Reflections of a Baby Boomer

Geezer Games

2012-01-19T05:59:00.000-08:00

We're at it again.

We're back in Florida for the Winter, living in our rented condo in New Smyrna Beach. It's a great place for geezers, also known as snowbirds, to gather, play high risk sports, like shuffleboard, and avoid snow. It can get very cold, too, but although we shiver, we do not shovel.

It gives me a chance to watch dolphins from our living room, walk the beach with Louise and focus on my writing adventures. And, of course, I sacrifice some golf balls. The gators can have them.

We Boomers need to find ways to extend our Boomerdom for many years. I'm betting on Florida winters to help.

A Christmas Wiz

2011-12-25T07:22:00.000-08:00

There was a Wiz of a Wiz last night. We gathered at my daughter’s house and her three girls watched the Wizard of Oz for the first time. It was magic revisited as I watched their faces when Judy sang Over the Rainbow. They were mesmerized.

The film was not a critical or commercial success when first released, but subsequent re-releases made it both and now it will live forever.

It’s amazing that the film ever was completed due to many complexities in shooting, costuming and casting. Buddy Ebsen was originally supposed to be the Scarecrow and Ray Bolger was the Tin Man. But Bolger protested because we wanted the role of Scarecrow. They made the switch and it almost killed poor Buddy. He had a terrible and near fatal reaction to the silver paint he had to wear with the costume and wound up recovering in an iron lung. Jack Haley replaced Ebsen with no major troubles.

Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch) was severely burned during the second take of her leaving Munchkinland in a burst of flame. The first take, which went well, was used in the final film.

Christmas Eve is a magic time for kids, old and young, and adding the Wizard of Oz to the mix makes good sense to me. We may not always be in Kansas, Toto, but we always find our way back home.

Making Murder and Mayhem, Mystery Style.

2011-12-13T12:04:00.000-08:00

Just finished a couple of fun reads from first time novelists.

Arlene Kay's book Intrusion has protagonist Elisabeth Buckley out to find the killer of her good friend, even though she's still smarting over the loss of her husband. She's caught up in Boston's biotech industry and there are plenty of suspects, including a man who is either the killer or the second love of her life, or both. Arlene keeps you guessing right to the end.

J.E. Seymour wrote Lead Poisoning, an exciting twist on crime novels. Or maybe it's a twist on family novels (if there is such a thing) since this is about a hit man who is living a simple family life in New Hampshire while retired. Well, not so simple, since he's on the lamb for a hit he didn't make. Life is mighty complicated and the mob has a lousy retirement plan.

Both writers are from New England and both books are published by Mainly Murder Press. Try 'em, you'll like 'em.

Anniversary of a Disaster

2011-11-23T07:22:00.000-08:00

A terrible disaster took place on November 28th, 1942 in Boston, MA. The top nightclub in the city, the Cocoanut Grove, experienced a flash fire in the basement's Melody Lounge, that spread up into the main floor. When it was over, nearly five hundred people died and many more were injured. As bad as it was, it could have been worse.

The 1942 Boston College football team was first in the nation, a powerhouse. That afternoon they played their local rival, Holy Cross, a weak team. An end of season party had already been planned at the Grove, but Holy Cross stunned BC and the party was cancelled. That kept many more people from crowding the already over crowded club.

The fire may have been caused when a busboy tried to replace a lightbulb in a dim area. He lit a match to help see what he was doing, replaced the light and blew out the match, but the damage was done. The smoke and fire appeared shortly after.

A famous movie actor of the day, western star Buck Jones, died in the fire. To me. the most tragic case was a survivor. Coastguardsman Cliff Johnson spent twenty-one months in the hospital, undergoing numerous operations and skin grafts. His treatment was experimental for its time but it worked. He eventually married his nurse and went back home to Missouri. Unfortunately, he died ironically in an auto fire after a crash fourteen years later.

The Grove fire led to reforms in fire codes nation wide, such as the need to have a conventional door next to a revolving door (which was the main entry and exit at the Grove and jammed up with bodies). So, something good came out of the fire, but at a great price.

Holidays are sometimes accompanied by tragedy. As you enjoy your Thanksgiving celebration, be grateful if yours remains without one.

Who Moved My Home Town?

2011-10-29T04:43:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, which seems to have been in two places at once. How can that be?

The city of Boston has a famous section called the Back Bay. You can’t go to a Red Sox game, read a Spenser novel, or watch the Boston Pops orchestra on the Fourth of July without connecting with the Back Bay. But it wasn’t always there.

The Back Bay is called that because it was a bay that was back filled. Check out the map.

The white areas are water. That’s a big area to fill in, especially at a substantial enough depth for building construction, about fifteen feet. In fact, it’s about five-hundred and fifty acres of tidal marshland. How was it done?

Well, it seems that a contractor firm (Goss & Munson) won the bidding to do the work and they were allowed by Needham to remove gravel by taking down a hill in an area now occupied by the Needham Industrial Park situated alongside the highway known as Route 128. It surrounds Boston as a beltway. The area encompassed approximately one-hundred acres, which lay flat until the 1950s when the land was developed as the Industrial Center.

This was Boston’s real “Big Dig.”

Jobs to Edison

2011-10-07T05:26:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you've heard the recent comparison of the late Steve Jobs to Thomas Edison. It's an interesting comparison but there are differences.

I recall reading about Edison when doing my graduate work in Educational Technology. He said that he expected the motion picture projector to be used as a teaching tool, but "when the educators failed to respond, I lost interest." That may not be an exact quote, but it captures his message.

I saw a film clip the other day showing Jobs talking about the Apple II. He said it will seduce people into wanting one in their homes. He was right. Nobody needed a personal computer back then, but today we can't live without them.

Edison never saw the seductive power of motion pictures the way Jobs saw it in his computer. So let's remember Jobs and the other guy, Wozniak, for their great invention. Two guys named Steve.

It's a good name.

Strange Situation

2011-09-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm in a strange situation. I have not gotten a response from my "publisher" Aspen Mt. Press, even though I mailed in my contract, tax form and a formatted manuscript. So I picked a novelist from their stable and emailed her, Cindi Meyers. She told me that the publisher, Celina Summers, who offered me the contract, has left suddenly along with other people. They have set up a new publishing company, Musa. So, I'm trying to contact Celina at Musa to find out what is happening to me. I still can't get through to Aspen.

Good thing I'm NOT a young man planning on a writing career. Being a geezer, I don't need to plan a career as a novelist, but I was kinda hoping for some success to impress my grandchildren.

Coming Up

2011-08-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

Happy to announce that I've got a publishing contract for my first novel, Connections, with Aspen Mountain Press. It's a crime novel set in Boston in the mid 1970s. Too soon to know when it will be available, however. It will be an ebook, so hope you've got your ebook reader.

Steve.

Whitey, Whitey, Everywhere.

2011-07-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

It may not be as big a story outside of Boston, but the fact that Whitey Bulger is now wearing prison orange is huge in Beantown. He’s been a fugitive ( AKA “on the lamb”) for sixteen years and was the FBI’s numero uno since the death of Osama Bin Laden. His story will be more than just about his arrest and eventual trial.

People have been writing about Whitey for some time now (Howie Carr and Jay Atkinson among many). Martin Scorcese made a movie a couple of years ago (The Departed) with Jack Nicholson playing a character inspired by Whitey. I’m afraid that soon the flood gates will be opening. I suspect that books, documentaries, movies and articles will be saturating the market place. I hope to be part of that.

You see, I’ve been working on my first novel for three years now. It’s tentatively called Connections and is a Boston based crime story set in the mid 1970s. No, it’s not about Whitey Bulger, but there is a character in the story, although a minor one, that is inspired by him. So I’m not trying to jump on the band wagon. I was already on it before there was a band wagon.

I’m querying agents and publishers and getting to know the meaning of rejection. I hear it’s part of the business. So be it. But one day my book will be published. You’re going to like it (I hope).

Words and Phrases

2011-05-08T04:42:00.000-07:00

He was the creator of words and phrases.

It is said that Shakespeare created, or “coined,” over three thousand words and phrases that are still in use in our English today. Here is a small sample:

· All that glitters is not gold (The Merchant of Venice)

· All's well that ends well (title)

· Bated breath (The Merchant of Venice)

· Be-all and the end-all (Macbeth)

· Neither a borrower nor a lender be (Hamlet)

· Brave new world (The Tempest)

· Break the ice (The Taming of the Shrew)

· Breathed his last (3 Henry VI)

· Refuse to budge an inch (Measure for Measure / Taming of the Shrew)

· Come what come may ("come what may") (Macbeth)

· Dead as a doornail (2 Henry VI)

· Devil incarnate (Titus Andronicus / Henry V)

· Eaten me out of house and home (2 Henry IV)

· Elbow room (King John; first attested 1540 according to Merriam-Webster)

· Fool's paradise (Romeo and Juliet)

· Forever and a day (As You Like It)

· For goodness' sake (Henry VIII)

· Foregone conclusion (Othello)

· Full circle (King Lear)

· Good riddance (Troilus and Cressida)

· It was Greek to me (Julius Caesar)

· Heart of gold (Henry V)

· Household words (Henry V)

· A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse! (Richard III)

· In a pickle (The Tempest)

· In my heart of hearts (Hamlet)

· In my mind's eye (Hamlet)

· In my book of memory (I Henry VI)

· Knock knock! Who's there? (Macbeth)

· Laughing stock (The Merry Wives of Windsor)

This is no small feat. Who would have known that The Bard was the source of centuries of “Knock Knock” jokes? Try, if you will, to compose new phrases that you think will be adopted into our lasting English. Let me see:

As dead as a Dell computer battery. (Will be shortened to “Dead as a Dell.”)

iPod, iPad, everybody Pod Pads.

“Wiki, wiki, wiki!” (Replaces “Picky, picky, picky!”)

“Comcast!” (Define it as you wish.)

“Show me the certificate.” (A demand for absolute proof of something.)

Well, that exhausts my brain for now (not hard to do.) Give it a try. You might be better at it than Will….or NOT.

Honorable Men in an Honorable Profession

2011-04-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

The recent news that photojournalists, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, were killed in Libya, brought back memories for me of the early 1970s when I became interested in photography. I read about different photographic styles and career paths that many took. I recall an article in a photo magazine about some courageous wartime photojournalists who died in action documenting those horrible historic events.

One award winning photojournalist was a British man named Larry Burrows. His helicopter was shot down in 1971 over Laos during the Vietnam War. There was also Sean Flynn, the son of the famous actor Errol Flynn.

But the war time photographer who stood out for me was Robert Capa. He was daring but controversial. He had a love affair with Ingrid Bergman in the 1940s. He also is credited with a famous image called The Falling Soldier, taken during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Some believe the photo was staged, since it would have been most difficult to get such a picture in those days with a still camera.

Despite the controversy, Capa was a brave and distinguished photojournalist. His work during D-Day is exemplary. He redefined the profession because his pictures were taken from the trenches, while previously war photographers had to stay far back. Ultimately, his “from the trenches” approach proved fatal. He stepped on a land mine while working on assignment for Life Magazine in 1954 during the first Indo China War in Southeast Asia.

Perhaps because of the Paparazzi, serious photojournalists are rarely given the credit they deserve. They put their lives on the line to bring us the images that we consume daily, showing the horrors of war. Those images can move people in powerful ways, such as during the Vietnam War when the still and motion images we saw in magazines and the nightly news helped turn this country against the war.

Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros should be honored and remembered for their sacrifice.

Strange Connection

2011-04-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Ann Corio

Some people like to believe that they have a family history that connects them to fame, fortune or royalty. For me, it’s true.

Well, there isn’t any fortune or royalty and the fame may be more like infamous, but there is a connection. About a year ago, I learned from my Uncle Tom Stevens that his dad, who was a part time professional musician, played his horn at night after work at the Old Howard Theater, the burlesque house in the old Scollay Square section of Boston. His name was William Henry Stevens, my Grandpa.

Phil Silvers at the Old Howard.

My son, Nick, took up the euphonium in the fifth grade and excelled at it throughout high school . He went on to double major on it and trombone at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. When he was in middle school, my mom pointed out that the euphonium was the same horn that Grandpa played. It was in our genes, but didn’t surface until Nick.

The Old Howard is long gone and Nick teaches Music at a private high school near Baltimore, so he’ll never get to recreate his great-grandpa’s performances for Ann Corio and other strippers, unless… No.

Truly Special

2011-04-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

I was about five years old when Elizabeth Taylor’s film Elephant Walk was being advertised on TV. I thought there was something odd about the fact that the ads said “Staring Elizabeth Taylor.” The star wasn’t a man. There must be something special about her.

There were many things special about Liz. Perhaps the violet eyes or the double eyelashes, whatever, something gave the child a look beyond her years and the woman an unmatched beauty.

While some Hollywood stars are merely famous for being famous, Liz had notoriety and talent. She won two Oscars for Best Actress and, with Montgomery Clift, made A Place in the Sun a film classic. She was seventeen when she made that film.

Now that she is gone, there are two important points about her for me. One, the paparazzi like nonsense around her is gone and, two, what remains is the film record of her outstanding talent and magnificent beauty.

The Outer Limits = Star Trek

2011-03-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

Stories get recycled in showbiz, which is a nice way of saying they get bought, borrowed or stolen. At any rate, they emerge many times. I just watched an old episode from The Outer Limits TV series from 1964 called “Keeper of the Purple Twilight,” which serves as an example.

The story is about a brilliant scientist, Eric Plummer, who is visited by an alien named Ikar. Ikar comes from a society dedicated to efficient production through logic, without any emotional influence. Sound familiar, Star Trek fans? Early Vulcan, perhaps?

Ikar stays on Earth to manipulate humans, particularly Dr. Plummer and his girl friend. It seems his planet suffers from over population and they need to take over another sphere, so Earth looks good to him. He wants to experience human emotion and that, of course, becomes a problem, especially where a woman is involved. He just can’t get this “love” thing.

There’s more to the Star Trek connection. Dr. Plummer is played by Warren Stevens, who a few years later appeared on Star Trek as the Kelvan named Rojan in the episode “By Any Other Name.” The Kelvans, it seems, are from a doomed planet and are looking for another home. Earth will do just fine, thank you. Oh, Kelvans have no emotions. Hmmmm. Well, because they have to hang around with Earthlings for awhile, that emotion stuff starts to rub off on them and they are just as doomed as an Enterprise security officer (they always get zapped).

Here’s another connection. In the credits for “Keeper of the Purple Twilight,” I spotted the name Robert H. Justman, Assistant Director. I recognized the name. He was an Associate Producer for several Star Trek episodes.

Television eats up material, so it’s no wonder that ideas get regenerated over and over. In this case, Robert Justman and Warren Stevens boldly went from The Outer Limits to Star Trek and took some of their luggage with them. It’s a big universe, but a small world.

Fellow Baby Boomer

2011-03-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

New England College, my alma mater, is a Baby Boomer.

In Henniker, New Hampshire, NEC began in 1946. Like me and a lot of Baby Boomers, it had its ups and downs before finding itself. Started as a college for WWII vets, it was primarily an Engineering school. Soon, however, it admitted women and developed an Education curriculum. By the mid-sixties, it seemed to be flourishing, with new dorms, a gym, and a library being built and a broad Liberal Arts curriculum developed.

However, there was turmoil in America in 1973, when you-know-who was president and got into hot water and had to resign. So too, NEC had its own scandal. Its president resigned before the scandal hit. It seems the school was near bankruptcy and he rode off out of town. One day, we (employees of the college) couldn’t cash our paychecks. No bank would honor them.

The school managed to survive, however, and rebuild itself.

The center of town holds a small commercial center and a river runs through it, the Contoocook. The original college building plan was followed, effectively moving the campus to the south side of the Contoocook. A new state highway was built, improving Rte. 202 for better travel from Henniker to the west. A rebirth was underway.

This was at about the same time I that I got my life together. I finished my degree requirements in 1973 after dropping out in 1967, married in 1975, earned a Master’s degree in 1977, started my family in 1978 and bought our first home that year. We got it now. You and me, NEC.

New England College has a beautiful campus and has expanded its facilities. I can count three family members as graduates (brother Don 1962, me 1973 and niece Monica 1999). I am happily retired while NEC continues to educate young men and women, preparing them for their adult lives. Way to go, you Baby Boomer, you.

Never a Duet, But Quite a Pair.

2011-02-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

To the best of my knowledge, Bobby Darin and Wayne Newton never performed together on stage, although Newton may have been an opening act for Darin very early in his career. The two were, however, hugely talented musicians. Both men played multiple instruments and had outstanding stage presence. Newton may have had the better singing voice (debatable), but Darin was a talented dancer, actor, impressionist (he did some impressions on Laugh-In) and song writer.

In his twenties, Bobby owned a record production company, TM Music/Trio, and signed Newton. When Bobby received the song Danke Schoen , he decided that Newton’s voice was better suited for it and he gave it to Wayne. The rest is musical history and Danke Schoen became Newton’s signature song.

Random Thoughts

2011-02-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

Just finished reading Painted Ladies by Robert B. Parker, a novel he completed a year before he died. I marvel at his ability to write wonderfully entertaining dialogue. In one part of the book, Spenser is having a conversation with girlfriend Susan about another woman. Susan asks, “Do you think she’s better looking than moi?” Spenser, as the narrator, says with italics, “What kind of idiot wouldn’t know the right answer to that?” What guy who’s ever been in a relationship can’t appreciate that writing?

Dog On It is a greatly entertaining detective novel where Chet is the detective’s partner, who happens to be a dog. The twist is that the story unfolds from Chet’s point of view. It’s a refreshing approach to the genre. Both detective story lovers and dog lovers will….love it.

Louise and I are in our second winter in Florida and the jury is in. As I watch The Weather Channel showing Jim Cantore on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C. and another reporter in Massachusetts, both shivering in the cold and snow, I sit contented knowing this is the right way for retirees from the north country to spend the winter.

Born Again Injured Person

2011-01-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

Question: What's 63 years old, a little overweight, a step slower (OK, five steps slower) and black and blue all over?
Answer: Me playing softball.

In 2010, my first full year of retirement, I discovered Senior Softball on Cape Cod. So, after forty years, I signed up for playing in an organized softball league. And I found that my skill level was just where I had left it. My position in the batting order will give you an indication. I batted ninth in an eleven man line up.

The Cape Cod Senior Softball league is an outstanding experience for geezers like me. It consists of four divisions, based on age (55-61; 62-69;70-74; 75+). The league is very competitive and the play is intense. I'm amazed that I was able to contribute, since I'm not overly competitive myself, but I managed. Most importantly, it was a lot of fun and good for my overall health, even if my wife thought I was turning into a two legged chameleon, what with my multicolored skin due to injuries. This wasn't usually due to trauma. Just using a muscle that's been dormant for forty years can turn it black and blue.

I met some great guys and made new friends, an important part of the retired stage of life.

Well, here I am in Florida for the 2011 winter and starting a five month effort to condition my body for another season. Right now, that means going for one hour walks four or more days per week and saying no to the liquor cabinet more often than not. Like I said, I gotta get in better shape. Maybe I can move up to the number eight spot this year.

Curling?

2010-02-27T17:45:00.001-08:00

I just watched another curling match and like it. But I don't know why. What's it all about, Alfy? Gotta find out. Maybe shuffleboard will lead me to the answer.

I Stand Corrected

2010-02-10T04:48:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I talked about the perceived cut to the NASA budget. After reading an article in The Space Review, however, the picture became much clearer.

The budget actually has not been cut. There is a very slight increase. However, all the buzz has been about the results of the changes in how the money will be spent. The return to the moon is off. The Constellation program has already consumed $9 billion, has utilized existing technology and still wouldn't get us to the moon for nearly twenty more years.

The basic change is this. NASA will now spend it's budget on researching and developing new technologies. Low Earth orbit work will be done by the private sector and the international space station's life has been extended by five years.

Up to now, NASA has focused on a destination (sub-orbit flight, complete orbit, the Moon) and developed the technology to reach that destination. The new plan is to develop new technologies that, in the long run, can give us the potential to reach a variety of destinations. That's a good thing, because we need a propulsion system other than rockets to go deep. Rockets are just too fuel dependent. There are no gas stations on Mars or other planets, not to mention no atmosphere. So round trip missions are not going to happen with rockets.

This new budget is a major shift for NASA and many people will lack the vision to grasp it. But in the long run, this will make it much more likely that someday we will go deep into space.

Shuttle Off To Buffalo...and Beyond!

2010-02-09T04:54:00.000-08:00

My wife and I are staying in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, for awhile, so we were in a good position to view the trail of the space shuttle as it lifted off yesterday.We stepped out on our beachfront deck at four in the morning to view it and were not disappointed.

With ignition, those massive engines lit up the area. I wouldn't say it turned night into day, but we were able to see a lot of people standing on the public beach watching the event.

The power of the engines is awesome. You can feel it. Our wooden building shook five minutes into the flight, like aftershocks. We could see the light from the solid rocket boosters as they fell away from the shuttle and into the ocean. Some lucky folks get to go fetch them from the sea to be used again. That's not a job I'd want.

I've loved the space program from the start, but Obama is doing the right thing by trimming the budget. It's time to privatize it. Let Sir Richard Branson and other deep, deep pockets provide the fuel. After all, people can't yell for budget cuts and then complain when they get one they don't like. The space program won't die, but just maybe privatizing it will bring about a sharp focus in prioritizing missions and minimizing the politics.

To infinity and beyond! Go for it, Buzz!

Hall of Shame

2010-01-30T17:09:00.000-08:00

It's time to welcome a new member to the Political Campaigning Hall of Shame.

We welcome Martha Coakley, failed candidate for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, to the Hall. Forget everything you are hearing about voter anger, Scott Brown won Ted Kennedy's Senate seat because Martha ran the worst campaign one could imagine. It's not what she did. It's what she didn't do. She didn't reunite her party by calling her primary opponents and enlisting their aid (Recall when Jimmy Carter "kicked Ted Kennedy's ass" for the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination, then offered to kiss it to get his support?). She also failed to bring the Kennedy family in to the campaign. From what I've read, they forced the issue. A Democrat doesn't run for office in Massachusetts without courting Kennedy support and expect to win. And she did not take a realistic approach, focusing on a very liberal stance on abortion rights. That won't float. Even Nancy Pelosi knows that. She thought her early poll results were enough and she went to sleep.

So Martha gets to join fellow hall members, Sen. John McCain, who actually considered Joe Lieberman as his running mate before coming to his senses. Then he failed to really vet the VP candidate he did choose, Sarah Palin ( the one who can see Russia from her house, therefore she is qualified to make foreign affairs decisions).

She joins Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who ran for governor of Maryland after serving as Lt. Gov. She was a "lock." Then she ran a campaign that could have put anyone to sleep.

And finally, she joins my favorite, former governor, Michael Dukakis, who blew an 18-19% poll lead and then lost to George H.W. Bush by about the same margin, subjecting us to four more years of deficit spending and the man who defeated S. Hussein in a war and then let him go back into power.

So we now have Martha, John, Kathleen and Michael. Who's next to receive millions of dollars in campaign contributions and give us nothing in return?

The Marini Report

2007-12-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

The Mitchell Report has initiated a lot of discussion about what should happen to records and awards given to players who are mentioned in the report. Perhaps that smacks of McCarthyism: if they were mentioned then they must be guilty, so punish them! Confiscate their awards. Put an asterisk next to their names in the record books. That’s a bad idea just on the grounds that we’d have to constantly hear people mispronounce the word as “asterik.”

I have a better idea.

Rather then punish anyone for taking steroids, let’s reward those who didn’t! I have a modest example here of how it could work. Look at the best homerun hitters over the years before the “Roid Age” began (as best we can tell the late 1980’s). Let’s add to their best season homerun totals, figuring if they took steroids they’d have had even better production in their best year. I propose a system that gives fifteen more homeruns in a given year for those who hit over fifty homeruns in a year twice in their careers. I give twelve homeruns to the others. This is my attempt at leveling the field. Using this system, look at who is number one. Surprise!

Here’s a table showing my top ten.

	Name	Ave*	Hi	Bonus Pts	Projected Hi
1	Babe Ruth	46	60	+15	75
2	Jimmy Foxx	37	58	+15	73
3	Roger Maris	30	61	+12	73
4	Hank Greenberg	38	58	+12	70
5	Ralph Kiner	41	54	+15	69
6	Mickey Mantle	36	54	+15	69
7	Willie Mays	36	52	+15	67
8	George Foster	29	52	+12	64
9	Cecil Fielder	35	51	+12	63
10	Harmon Killebrew	38	49	+12	61
10	Lou Gehrig	37	49	+12	61
10	Frank Robinson	34	49	+12	61
10	Andre Dawson	27	49	+12	61
10	Ted Kluzewski	26	49	+12	61

* From BaseballReference.com

Compare my list to the actual list.

1.	Barry Bonds	73	2001	L
2.	Mark McGwire	70	1998	R
3.	Sammy Sosa	66	1998	R
4.	Mark McGwire	65	1999	R
5.	Sammy Sosa	64	2001	R
6.	Sammy Sosa	63	1999	R
7.	Roger Maris	61	1961	L
8.	Babe Ruth+	60	1927	L
9.	Babe Ruth+	59	1921	L
10.	Jimmie Foxx+	58	1932	R
	Hank Greenberg	58	1938	R
	Ryan Howard	58	2006	L
	Mark McGwire	58	1997	R

Putting them together gives us this revised list of the top ten single season homerun leaders.

1	Babe Ruth	75
2	Jimmy Fox	73
3	Roger Maris	73
4	Barry Bonds	73
5	Hank Greenberg	70
6	Mark McGuire	70
7	Ralph Kiner	69
8	Mickey Mantle	69
9	Willie Mays	67
10	Sammy Sosa	66

There it is, a totally fair, honest and objective assessment of the top ten single season homerun leaders (tee hee). Punishment and asteriskism is negative thinking. This is positive thinking. Yeah! Think positive, Sen. Mitchell!

2007-10-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

A-Rod and the Silver Slipper.

He doesn’t fit! Anywhere.

It’s as simple as that if you want to know why the Red Sox won’t sign the greatest right hand hitter in the game (possibly of all time). He didn’t fit in New York. He didn’t fit in Texas or Seattle, either. And he certainly won’t fit in with the current version of the Red Sox.

Peter Gammons commented on TV the other day that, “A-Rod has never been in a World series. Maybe there’s a reason.” He’s the oil to a team of smooth flowing water. He’s the tuxedo in a closet full of brown shoes. He’s the square peg trying to wiggle into a round hole.

He’s Wilt Chamberlain!

That’s right. As Bill Bradley once pointed out about Wilt, he never really understood basketball. Even though he eventually won a couple of NBA titles, Wilt always revealed his ignorance of the game in interviews. He never understood how Bill Russell beat him so often. OK, Wilt, if you can hear me, here it is.

Russell was not only the best Center to ever play the game – EVER, Shaq, - but he was also the best leader. He brought out the best in his teammates. He was never about his own stats. He consistently turned blocked shots into turnovers and a Boston fast break and two points. That was by design, by-the-way. He taught himself to block the shot upward, not down. He’d then jump up for the ball and pass it to a teammate to start the break. Wilt would block a shot into the third row with Goliath-like force. But who got the possession of the ball, Wilt? The other team!

Wilt eventually went to the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers much like A-Rod joining the Yankees. And neither of them fit in. Oh, Wilt finally did win a championship after Russell retired. How did he do it? According to Jack Kent Cooke, the Laker owner in an on camera appearance after the final game of that series, “We did it like you did, Billy.” Russell was the TV analyst for the game and was in the locker room while the TV cameras rolled. So, Wilt finally learned to play as a team guy, but it didn’t stick.

If the Red Sox were to sign A-Rod, it would be just as silly as if the Celtics had signed Wilt after Russell retired. For all his superior offensive ability in basketball, Wilt would never have led the Celtics to a championship because he couldn’t lead. In the new century, the Red Sox have erased the memory of a team that was known by their style of arrival at an airport. Twenty-five guys, twenty-five taxicabs. Not anymore. This is a close knit bunch that truly enjoys being teammates. You could see it in the dugout during the games. There are no more Carl Everetts in the locker room. They’ll find a way to win without all the homeruns A-Rod could bring them.

They did it this year!

Nixon, Bill and Bonds

2007-09-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Smart people can be very, very stupid.

Richard Nixon and Bill Belichick have something in common. Both developed reputations for being very, very smart in their professions. Yet both did very stupid things. And both were strongly disliked by the public save their most die hard supporters.

Nixon first showed his smarts when he was so disliked by the public that Dwight Eisenhower considered dropping him from the ticket during the 1952 presidential campaign. Nixon didn’t go to Ike on bended knee and plead for a second chance. Instead, he went directly to the American electorate, without knowledge or consent from Ike, by way of the powerful new communications medium called television. He played the humble bit and showed his little dog, Checkers, and his wife, Pat, whom he declared didn’t own an expensive fur coat but, rather, a plain cloth coat. Gosh, they were just simple folk after all!

It worked.

He showed those smarts again sixteen years later. After stunning election defeats to John F. Kennedy in 1960 (presidential) and to Pat Brown 1962 (gubernatorial), Nixon’s career seemed to be over, especially when he made the public pronouncement that the press “won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore.” Game over!

But Dick Nixon was not a man of his word. The press would have Nixon to kick around some more because he made an astounding political comeback. Perhaps it was because Barry Goldwater almost single handedly destroyed the Republican right in 1964 or because Ronald Reagan wasn’t ready, somehow Nixon convinced the Republicans that, as the campaign slogan said; “Nixon’s the One!” There was a war going on and the public had turned against it. In order to win the White House, a candidate had to convince the public that he could end the war. Nixon had a plan.

Not knowing that the plan included bombing the hell out of North Vietnam and extending the war into Laos and Cambodia, the public elected Nixon over Hubert Humphrey by a narrow margin. Richard Nixon outsmarted all his political enemies, Republicans and Democrats, and finally became President of the United States.

He faced an easy reelection in 1972.

Senator Ted Kennedy had an accident one night on Martha’s Vineyard that took two lives: one, Mary Jo Kopechne, the other, Kennedy’s presidential candidacy. Without him, the Democrats had no candidate with star power. They nominated soft spoken war critic Sen. George McGovern. Despite his own military record as a bomber pilot (the Distinguished Flying Cross and 35 missions), McGovern was seen as a wimpy dove and was able to win only one state in the election.

Nixon won the election easily. As one writer noted, Nixon could have probably won that election without even campaigning. But Dick had a problem.

Nixon had a group working on his behalf known by the appropriate acronym CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President). They authorized an act of political espionage forever to be known as the Watergate break-in at Democratic headquarters. Nixon tried to buy the silence of the burglars to cover it up but failed and was eventually impeached. He resigned from the presidency in disgrace.

How could such a smart man be so stupid? Ask Bill Belichick.

He’s a smart coach, having won three Superbowl titles in a four year span. But all athletes and coaches, like politicians, are hungry for that competitive edge that will make them a winner. And that’s why they can get stupid.

Bill never had to try videotaping the signals of opposing coaches. He especially shouldn’t have done it against a coach who used to work for him and probably helped him do it in the past. In the first game after receiving a very large fine and the loss of a draft choice or two, Belichick’s Patriots destroyed the San Diego Chargers on a nationally televised game, proving that the Patriots can win without breaking the rules.

So why do smart men who are tops in their fields have to do stupid things? I don’t know. Ask Barry Bonds.

Sex, Lies, Snowmobiles and Waterfront Property.

2007-04-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

So, Al Gore won an Oscar for his slideshow on global warming. Why should anybody be surprised? If alleged actors like Ronnie and Arnold can be elected to public office, why can’t a former public official be voted an Oscar? As Mel Brooks has said, “The thing you gotta know is everything is show biz!”

A counter to that sentiment might be that everything is politics. Some folks, notably those who vote Republican, have questioned Gore’s program and have even accused him of lying. Imagine, a politician accused of lying. I’m shocked, shocked to hear there is lying in politics!

But I don’t believe Al is lying. He’s been studying environmental issues for decades. His opinion about global warming is based on hard truths. That photo he presents of Mount Kilimanjaro with its glacier (the “snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro”) sharply receding is for real.

And Al is not alone in his thinking. Recently, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report stating that they (more than 100 nations on the panel) agree that humans are responsible for global warming due to burning fossil fuels and the resulting greenhouse gases. That’s over 2500 scientists in the world’s leading authority on climate change.

They believe the world is in for a long period of very harsh weather. There will be rivers drying up and causing large deserts to form. There will be severe droughts, forest fires, insect infestations and disease. Climate change could cause crops to fail, producing hunger for vast populations. The group predicts that the forest industry could be hit by a warming climate. Wildfires, insect infestations and disease could result in losses in the timber industry of $1 to $2 billion over the next century.

And get this. The snowmobile industry, currently estimated at over $27 billion could suffer because it is dependent on natural snowfall. The network of developed snowmobile trails in the northeast will disappear. You might be able to get a real deal on an Arctic Cat!

The IPCC’s report also predicts a rise in ocean levels that could last for centuries. Hey, the vacation house we bought last summer on Cape Cod might just become oceanfront property yet!

Is this a wake up call?

A Drinking Man’s/Woman’s Bar-B-Q Recipes.

2007-01-05T08:53:00.000-08:00

I’ve always liked to cook on the grill. It has always been a sign that the cold hard days of winter are ending and the warm days of spring, summer and fall are upon us, bringing all the pleasures of outdoor living. To me, those pleasures do not include risking one’s life or limb in the deep forests where bears, cougars, coyotes and other predators live. Nor do they mean pitching a tent, building a campfire and digging a latrine.

To best enjoy the great outdoors, mankind need keep some simple rules in mind. Your fire should be in a barb-b-q grill, not in a pit in the woods. Your site should be within twenty feet of a plumbed toilet and be equipped with an electrical outlet. Your food preparation area should be the kitchen, not a folding table amidst a bunch of bugs. And, finally, a fully stocked bar should be between your food prep area and the grill (that way you can get a refill going in or out of the house).

I understand that psychologists may tell us that man’s desire to cook outdoors may be a throwback to more primitive times when there was no indoors. The days of the caveman! That’s when Ugg and Ogg and Ahgg gathered around the newly discovered fire, dropped a mastodon shank into the fire and grunted about the day’s hunt to each other while drinking that berry juice the little cavewoman made last month and is just now starting to kick like a North American Musk Ox. Those were the days.

We’ve come a long way since then and we’ve learned how to enjoy ourselves to the fullest without putting ourselves in harms way. And so it is with this goal in mind that I write thisarticle, perhaps with more to follow. My mission is to attempt to pass along suggestions for cooking that maximize pleasure and minimize work. I’ve seen cookbooks about grilling that call for and advanced math degree and seen television programs that equate barb-b-q to bootcamp. These are not for me. I shall attempt to present recipes that are flexible in their make up, allowing for the cook to be creative. Many recipes use the phrase “add (seasoning) to taste.” Duh! Of course it’s “to taste.” If it doesn’t taste good to YOU, then it doesn’t matter how many tablespoons of such-and-such the recipe calls for. Make it work for you!

To really enjoy the process, get some friends together to help you destroy your liquor collection. This is especially fun after a round of golf. I recommend tuning in your radio, cassette player or iPod (or other MP3 player, if you must) for grilling provides a great opportunity to enjoy music or great radio shows like CarTalk, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, or A Prairie Home Companion.

So, get your grill ready, mix your favorite drink, and prepare to hit the grill with some tasty recipes.

#1. Pop’s Glop (named by my kids).

This is my premier recipe. It is clearly my favorite and is the most versatile. It can be a side dish or an entrée. In fact, here’s an analogy for you middle aged jocks out there. It shares a trait from the Boston Celtics teams under coach Red Aurebach. In his day, the Celtics had only a handful of set offensive plays. Their best was the #6 play. Now, everybody in the league knew what it was when they set it up on the court but they still couldn’t stop it. That was because it had a gazillion variations. That’s the key to Pop’s Glop.

Key ingredients:
1-2 onions
Vegetable oil
Box of pre-sliced mushrooms
Dash of garlic salt (make that a long dash)
Healthy sprinkle of oregano
Tomatoes
Wine or whiskey.

Process.
Use an aluminum baking pan big enough for all your ingredients (probably a 2-3 inch deep pan). Coat it with vegetable oil. Dice your onions and dump them into the pan along with the mushrooms. Now, it’s decision time about your options. In order to help you make your decision, I recommend using the wine or whiskey at this time. Pour a glass of wine (or shot of whiskey – I like bourbon) and sip it slowly. This greatly aids the decision making process. Your options include adding a squash, bell peppers, carrots, celery, eggplant and/or tomatoes. Use some or all. I strongly recommend the tomatoes . I use cherry tomatoes cut in half. This allows them to bleed their juice into the mix. Yum! Next, shake the seasoning over the top. Stir it in as you cook.

Cover the pan with a sheet of foil and put on the grill. Using direct heat is OK since the food is in a pan and won’t burn. Cooking on high heat will take about thirty minutes. If you want to cook more slowly (to allow for coordination with other cooking or to get more drinks in before serving), use a lower temperature or use indirect heat (the pan is not directly over the heat source). You will need to stir the mix about two or three times, maximum). Keep the foil cover open a tad on one side to allow the aroma to seep out while cooking. It smells great! Now, fix yourself a fresh drink, sit back on your deck or patio and enjoy some sounds.

Bonus.

Pop’s Glop is a great side dish and you can use a wide variety of ingredients. Here is a way to transform this wonderful concoction into a great entrée. Add some sweet Italian sausage. Suasage needs to be thoroughly cooked so I just put it into the mix right from the start. I prefer to cut it up into sections. It doesn’t add to the cooking time and is especially good if you have green peppers in the mix. Wow!

Words, Words, Words!

2006-11-30T10:51:00.000-08:00

I have a love/hate relationship with words and phrases. Some are beautiful and communicate meanings exactly. Others are horrible and sound stupid. Here are some words and phrases that I either love or hate. See what you think.

“Ratched Up (Down)." - Stop it! Just stop it! This expression is so silly that even the damned broadcasters who use it often trip over it. “He needs to rachetetet up the pressure…” Just say increase. H

"Goes deep." - This is a terrible expression used by current baseball announcers. They use it to mean “He hit a home run!” It is absolutely misplaced. Hitters don’t go deep. Dr. Bob Ballard goes deep! H

Conundrum - There are three meanings to this word in Webster’s. There are actually just two, but Webster subdivided number 2 into a and b. That surely looks like a politician’s way of confusing the hell out of people by saying “I have two things to offer.” And then the pol actually subdivides his things and comes up with three. How does the pol justify doing that? Can he get away with it? I’m troubled by this. In fact, it’s a conundrum to me. L

Sesquipedalian - If you like to use big words to impress others, then you are a sesquiped (that’s “ses – qui - ped” you simpleton!). L

Payola - May it rest in peace. This word is never used anymore (or hardly ever). It is a contraction of the words “pay” and “Victrola.” The Victrola was a type of record player (what’s that?). Top disc jockeys were accused of accepting cash from record companies to promote certain records on the radio. It led to the downfall of the top DJ in the country in 1960, Alan Freed. L

Galoot - You got to love a word that describes such a person, a clumsy, awkward and/or uncouth type. Ya big galoot! L

Amok - It means a person on a murderous rampage. The word seems to have come home with European explorers in Malaysia. The native word was amouco, and the English gave it a twist resulting in “run amok.” L

Plethora - Have you ever had one? This is for us sophisticated folk who cannot just say “a whole bunch of…” We want to say, “There was a plethora of ideas.” It’s an excess or overabundance of something. Does this book contain a plethora of fun words? Or, maybe a whole bunch! L

"Happy as a clam." - Will it help to tell you that the entire phrase is “happy as a clam at high tide?” You see, nobody can dig up clams at high tide. Why else would a clam be happy? How would you know? Don’t worry. Be happy. L

"Over the top." - I’m somewhat ambivalent about this expression but I just cannot bring myself to use it. It’s so much easier to say “exaggerate” which means to distort through overstatement. Another meaning is “To increase or enlarge to an abnormal degree.” Isn’t that what people mean when they use the phrase “over the top?” It seems to me that “over the top” is a bit over the top. ?

"24-7" - There’s no charm to reciting a couple of numbers and assuming everyone knows what it means (they don’t). I prefer words to numbers. “Round the clock” is a phrase that makes me to conjure up an image of a large, circular (analog) clock with hands sweeping around in a continuous motion. Much better! H

"Wreak havok." - What else can we do with havok? We don’t make havok. We don’t do havok. We don’t have havok. We WREAK havok. I’m not sure exactly how one wreaks (I wreak. You wreak. He, she or it wreaks.). But when I do wreak I want it to be havok. L

Famous Film Duos

2006-11-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

There have been some great duos over the years in Hollywood films: Gable and Lombard, Powell and Loy, Newman and Redford, Lancaster and Cravat.

What? Say that last one again. Lancaster and who?

Yes, Burt Lancaster had a sidekick, too, in many of his films. Didn’t you notice him? Perhaps that’s because he was only about five foot two inches tall and he rarely spoke. His name was Nick Cravat and he worked in numerous films with Burt. But they go further back than that. A lot of people know that Burt was a circus performer as a teenager. He was part of the high bar act of Lang and Cravat. Lang was Lancaster and Cravat was Nick Cravat. Nick adopted Cravat as his stage name from a Richard Dix movie character, Yancey Cravat. His real name was Cuccia.

Nick would later take on a TV role in a cult show, The Twilight Zone. He was the gremlin in a sort of monkey suit in the episode, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, with William Shatner. That’s the one where Shatner is a passenger on an airliner and believes he sees a gremlin out on the wing while in full flight, sort of a crazy wing walker. Oh, THAT Nick Cravat!

Nick never spoke on camera and, logically, people believed that he was a mute. But that’s not the case. Actually, he had such a thick New York accent that he was better off not speaking on camera. That was certainly the case in his period pieces like, The Crimson Pirate and The Flame and the Arrow. He also played an Indian in the Disney production Davy Crockett at the Alamo. He played Busted Luck and communicated with Davy via sign language.

Although he worked extensively with Burt, Nick made his film debut in a Martin & Lewis movie called “My Friend Irma” in 1949. Later, Burt kept him on his payroll as his personal trainer. Nick died in 1994 but will live on forever in his films and TV appearances, especially as that little gremlin. Remember, at “the signpost up head, your next stop, The Twilight Zone.”

Burt’s successes are part of Hollywood history. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his role in Elmer Gantry. He was among the first major stars to begin independent film production, moving away from the old Hollywood system dominated by large production companies. He wrote, directed and produced as well as acted. And his image was larger than life.

I watched his 1956 film Trapeze recently on Turner Classic Movies. I’ve seen it several times but never fail to be entertained. Could the site of Gina Lollobrigida in tights have anything to do with that? And it was one of the better acting performances for young Tony Curtis.

Burt was in his early forties when he made that film. He was trim and fit, not an ounce of fat on him, and he did most of his own stunts on the trapeze and high ropes. He dominated every scene he was in, except for those shots of Gina.

Lang and Cravat are gone now, but fortunately we can enjoy their work over and over. And there is a lot of it.

2006-08-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

August 25th, 2006.

It’s depressing! I haven’t felt this low since Elvis died. Really.

Baby Boomers have lived long enough now to have experienced numerous losses, but this one is just too hard to take. Pluto has been kicked out of the solar system!

Well, not really. It’s still up there, but it is no longer being called a planet. It seems that a body of learned people (the International Astronomers Union) have declared that Pluto no longer qualifies as a planet. Now it’s being called a dwarf planet.

Jeeze! All our lives good old Pluto has been up there in the number nine spot. No more. What’s next? Will baseball do away with the number nine hitter in the lineup? Will there just be eight hitters followed by a “dwarf hitter?” No. Bill Veeck already tried that. Hey, Pluto has always been there, regardless of when the astronomers discovered it. It’s just been doing its thing for ever. Pluto being Pluto!

Who’s going to tell Mickey?

I just watched one of my favorite movies on TV. It’s entitled “Things Change.” Boy, did they get that one right!

FACT: » The New York Board of Education barred the whipping of children in its schools on March 4, 1908.

Boomer Moves

2006-08-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

This Friday, Louise and I make a major move in our (too) slow transition into the rest of our lives. That's another way of saying "retirement." Although neither of us can retire just yet, we are getting our ducks lined up (don't you just love cliches?). We have purchased a vacation/retiremnet home on Cape Cod and are closing on it this week.

This has special meaning to us. We met on the Cape in 1974, married there at St. Fancis Xavier Church in Hyannis (that's the one the Kennedys use when we're not there)in 1975 and both worked at Cape Cod Community College for a short time. We both love the area and have been taking our vacations there ever since we could afford travel vacations with three kids.

Now we have two grandchildren and plan to live there part time after we really do retire.

I'm especially happy because it means we'll definately have a place to live that I'll enjoy. I've had to live in Columbia, Maryland, for 23 years and must confess to never really feeling at home here. It's been a great place to raise the kids and we've made some great friends (although that took longer than I expected). But it's the I-95 corridor, between Baltimore and Washington, DC, and all the rapid pace, high pressure life that comes with it. I can't wait not to be a part of that. I want life in the slow lane.

So, we'll probably down size into a garden apartment condo in Maryland in a couple of years and will spend the holidays and early winter here near our kids and grandkids. Maybe we'll be able to sneak away to Florida for a month to get warm and then get ready for six months on the Cape. I hope this all happens peacefully. Stay tuned.

My Prostate Adventure

2006-03-07T06:05:00.000-08:00

I’ll bet you think you’re hearing a lot about prostate cancer and PSAs these days. That’s because prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. It’s expected that the number of men diagnosed with it will triple over the next twenty years and the deaths from it will double.

Perhaps many of you reading this have already dealt with prostate cancer. So what I’m about to discuss may be old news for you. This column is, therefore, aimed at those lucky Baby Boomers and Seniors who haven’t. You’re next.

I didn’t say it like that to scare you. Well, maybe I did because prostate cancer is nothing to sneeze at. It’s vitally important that guys our age take it seriously enough to start being checked for it regularly. I’m speaking from experience, folks. I recently went through my diagnosis and treatment of choice and I learned a lot. Perhaps I can pass some of that knowledge on to you and yours in the hope that it will help. Let’s start with some basics.

What is the prostate and what does it do?

It’s a walnut sized gland that sits beneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra. It produces the fluid that makes up part of the semen that carries sperm out of the penis. That makes it a pretty important part to us studs and one of our most prized possessions. Unfortunately, it comes with a price.

For most men, the prostate will become cancerous if you live long enough. Many men will die of other causes while they have prostate cancer. That’s because prostate cancer is usually very slow growing. But don’t count on it. It’s no reason not to be concerned.

How do you know if you have it? What do you do?

Like all cancers, the best way to beat it is by early detection. The “gold standard” for this is a simple blood test that measures the amount of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) in your blood. The higher the number the greater your risk for having prostate cancer. If you’ve never had your PSA checked and you are over fifty years of age, its time for you to do so. Many doctors are even saying if you’re in your forties you should start checking it to establish a baseline. I know that some doctors pooh pooh the PSA as unreliable. If those doctors are over fifty, I wonder if they’ve ever checked their own PSA. I bet they have but won’t tell you.

If you question the reliability of the PSA test, consider this. The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute (named for Diamond Jim Brady) at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore is ranked as the best place in the country by U.S. News and World Report for dealing with urology issues. Kings, princes, presidents and prime ministers come from all around the world to have their prostate cancer treated there. Hopkins uses the PSA for aiding in early detection. If the best place in the country (maybe the world) uses it then that’s what I want for me. I don’t want my urologist steering me in another direction, away from the industry standard, for whatever his reasons. It’s my life he’s messing with!

OK, you got your PSA test done. Now what?

If your PSA is over 4.0 and you’re in our age group, you need to have a biopsy. That’s the rule of thumb but there may be reasons to have the biopsy even if your PSA is lower. Has it jumped over a point in the last year? Do you have a family history of prostate cancer? If the answer is yes to these questions then you should have a biopsy.

I know many of you are getting squeamish just thinking about a biopsy. I understand. Boy, do I understand. I’ve had a three of them and I admit they are no fun. But they are vitally important because the only way you can really know if you have prostate cancer is through pathology. The PSA and a family history and your age are all indicators of risk, but having actual tissue taken from your prostate and studied under a microscope by a trained and experienced pathologist is the only way to know conclusively if you have cancer. Will you like having a biopsy? Heck, no! It’s literally a pain in the ass! But it can save your life.

Here’s another way of looking at it. If you don’t like the idea of a biopsy, how are you going to like being treated for prostate cancer if it has spread (metastasized) beyond the prostate? You won’t like it at all and neither will your loved ones. Think of them, too, whenever you hear discussions about prostate cancer.

What to do if your biopsy is positive?

As you progress up the prostate cancer chain the decisions become more difficult. To help you, I recommend that you read the book “Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer,” by Dr. Patrick Walsh, M.D. of Johns Hopkins and Janet Farrar Worthington. Dr. Walsh is considered the world’s leading figure in prostate cancer research and treatment. He pioneered the techniques in the 1980s that are common practice today at Johns Hopkins that result in less bleeding, shorter recovery time, better pain management, less incontinence, sparing the nerve bundle that contributes to erectile function and, most importantly, saving lives.

You need to learn about the various factors to consider when deciding on a course of treatment. This will include your age and overall health. These contribute to your life expectancy before your diagnosis and that will influence your course of treatment. Your biopsy will yield what is called the Gleason Score, developed by Donald F. Gleason, reference pathologist for the Veterans Administration Cooperative Group. This score illustrates the relative aggressiveness of the cancer and, although it is derived from your actual prostate tissue, it is not fully conclusive. The biopsy does not cover the entire gland, only those specimens that are extracted. So a specimen can reveal a Gleason 6 cancer but the actual tumor, which is larger than the specimen taken, can have cells that rate a higher Gleason score. This was true with me. My biopsy showed a Gleason 6 but the final lab report after surgery showed three tumors, two of which were Gleason 7 and 9. These are more aggressive than a Gleason 6. Your Gleason score will suggest the speed with which you need to make a decision. It is one of three factors (along with PSA and clinical stage; T1, T2, T3 etc.) in a tool that Johns Hopkins uses called the Partin Tables. This was devised by Dr. Alan Partin and it is an important guide for your decision making. It’s actually very complex, involving a series of questions fed to a computer with a neural network. I think they used to call them expert systems.

I believe that the primary decision you will make is whether or not to have surgery. There are reasons why you should have it and reasons why you may choose otherwise. You need to make an informed decision. Remember, it’s your life and that life is shared by your loved ones. As I said earlier, take them into account throughout this process. You want to be cured and live a “normal” life. The Partin Tables can help. The tables helped me understand that my cancer was most likely confined to the prostate (about a 75% chance). Although not a guarantee, it was not likely that the cancer had spread beyond the prostate capsule.

Radiation is another form of treatment that you will consider. There are two ways to receive this: one is through external beam radiation and the other is by having radioactive pellets (called seeds) implanted directly into the prostate. Once again, your age and overall health will influence your decision here. The seeds are becoming very popular today because it is a one time procedure and performed as out patient surgery. There is also less risk to other body organs and some data suggest the same result as surgery. Dr. Walsh at Johns Hopkins contests these data, however, and says that more studies are needed to show the results of treatments focused on men who are diagnosed under the age of sixty. He states that surgery is beginning to show better results. If, however, your Gleason score is high your cancer may have spread making surgery a non-option.

Even if your decision is surgery there are further decisions to be made. One is whether to have the “open surgery,” as performed at the Brady Institute or to go with the newer surgery called laparoscopic surgery. Either one will get the job done but there are differences. An important one concerns “positive margins.” To the layman this means what is the likelihood that they removed all the cancer when they removed the prostate. Open surgery has a much lower percentage of cases with positive margins. Although laparoscopic surgery shows many appealing points, such as quicker recovery time, the positive margin issue and the great track record of the Brady Institute helped me decide to go with open surgery. I’ve recently met a man who has undergone computer aided laparoscopic surgery in Detroit, who, despite having positive margins, has the same desired result as I do – an undetectable PSA. That’s where you want to be.

Learn about these procedures and make an educated decision.

Sportscasters: A passing.

2006-02-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

Many of you are aware that Curt Gowdy, a Hall of Fame sports broadcaster, passed away recently. He was one of my favorites throughout my life. I started watching baseball in the mid-1950s when Curt was calling Boston Red Sox games. Of course, at that time, he was my ONLY sportscaster. But as I grew older and I saw other sportscasters on TV, Curt remained one of my favorites. His laid back style was far better to my thinking than those screamers of today who talk incessantly (do they think they are on radio? we can see what's happening on TV!).

As good as he was on baseball, I think he was even better covering the Olympics and the American Sportsman. And I don't think there was a better broadcast team for pro-football than Curt and Paul Christman in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although I think the best single football announcer was Ray Scott, who called the Greenbay Packer games ("Hornung - five yards.").

My favorite baseball broadcaster has to be Joe Garagiola. He had so many great stories. I recall one time when he explained how good a kid had to be in order to make it to the big leagues. He said, "You've got to be about the best player in your whole state. Heck, growing up next to Yogi, I wasn't even the best player on the block!"

Gowdy was also a great basketball announcer. I recall him doing a Boston Celtic game in the 1950s and Frank Ramsey was about to enter the game as a substitute. Frank was called the great 6th man, because he rarely started a game and was used as the first reserve, thus being called a sixth man. I never knew why this was so important, but Gowdy explained that Ramsey could enter a game and score right away. Sure enough, Ramsey entered the game and, within about two minutes, he had 5 or 6 points. So, the Celtics lost nothing in the way of productive play when they used this "sub." Red Aurebach's coaching taught this to the basketball world. Curt Gowdy taught it to me.

The most entertaining basketball announcer had to be Johnny Most. My friends and I used to watch Celtic games on TV and turn the sound off so we could have the radio on at the same time with Johnny Most giving the play-by-play. We used to joke that we actually could take in two different games that way, because Johnny had such a creative style that he seemed to be calling a totally different game. ("Elgin baylor has the ball. Elgin wants to operate. Russell won't let him!" - Come to think of it, that WAS what was happening!).

Thanks, Curt, for many great calls and many great games. We'll never see the likes of you again.