I must say that this has probably been one of the best years for me and major league baseball. Not only did I get to see my fourth major league game this weekend (and nearly a no hitter one at that), but my Phillies made it to the playoffs! Are you kidding me?? Autumn is by far the best season in the year and for so many reasons. One being the fact that the major league playoffs and the world series take place. I’m very excited that both the Phils and the Cubs are in it this year.

Like I mentioned, I got to see four games this year in four different venues. I’ve dropped in some photos of the four: Kansas City, San Francisco, St. Louis and Cincinnati. In order of greatness, San Francisco wins hands down. Just a beautiful, wonderful ball park. The people working there were all very friendly and helpful and I can’t wait to get back. St. Louis and Cincinnati probably tie for second. Both stadiums are relatively new and vastly improved over the old venues. St. Louis may actually get the edge just because the placement of the stadium and the view of the arch are perfect. Plus, their fans seemed a little more fervent. Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium is pretty old school and the club level seating leaves a lot to be desired. However, the parking is much better since they are away from the downtown area and the staff was very friendly and helpful. But if I had to choose one, it would be AT&T Park. No question. Next year, I hope to hit four more stadiums in my quest to see them all, and definitely go back to San Fran.

San Francisco


St. Louis


Cincinnati


Kansas City

I am 34 years old, nearly 35. I am officially at the age where I can say, “When I was kid, we didn’t have…” My parents said it. Their parents said it. And now, I am saying it.

We all get lyrics stuck in our heads. We walk around all day whistling, or humming, or if we are courageous enough, singing the lyrics to ourselves over and over again ad nauseam. I recall (fondly, I might add) my father wandering around the house when I was a wee lad singing repeatedly the lyrics from the Paul McCartney tune “Long and Winding Road” — “The long and winding road that leads…to your door…will never disappear…I’ve seen that road before….” I don’t think he could remember the whole tune, so he just sang those lines over and over again. It’s been 30 years and I still remember that.

During the times of my father’s youth and even during my younger years of the 1980’s, if I had a song stuck in my head I had to either: call the radio station and request the song and wait until they played the song (and that is IF they played the song at all). I could sit in front of the television and wait for MTV (when they still had videos) played the video. Or I could by the album or cassette. In any of the cases, the song was not easily accessible. It was a waiting game. Especially for a kid like me who waited until the song played over the radio so I could quickly press record on my boombox and record the song on tape.

There was no Itunes, no YouTube, no immediate satisfaction. When I was a kid, you had to work to hear the songs you wanted. Now, it’s as easy as a click of a button. These kids today…I swear. They don’t know how good they have it. 99 cents and the world of music is at their fingertips. Pshaw!

Anyway, I said all that to say that I’ve had the WKRP theme song running through my head for the past few days. I’m not really sure why. Part of it is probably because I am about to head to Cincy to watch the Reds play the Cubs in this the final days of the 2007 major league baseball. And part of it may be because I am a bit nostalgic for the old days. The days when you appreciated music because it wasn’t so easy to come by.

Years go by and things change. And yet, with all the changes, some things remain the same. Life is funny that way. I guess it is a long, winding road.

What amazes me about all of this is the fact that visually this country seems to be more diverse than it has ever been. However, with stories like the Jena 6 and this story from Norfolk, it seems to me that things are getting worse not better.

And for all the people who love to say, “Where are Al and Jesse now?”, don’t ask questions you already know the answers to. To me injustice is injustice, hate is hate no matter what color the perpetrators of that hate or injustice may be. At some point, you have to acknowledge it, even when it makes you cringe at the very sight of it.