of this background was to establish a foundation for the point of my essay.  I, like most other fans have hopes and wishes for the game we love.  I want to share a few of mine with you.  You may not agree with my suggestions.  That is perfectly okay with me.  This is just how I feel.

1.      Start games earlier.  This is a popular battle cry.  I happen to agree, especially when it comes to the post season.  Isn’t it better for the west coast to miss the beginning of a game than the east coast to miss the end?  The arguments are plentiful on this one, so I will leave it at that.

2.      Let the All-Star Game be what it is supposed to be.  The All-Star Game was meant to be an exhibition to showcase the best players in the league.  Because we had one tie, we lost our collective minds.  I still believe, as I did when it happened, Commissioner Selig made the right call.  But let’s get our heads back on straight.  We stopped that game to prevent player injuries that could impact the remainder of the season.  So, in reaction, we said “This time it counts”.  Now we have ruined the Mid-Summer Classic to affect change to the Fall Classic.  Stop already.  Leave the All-Star game as a fun, fan friendly exhibition and find a better way to determine home field advantage.  I have heard many good suggestions.  Among them; simply use the best record, best inter-league record (either for the individual team or the league as a whole), or just go back to alternating. 

3.      Figure out the designated hitter. I must admit I struggle a bit with this one, but we need to figure it out so fans will not have to endure hours of announcers, commentators and reporters droning on about the differences between the leagues.  Personally, I love pitchers that hit.  I love the strategy involved and managers having to think innings ahead.  Teams also get a big boost with a pitcher who can handle a bat.  I feel if you only want to see balls mashed over the fence, go watch beer league softball.  Even in the American League, small ball still works.  Thank you, Tito!  I know the DH will never go away, but let’s find common ground so we can talk about more interesting things.

4.      It is time for MLB to move into new territory.  I fully realize this is years, maybe even decades away, but I would love to see teams in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico and eventually Japan.  Yes, I know there are economic and political barriers to overcome.  Why can’t baseball help pave the way?  Looking past those barriers, I do have a concern that this could, in turn, hurt the existing leagues that have been thriving in those countries for the better part of a century.  I think it is worth exploring.

5.      Hall of Fame, figure it out already.  I think the Hall has made progress in the election of new members.  However, we still face the inevitable steroid discussion every winter and at the ceremony when Hall talk is in the news.  My personal feeling is, it happened, move on.  Put Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro and anyone else deemed worthy in the hall.  Let’s face it, with the number of reprobates currently in the Hall, are we truly hurting the aura of membership?  Bob Costas suggested putting a sign at the entrance stating essentially that the era happened and you can make up your own mind.  I agree. 

6.      It is time to help the Umpires out.  As I mentioned above, I was an umpire. I understand how good they are.  I was also privileged to have been mentored by a former Major League Umpire, so I have insight.  Knowing how difficult it is to call a 90-something mile per hour pitch on the corner of the plate, I can tell you they do an amazing job.  If you have not seen a baseball moving in the mid-80s break about two feet, you should try it.  I could not have more respect for what these men do.  That said, they face constant scrutiny over every pitch.  I have seen a number of systems and I think they could be close to helping on balls and strikes without slowing down the game.  I know the men in blue don’t want to give up the control, but we have proven that replay works and your reputations are only helped, not hurt.  Let’s give it a try.  Side note to the fans at every level, give them a break.  Most umpires do it for the love of the game, not to sway an outcome.  Mistakes happen.

7.      College Baseball deserves more respect.  College baseball is gaining popularity and MLB teams are now looking at top players differently than they had several decades ago.  We should too.  I am glued to ESPN every June to watch the sport’s pinnacle in Omaha.  There are future Major Leaguers on almost every team.  The games are beautiful to watch.  For a baseball fan, this is every bit as great as March Madness.  If all you know of the college game is the piercing “ping” of the bats, times have changed.  While the bats are still aluminum, new technology has reduced the flight of the ball and dampened the sound considerably.  Gone are the slugfests.  The game now closely resembles the pros.  If you have not watched a college game, I encourage you to try one.  I am sure you will love it.

8.      The Majors should take a page from the minors.  Have you been to a minor league baseball game any time, ever?  It is one big party.  In between watching the game’s rising stars, most all minor league games feature mid inning games, entertainment and just plain silliness. Let’s keep in mind, it is still a game.  Now, a few major league teams get it to a lesser extent, but why can’t we have more fan participation at the highest level of the game?  No sport anywhere appreciates their fans more than baseball.  I believe that.  We have interactive fun throughout the minors.  Games in Latin America feature constant music, live music, during the games.  Japanese games are more fan inclusive.  But when we get to the highest level of the sport we want fans to watch and be entertained.  Forget that, let’s have fun!  (Just not the wave.  I hate the wave.)

9.      Patience is a virtue, ask a Cubs fan.  Indians fans, just wait, it will come.  I can say this as a lifelong fan of a team that waited 97 years (76 if you only count the modern game) for their first championship and another 28 for the second.  I am watching the rebuilding process now in hopes of number three.  Keep in mind you do have a pennant to look at in the outfield.  There are eight teams led by the Rangers who have not won their first series.  Washington as a city is now on their third team with no championship since 1924.  While no team should have to wait 108 years, with 30 teams, a drought is inevitable. 

10.  To casual fans and Seamheads alike, I say expand your horizons.  I am not going to go into great detail here.  I will instead give you something to explore if you wish.  Here is a list of teams who have won championships this year.  If you want to grow your love of the game, google some of these teams to discover where they are from and what they are about. 

a.      Chicago Cubs

b.      Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

c.      Venados de Mazatlan

d.      Maine-Endwell

e.      Netherlands

f.       Santurce

g.      Brisbane Bandits

h.      Doosan Bears

i.       Coastal Carolina University

j.       McGill University

k.      Pericos de Puebla

l.       Ciego de Avila

m.    Leones de Escogido

n.      Tigres de Aragua

o.      EDA Rhinos

I would love to hear from all baseball fans no matter your level of interest.  I would like to know what you love about our game.  

It’s Summer, How Bad Could It Be?

Here we are in early November, signs of change are all around.  Where I am, the leaves are in full red and gold.  The air is getting crisp at night and the days are getting cooler.  Some parts of the country are well past this point now.  The leaves are already on the ground.  Each night brings a new frost.  The thought of snow will be creeping in very soon.  In other areas, the oppressive heat of summer gives way to milder more comfortable temperatures.  Everywhere we look, it is Autumn.  The sporting world has changed over for another year.  Baseball gave us another great fall classic and handed the baton to Football.  Tailgating, the art form that it has become, is the pregame ritual for millions this time of year.  There are still many harvest and craft fairs to be celebrated and long fall foliage drives to be taken. 

I do enjoy all of these things.  But I am a summer kind of guy.  I always have been.  Growing up, summer meant endless baseball games.  What inning is it?  It’s not dark yet, keep playing!  That’s what inning it is.  It was swimming with my friends.  It always meant a family vacation.  (Not the Griswold family kind.)  It was snow cones and cookouts.  I loved it.  As I became an adult and no longer had the free time I used to have, summer was still my favorite time.  I was an umpire for baseball and softball from the Little League level through high school and college.  I became pretty good at it and I was even recruited to work a top level wooden bat league for college players.  Now that I had a yard of my own, I found myself enjoying what used to be a chore.  Mowing and landscaping became an enjoyable getaway for me.  I would make time to get to the golf course and backyard barbeques were still an important part of the season. 

This is my time of year.  Just not this past summer.  For the first year in my life, I was looking forward to summer ending.  This one started off like most other ones.  Spring came and the weather warmed.  Sweatshirts and jeans gave way to tee shirts and shorts.  I began to spend more time outside.  I cleaned up the remnants of winter that littered the yard.  I began to mow and trim the grass.  I took time to carefully prune the shrubs by my front porch.  It all seemed like the start of a very normal summer.  Then just before the official start of summer, June 16^th happened.

It started out like any other Thursday.  I woke up early.  I went to work for a completely uneventful, unmemorable day.  I came home and ate dinner and settled in for an evening with my wife and dog.  I thought a little television and pleasant conversation was all that was in my immediate future.  Then as the evening progressed, we each received a buzz on our phones.  We looked to see we had thunderstorm warnings.  Okay, we are inside.  We are dry, the air conditioning was keeping the heat at bay.  I expected nothing more than a light show and some noise.  In fact, I rather enjoy a nice thunderstorm.  I know that seems odd, but I always have. 

Little did I know, this one would be different.  This was not a hurricane.  It had no name.  We were not watching it approach for days.  But it did bring a new word to my vocabulary. 

When it hit, it came all at once.  Within minutes, we had a torrential downpour and a very active storm.  Lightning flashes were only seconds apart followed by the accompanying thunderclap.  Then we heard it.  A cacophony of sound.  There were multiple flashes and a continuous roar of thunder to the point the house shook.  Almost at the same instant, the power went out.  With the violence of what had just happened, I began to go to windows on each side of the house checking for damage.  The only thing I saw in the glow of another lightning flash was one very large branch that had been ripped from the top of one of our back-yard trees.  In a few more minutes, the storm would be just like any other.  So, we sat, waiting for the lights to come back on, entertaining ourselves with the remaining batteries in our phones.  When the power did not come back on, we went to bed, hoping by morning it would be back.

The next morning started at my usual 5:15 AM.  It was still dark when I looked out the front window.  With no light in the neighborhood, I became annoyed as to why we were still in the dark.  I readied myself for work, skipping the cold-water shave.  I figured, it was Friday, my boss won’t mind.  I walked out our side door around 6:15. The sun was just beginning to rise and I could now see around our yard.  Oh, my God!!!  I looked into the back yard and the largest tree we had was torn out by the roots.  This was a tree forty to fifty feet high.  One of the tallest in the neighborhood.  I would come to discover the diameter of the trunk at its base was nearly five feet.  This was a huge tree.  When it came down, it also took out five or six other trees as if they were bowling pins.  This would explain the house shaking thunder.  It was more than that. 

I immediately woke my wife and briefed her on the situation and headed into work.  As I began to leave my block, I realized, this was not just my yard.  This was much larger.  The more I had to weave through debris the more I knew this was serious.  A few blocks from my house, it hit me how truly lucky we were.  A tree, about the size of the one in my yard, had split a home in two.  I took a moment to hope the family who lived there was safe and I continued to work. 

When I got there, I found the generators working properly.  Maybe I could find out what the hell happened.  As people arrived, I heard the stories of downed trees and powerlines.  I pulled up the website for the power company and the magnitude of the storm hit.  Tens of thousands of people were in the dark, the same as us.  I spoke with my boss and decided I would leave for the day to try to deal with the situation. 

The situation was the after effect of what I came to find out was a weather phenomenon known as a derecho.  Maybe you have heard about this, but up until now, I had not.  I won’t get into meteorological creation and mechanics that I would come to learn.  That is for another time.  For now, my concern was the damage.  By the time I arrived back home, the sun was up and I could see the true damage.  Along with the other smaller trees that a knew about, this tree completely crushed a garden shed like a beer can.  It had also taken out a fence and the power lines behind us.  I also knew how lucky we were.  After seeing the devastated house that morning, I realized, it could have been much worse.  This tree stood near four houses and fell in a way that it did not damage any of them. 

As fate would have it, the week after the storm was a scheduled vacation week for me.  Unfortunately, we sat without power for a full five days.  So much for the relaxing time off.  We lost all of our perishable food.  We had to go out to eat for every meal.  Then there was the cleanup.  First there was the insurance adjusters, then the experts for the estimates, finally the actual work.  By mid-July, the tree itself was gone.  The stump had been ground down leaving an enormous mound of dirt and mulched wood.  This work was mine to do. 

I spent a few days working on it and had apparently gotten into some poison ivy.  I have never had too much of an issue with that before.  A few days of itchy skin, a little Benadryl and it would be gone.  Not this time.  This time it would not clear up.  It only seemed to get worse.  By the time I finally went to the doctor, I was beginning to wonder if this was something much worse.  No, it was poison ivy.  It was eating into my right forearm to the point that the doctor said it had penetrated through to my muscle.  I was now on a three-week steroid course and some antibiotics.  Slowly, I got this under control.  By early August, I was feeling better and back out on the lawn.  Time for the weekly mow.  Think again.  Eleven hornet stings later, I was back inside.  I had ice packs on my legs and using language that made my dog blush.  More time to heal.  I was tired of this summer now.  I want it to end.  For the first time. 

Here we are in early November, signs of change are all around.  My stings are gone.  I still have scars from the poison ivy visible on my arm.  I also still have a small mound of dirt left to move.  Now that it is cooler, it will be less taxing to finish.  I have leaves falling that will need to be cleaned up.  Far fewer this fall than last.  Winter will be here soon.  Winter is the time when the earth heals itself.  Spring is the time of renewal.  I know by the time the grass begins to grow again my wife will give me that look, the one I get when spring training starts.  It is the time I begin to look forward to summer.  Although I am now happy that the summer of 2016 has ended, I know I will look forward to next summer. 

For now, I will start planning a new Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  Christmas and New Year will come and go.  February rolls in next with three wonderful events; my wife’s birthday, our anniversary, and the look.  Then it is only a blink of an eye until the grill is fired up, and evenings are spent on the back patio enjoying a glass of iced tea and a summer breeze.  I think next summer will be better.

Slipping the Surly Bonds of Earth – Why Space Matters

At 11:58 PM on Saturday night October 29, 2016, something happened that almost no one noticed.  Three people returned to earth after 115 days on the International Space Station.  These brave astronauts hail from the United States (Kate Rubins), Russia (Anatoly Ivenishin), and Japan (Takuya Onishi).  Taking their place on the ISS are three more pioneers, one American and two Russians.  I follow the missions to the station regularly.  I have had the NASA app on my phone for years and I love reading my Twitter feed and seeing the updates from the individuals on board.  But I realize I am in a small minority these days and I can’t understand why.

For me, the fascination with space began at a very early age.  I am not old enough to remember the first moon landing since I was just over a year old.  I do distinctly remember at the age of four when my father took me out into the back yard late one evening and pointed up to the moon and told me that men were walking around up there.  Even at four I had all sorts of questions.  How did they get there?  Why were they there?  How would they get home?  We sat and watched the grainy footage of the lift off of the lunar module.  My father told me he was not sure we would go back any time soon.  We both hoped that was not true.  But this four-year-old was firmly convinced that he was going to be the one to go back. 

Through the seventies, I latched onto any news I could find.  I was mesmerized a few years later watching what coverage there was of the Apollo-Soyuz mission.  Not only were we still in space but we were doing it with what I was told was the enemy.  At the time, I had little idea the depth of what that meant.  I was just excited that we were still flying.  I tried to follow Skylab until it met its untimely end.  But, it seemed like the news from NASA went silent for a few years.  Maybe the whole world just lost interest? 

By this time, I was in my early teens.  Much of the current news about space involved unmanned probes to other planets and it was not holding the attention of the general public.  We had a tease in 1977 when the Enterprise made its flights, but these were all within the atmosphere.  So, I began to look back.  I had not yet learned how we had gotten to this point.  I started with Sputnik.  Everyone knows about Sputnik but few know more than it was the first object launched into space.  The original satellite was intended to function for just a little under two hours.  It actually stayed operational for 1440 orbits of earth.  I think it was an unqualified success.  Incidentally, the stage of the rocket that deployed the satellite remained in orbit for two months. 

After Sputnik, the information that can be found on what would come to be known as the space race is copious.  I read everything I could get my hands on and watched every program I could find related to space.  Yuri Gagarin became every bit the hero to me as any of the Mercury Seven.  Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly almost twenty years to the day before Sally Ride.  (What took us so long?)  Canada became the third nation in space in 1962 deploying a satellite from an American rocket.  Alexi Leonov and Ed White would each make historic EVAs or space walks only months apart.  Then there was the tragedy of Gus Grissom and his crew on Apollo 1.  Grissom who was to be the first to fly in all three phases of the space program, the afore mentioned White and Roger Chaffee are heroes of mine to this day.  The Soviets lost Vladimir Komarov a few months later in equally tragic circumstances.  Yet they still pressed on to very lofty goals. 

Then came April 12^th, 1981.  The Space Shuttle program would launch with Columbia.  The world was paying attention again.  John Young and Robert Crippen were the first of the new generation of space flight astronauts.  Now I was certain I wanted to join them.  I tried my best to convince my parents I needed to go to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.  I sent for all of the material.  I knew exactly what was required to attend.  I was ready.  I wanted to use this to propel me into the space program.  I even entered the contest to name the orbiter that would become Endeavour.  I did not win, although I still think Horizon would be a great name for a new vehicle.  Neither the trip to camp nor the career in the space program were in my future but I was not about to drop my interest in all things space.  Even the horrible day in 1986 when we lost the Challenger could not deter me.  Quite the contrary.  By this time, I was completing high school and preparing for college.  I was now well aware of the human side of the program.  Dick Scobee and his crew died as I watched them ascend.  I was home that day; school was cancelled due to snow.  I was excited that I would get the chance to watch the launch.  Then at almost the two-minute mark, it happened. That is still one of those rare days that I will always remember every detail.  I sat there the entire day and listened to the analysis and thought to myself, please don’t let this end the program.  Thankfully, it did not. 

It took more than two and a half years, but the shuttles were flying again.  We had learned from the tragedy and adapted the information to future launches.  We became very good.  So

 good, that no one noticed any longer.  Launches were not covered.  Details from missions were buried deep into newscasts.  All of a sudden I had to work to find information again.  Even the news in 1998 that the first section of what is now the International Space Station was put into orbit was almost an afterthought.  The cold war is over; the space station is an effort among several nations.  This is a wondrous, unifying accomplishment and almost no one is paying attention. 

The world briefly came back to watch with the loss of Rick Husband and his crew when the Columbia disintegrated on re-entry.  We now had 24-hour news channels and the internet, so news was not hard to find.  It just faded from public view as the next big story pushed it out of the way.  The program kept going though.  Again, we learned from the data and improved our equipment.  More missions would be launched.  We would get better yet. 

The shuttle program ended with the retirement of the Atlantis but we are far from done.  Cape Canaveral and Baikonur Cosmodrome still send a constant stream of vehicles up to the ISS and many other locations.  We have active probes that study everything from our sun to the moons around Jupiter and Saturn.  We have rovers sending back endless information from Mars.  The Hubble Space Telescope continues to send us amazing pictures into the universe even as we prepare to launch its replacement, The James Webb Space Telescope.  This is a great time to pay attention.

So here we are in 2016.  Seventy countries have space agencies including the cooperative European Space Agency.  Nine countries have successfully launched vehicles into space.  Forty nations have sent people into space.  Even the United Nations has gotten involved in planning a space flight.  We are contemplating missions back to the Moon and Mars.  We are searching for inhabitable moons around other planets.  The ISS continues to add modules and perform meaningful experiments.  Why are more people not looking up?  I have no idea but I invite you to join me in following space exploration and becoming excited about the possibilities again. 

As for me, no, I never made it into space.  Would I like to go, absolutely?  Do I bring a unique talent to NASA? No.  Do I ever see it happening?  Of course, not.  I will have to include Gene Kranz as another hero since he was an integral part of the program without ever flying himself.  I have followed the global space program for years and have no plans to stop.  For now, I will continue to track the ISS and occasionally, when the orbit and cloud cover cooperate, go outside to watch it pass overhead.  I am thankful that another team of astronauts has safely returned.  I also am thankful that there is a new team working up above.  Best of luck and enjoy the next few months Shane Kimbrough, Andrei Borisenko, and Sergey Ryzhikov.  I look forward to seeing you on my NASA app and my Twitter feed.  I may never fly myself, but that will not stop me from doing it vicariously through you and your successors.

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air… .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue

I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —

And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

Have you been inspired by anyone in the Space Program?  Please leave me a comment and tell me who it was that had an impact on your life.

Hello My Old Friend, I’m Glad You’re Back

About a week ago, my information stream was brought to a screeching halt.  My trusted old Samsung Galaxy 4 decided it had given me its last email, box score and instant message.  The screen went dark and alas, it was no more.  Before you judge me for not having upgraded sooner, I felt no need.  My Galaxy 4 had been reliable and performed every function I asked of it.  So, I had no burning desire to keep up with every new version that hit the market.  I am now up with the latest technology having received my new Galaxy 7.  Yes, I know the 8 is only months away, I am okay with that.  In another three and a half years or so, I look forward to the 11 or 12 or whatever 2019 holds in the marketplace.  But enough with this tangent.

I mentioned the passing of my old friend because my typical routine was disrupted during the time I was forced to revert to the dark ages of the twentieth century.  During my lunch break, I typically go to the café in my building and sit with my phone and do a little personal multi-tasking.  I will check my email, read a little news, peruse my Twitter feed and hold a text conversation with my wife.  We are not exactly on the same schedule.  I leave for the office around 6:30 where she works from home starting at eight or so. Needless to say, she is not up with me in the morning.  I wouldn’t be either if the tables were turned.   This time allows us catch up and say hello.  I will remind her to print out the form she needs and she will remind me to pick up my prescription on the way home.  It is a peaceful little getaway in the middle of an otherwise hectic day. 

On the day after the catastrophic event, our new phones on order, I was getting ready to head to lunch and realized, I have nothing to do.  Without a second thought, I grabbed a notebook and walked down to the café.  I sat down, opened the notebook and put pen to paper.  Yes, kids, this is how we made notes, conveyed information, and even told stories before the ever-present devices.  As I began to write, I started off with an old exercise of just making a journal entry.  I jotted down my thoughts on what had been going on that morning.  I quickly moved into ideas for new posts, including this one.  I wrote out opening paragraphs and followed with a few key points that I could use to expound on my premises. 

Before I knew it, my hour was about done and it was time to head back up to the sixth floor and jump back into my other routine.  The one that pays the bills.  As I was walking back to the elevator, several thoughts hit me.  I missed my daily conversation with my wife.  After nearly seventeen years, I still enjoy every conversation be it in person or via text.  I did not really miss my email, news or Twitter feed.  I did however, fill nearly five pages and I felt satisfied.  I noted that nothing I wrote would ever have me compared to Hemingway much less see the light of day.  The flexing of the manual muscles made for an enjoyable hour though.

That evening, as I was ready to go to bed, I again realized another routine was broken.  I usually end my night with a quick recap of the evenings scores, one last check of my email and maybe a few minutes playing a game then it is off to sleep.  What would I do this evening?  Here is an idea, how about reading a book?

I used to be a voracious reader.  At any one time, I would have about three books in progress at once.  I would usually have a novel.  My book of choice would be something new from Dan Brown or John Grisham or it could be from one of my favorites, James Michener or Tom Clancy.  My second book would be historical in nature.  Usually a biography or a history of a country or people.  Third, being the hopeless fanatic that I am, I would have a book on sports.  I am happy with either fact or fiction here.  However, I seem to have gotten away from reading the way I used to.  The pitfall of endless information and I fell into the trap.

At that moment, I looked over to my nightstand to rediscover what was sitting there.  I had a book that I had been meaning to start reading for some time.  A history of the Vikings (the real ones, not the show) if you are interested.  I cracked the cover and went to town.  About two chapters in, I felt my eyes getting heavy.  I place my bookmark in the page and drifted off to sleep.  When I woke the next morning, I spent my time over morning coffee thinking about what I had read, rather than getting my first look at my email and the overnight news cycle.  How wonderful was this?  I was beginning my day happily thinking about the origins of a people and their culture and the misconceptions surrounding their reputation. 

I repeated my daily writing and reading for one more day before my new phone arrived.  While I sat on my couch, loading all of the apps I was sure I needed, I made a decision.  Yes, I would still keep most of what I used to have.  But, I want to finish my book.  I want to read another.  I realize that every book I read can be had in digital form.  I embrace that.  I don’t want you to misunderstand what I am trying to say.  I do not want to go back to a time without our devices.  For the most part, they make our world a better place.  I am all for it and I love being connected.  What I realized I missed was the time I spent with the words.  I made certain I have a reader app installed.

In the week or so that has passed since I received my new friend, I have inevitably fallen into some of the same habits.  I still rely on my phone in the morning and at lunch.  I still keep up with ball games while we watch something else.  I have however, kept up my time reading in the evening.  I may only get through a few pages, but I am reading again.  Will I get back to keeping three books going at the same time?  Who knows?  For now, I will focus on one.  Thanks to the brief blackout I revisited an old friend and I am better for it. 

I am already planning my next few reads.  I know what is next.  I have a Christmas gift that has sat idly for far too long.  After that, maybe a re-read of “The Source” or “Poland” from Michener.  I have not read the latest Stephen King thriller and I still have a Dan Brown on the shelf I have not read.  Doris Kearns Goodwin always has a great history ready for me or I could reach back to one of my early favorites, H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine”.  Maybe I will look forward and download something brand new.  But now, what is important is, I have found my way back.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  I would also like to hear any recommendations you have for my next book.  I am always looking for something new.

Who’s Got Next? (Or,What Sport am I Watching Now?)

As a sports fan, these are the greatest few months of the year.  It is the only time when all four major (US) sports are active.  Baseball is reaching its zenith.  Football is in full swing.  The college season is at the midpoint, while the professionals are about a third of the way.  Hockey has dropped the puck on a brand new season and Basketball is just days away from their own tip off.  What a time to be a sports fan.

But is this really it?  Is there more out there?

I grew up in a place geographically located to give me exposure to multiple television markets.  Even with the limited channels we had, I had exposure to seventeen different “big four” teams. I loved it and was riveted to all four sports.  I also stayed glued to the set for all of the Tennis and Golf I could find.  This was usually limited just to the majors with the occasional special event like the Ryder Cup or Davis Cup.  We also had the Olympics come around every four years.  But they only showed a few events geared to what the American audience wanted to see.

About the time I was moving into high school, a wondrous thing happened, ESPN.  It was nothing like it is today with wall to wall college and pro games on multiple channels.  In the beginning they had to be creative with programming.  It was the greatest thing any true sports fan could wish for.  They had sports that were, shall we say, different, with the likes of Billiards, Bowling, Lumberjack games, Pro Rodeo and a favorite of mine Australian Rules Football.  This was to help fill programming around the staples from the NCAA like the College World Series and March Madness. 

It was the exposure to the “alternate” programming that really caught my interest.  Nothing was going to change my love for the big four sports, but here was a whole new world of competition.  That is what it is really about for me.  I love the competition.  This only became stronger when I left for college.  I went to a school that has all of the traditional sports.  It also has, a full complement of smaller sports.  Since my school was committed to the smaller sports, we were good in a few and that gave them some well-deserved exposure.  It was at this time that I added soccer (football) and lacrosse to my list of favorites.  At first I was only mildly interested.  Then as I learned the rules, what was happening on the field was making sense.  I began to understand strategy and movement.  I thought, “Hey, this is great!”

It was then I realized that there is much more to see to give me that thrill.   I began to seek out new sports.  Shortly after college, the Olympics made a change.   In the past both the Summer and Winter games were held the same year and there was the long four year wait for the next go around.  Now, the Winter Olympics would stagger with the Summer games and we would have them every two years.   Television coverage improved and became much more extensive.  We began to see more and different events.  Ah, more for me to absorb.   

Then, somewhere in the nineties, someone realized that women play more than Tennis and the programming opened up even more thanks in no small part to the US Women’s Soccer Team and the WNBA.  Finally, the LPGA would make it to television and get the exposure it richly deserves.  The Women’s College World Series would join the men on ESPN each year.  I thought this was wonderful, and long overdue.  Keep it coming.

So here I sit, in a virtual paradise for sports programming.  All four major sports have their own networks.  Tennis, Golf and Auto Racing each have networks dedicated to their own niches. Regional sports networks are everywhere.  The English Premier League and UEFA matches are telecast in the United States.  We have live coverage of the Australian Open.  I can see the LPGA event from South Korea or this week’s European Tour stop.  One click away is the Formula 1 race from Monaco or the Ryder Cup matches from Hazeltine.  It is great sitting with my wife, also a sports fan, watching the MLB playoffs or this week’s NFL matchup.  It is wonderful and I do spend hours flipping from one channel to the next, mostly when my wife is out of the room.  But with this saturation of our most popular sports, I no longer get to see Irish Hurling from Dublin, Rugby from Auckland, Curling from Winnipeg, or Cricket from Johannesburg.  Thanks to the internet I can still get my fill when I want it, but I do miss those days on ESPN.  The gold blazer days.  (If you are old enough, you will understand that reference.)

What is it that has me looking for more?  Looking for new and different sports?   The competition.  As I mentioned above, I love the competition.  I have friends who are dedicated to one or two sports.  The guys who are totally immersed in football or basketball.  They watch the film breakdowns on the NFL network.  They are in several fantasy leagues.  They can tell you any stat from last night’s games.  I am good with that, but it is just not me.  I, in my OCD influenced world, have levels of fandom.  From the completely compulsive to the mildly fascinated, I have my sports organized.

I will admit, for my favorites, baseball and golf, I will get much more in depth than I will for other sports.  For baseball I follow the minor league system down to its lowest levels.  I also keep up with college baseball and softball up until tournament time when I dive in head first.  Golf, my other top sport keeps me busy.   I have been a lifelong follower of the PGA Tour.  Along the way I began to obsessively follow the LPGA Tour.  Then came the Senior, now Champions Tour.  I now follow the European Tour with the same fervor that I have for the American tour.  Let’s not forget about the Web.com Tour where the stars of tomorrow are coming from.

Then there is the next level where football, basketball and hockey reside, where I am content in knowing detail, but I don’t need it to the nth degree.  There is a lot I follow with each of these sports and I want the broad knowledge, just not to the same level.  I love football and am just about as detailed with the NFL as I am with baseball.  However, while I keenly follow both the FBS and FCS levels of college football, I cannot revel in the stats beyond the Heisman candidates and top schools.  Basketball and Hockey are much the same.  I follow the NBA and NHL but other than March Madness and the Frozen Four, I don’t follow beyond the pros.  I love these sports though.

Level three are the sports I like but don’t hang on every game.  Soccer lands here.  Since college I have been a fan of soccer.  I follow the English Premier League, UEFA and the MLS, but only to know the teams.  I do not get to the player level, other than the true stars.  I do make an exception to this when the World Cup comes around.  This is my every four-year guilty pleasure with both the men’s and women’s tournaments.  I love the World Cup. I will also include Tennis, Motor Sports, and Horse Racing in this group.  I was once much more interested in Tennis, but somehow drifted away a bit.  I still know the top players and will be sure to watch the majors and occasionally stop on the Tennis channel.  While I am not a great racing fan, I still find myself stopping to watch the big races.  I watch all of the circuits and will be sure to watch at least part of the races from Indianapolis, Daytona, Monaco and a few others.  As for Horse Racing, everyone loves the spectacle of the Triple Crown.  A beautiful well trained horse is a sight to behold.

Level four is where I group the sports that I have watched and enjoy but don’t always know the players.  Lacrosse, Rugby, Cricket, Australian Rules Football all fit the bill here.  As does a fading favorite in Boxing and the relatively new MMA.   I will also include several Olympic events.  swimming, track and field, various skiing and snowboarding events and I love to watch rowing.  I know all of the rules but don’t need to know the participants to enjoy the event. 

Level five have the curiosities.  These are the events that are only ever seen at the Olympics, On ABC’s Wide World of Sports or the early days of ESPN.  The Good for a lark sports like polo, curling, handball, field hockey, wrestling and the list goes on and on.  Once every few years and I am perfectly content.

I have one more group.  A group of sports that are beloved by millions.  I too enjoy many in this group, but I will never be able to be as fervent as all of the others.  My reason, these are judged sports.  Please do not get me wrong.  I consider each of the individuals athletes in every sense of the word.  They are highly skilled and well trained.  I just cannot seem to muster the same enthusiasm for these as other sports where the players determine the outcome.  In this group I give you gymnastics, diving, figure skating, and many more.  I like them, I just can’t love them.

Did I leave anyone out?  I am sure.  Will I develop new loves and obsessions?  Without a doubt.  When I find a new sport, the first thing I will do is learn the rules, at least the basics.  That makes the watching so much more enjoyable.  Then, if it stays with me, I will continue to follow it.  It may move up in my ranks.  It may not.  Either way, I am certain I will continue to watch. 

Do you enjoy a sport that is not in the mainstream?  If so, and I have not mentioned it here, I would like to hear about it.  I welcome your comments and maybe you will give me my next sports obsession.