et tu, Earth Day?

I guess I was being idealistic. I had thought that in this over-merchandized, over-commercialized world we had a few pure holidays. By pure I mean holidays that are Hallmark card free, holidays that are still devoted to the original sentiments that served as the impetus for them.

I had always seen Earth Day is a somewhat "anti-establishment", "anti-big business" holiday where people could focus on the beauty of the earth, and learn ways to be more environmentally conscious. That naive notion has gone by the wayside.

In Leslie Kaufman's 4/22 New York Times article, "At 40, Earth Day Is Now Big Business" she addresses the rising amount of merchandising that has been targetted toward Earth Day. There are private business which are using Earth Day as a means of self promotion, yogurt, umbrellas, even banking has gotten in on the action. Kaufman states: "F. A. O. Schwarz is taking advantage of Earth Day to showcase Peat the Penguin, an emerald-tinted plush toy that, as part of the Greenzys line, is made of soy fibers and teaches green lessons to children" (para 4).

Perhaps I am being idealistic, but isn't the fact that landfills are overflowing with our detritis one of the major problems with the environment? If so, how is marketing and selling more "junk" working toward fixing that problem.

I say: Let's forget about buying more crap that will clutter up our lives, our homes, and our landfills, and get back to the original intention behind Earth Day. Let's focus on the important issues, the cleaning and maintaining of our beautiful planet.

Mississippi Rolling

I begin and end each work day with a 30 minute drive long the Mississippi River. Often, it is the best part of my day, I have the rare occasion to gear up for my day or to wind down at its end. It is quite easy to see how the "Big Muddy" has become the stuff of legend and lore. In some places the river seems like a simple channel of water, then I will become surprised when I drive a stretch of the road that is elevated and I can see just how vast the river is. Those channels only appear small due to the number of islands and sandbars on the river. I can understand why Mark Twain put 'Ol Jim and Huck out on the river. Even though they didn't "travel" on this section of the river, I can picture them setting up camp on any number of these sandbars.

I am often amazed by serenity of the river; my favorite time is when the temperature of the air drops below that of the water, and the river gets a misty fog on the surface. There is something so mysterious and peaceful about the look of it.

We still have steam-driven paddlewheel boats that cruise up and down the river, shuttling locals and tourists along the water. Its a slow moving boatride - not for those who prefer power boats or jet skis; rather, for those who want to take in the surrounding landscape, sight a heron or bald eagle, or simply slow down and breathe.

Perhaps you will take a ride along the waters?

The Boys from Beantown "Bring it"

Baseball's opening day is an annual celebration which marks the fact that not only has spring arrived, but that summer is not all that far away. Baseball is one of the few sports I enjoy watching and to those who know me it is no secret which team I root for. I've been a Red Sox fan for my entire life. In fact, I would never have made it to adulthood if I had chosen to root, root, root for another team.

Baseball fans are a funny breed. They cheer for and stand behind their respective teams, regardless of how the season is going. I should know; I've spent many, many years standing behind the Sox, and remaining steadfast only to watch the lead fade away as the season progressed. Call it what you will; bad luck, poor playing; or the curse of the Babe; regardless of the reason, The members of the Red Sox Nation have long been accustomed to disappointment. I've seen the team come close to many World Series wins, only to lose at the last minute. Certainly one of the most memorable was coming in second in 1978.

In fact, I do love watching them play now, but when I think of the team my first thought goes to the 1978 lineup. It may be because I listen to the games on the radio with my grandmother, or watched the games on the television on warm summer evenings with my dad. Most likely it is because the players of the 1978 team seemed to demonstrate all that is good about baseball. Players like Yaz, Jim Rice, "Butch" Hobson, Dwight Evans, Carlton Fisk, and players like Luis Tiant, Mike Torrez, Dennis Eckersley, and the wild "Spaceman" Bill Lee, graced the mound. Most of them were in it for the team, for the win. They demonstrated a loyalty to their club that is almost unknown today. Of course, this was before the days of "free agents"; back when guys signed on to a team and many of them planned to retire with that very team. Today's players could learn a lot from these guys.

Sunday April, 4th was opening day for the Sox. The icing on the cake is that we were pit against the Yankees. I'm sure you've heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys? Well the bad blood between the Sox and the Yanks is even worse. It helps to play on the home turf, but even so, the team played well. Dustin Padroia played well and we took the game, 9-7. Sox fans know better than to gloat, especially with an entire season ahead, so I will hold my "neaner, neaner,neaner" type comments. Let's just say that I am one happy Sox fan.