Merry....Happy.....Seasons......I give up

Merry Christmas!  There, I said it.  The annual discussion of what to say to someone or put on our cards has begun.  I don't get it.  Why is it offensive to say Merry Christmas?  I celebrate it and I am wishing a Merry Christmas to someone else who celebrates it, but it's offensive.  Since when has Christianity become such an offensive topic?  We can no longer have Christmas Trees or Easter Eggs, they have been replaced by Holiday Trees and Spring Spheres.  True story.

Last month Lincoln Chafee, the Governor of Rhode Island totally embarrassed himself by  fumbling the lighting of the Chris....err, Holiday.....err tree, in the Rhode Island State House.  After many protests from both sides he did a super-secret tree lighting in the middle of the afternoon and with only a thirty minute warning to State House employees by e-mail.  Last year, the North Andover Fire Department was forced to take down their Christmas lights that spelled out "Merry Christmas", a time honored tradition in that town.  Also last year the Massachusetts State House had a Holiday Tree lighting and a Menorah lighting, huh?

So, why do we need to call them Holiday Trees?  What Holiday other than Christmas has a tree as its symbol?  Judaism? Nope.   They have a Menorah for Hanukkah, the "Festival of Lights" which celebrates and eight day festival ordered by Judas Maccabeus after rededicating the Temple that had been destroyed.  That's what the protesters must be offended by.  Since Judaism does not worship false idols, I highly doubt it.  So what other Holiday can we celebrate the tree?  Kwanzaa?  Since Kwanzaa is not a holiday but rather a celebration of African-American Heritage, I would assume that true Kwanzaa advocates don't have a problem with the tree, they also may be Christian and have a tree in their home as well. 

I guess the discussion now comes to the First Amendment argument.  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. So the State Houses are not requiring everyone to put up a Christmas Tree.  I will take it a step further in that the Christmas Tree is not even a true symbol of Christmas in its natural sense.  There was no tree in the manger with baby Jesus.  I will take even one step further with the question to the people that are so offended by the tree, do they approach their bosses and tell them that they want to work on Christmas Day?  Of course not.  If Christmas is so offensive then take it all the way.  Don't be a coward and just attack the symbols.

According to 2012 Census data Christians make up almost seventy five percent of the United States population.  So why is Christianity constantly under attack no matter the holiday?  No other Holiday comes under attack more than Christmas.  When the Muslims celebrate Ramadan, I don't hear anything.  When the Jewish celebrate Rosh Hashanah, nothing.  Why?  Because Christians don't care what other religions do and that is how it should be for Christian Holidays.  The First Amendment also gives people the freedom to protest, so it is unfortunately something we will need to live with.  But leave my Christmas Tree alone.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

Why?

I refereed a basketball game Friday night when I got home I hugged my girls as hard as I could.  On the way home from my game I listed to the press conference from the Connecticut State Police from the Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT.  Earlier in the day a man, which will be referred to as "the killer", walked in and took the lives of 26 people, 20 of which 5 year-old children.  I'm not a very emotional man but these events and the reaction of country overcame and I just could not stop thinking about.

I work from home so the television is usually off during the day so I didn't hear about what happened until early afternoon and I just could not get it out of my head.  That night as I looked on social media and news websites my disbelief continued to grow.  Then I watched the speech given by President Obama and that is when it became real to me.  I must say that was President Obama's best speech in my eyes.  He did not just talk to us as our leader, he talked to us as parent as well.  Then came the questions, why?  How?, and I realized that we will never truly know 

Over the next few days and weeks all the activists on both sides of the issue will politicize those points and to be honest, I really don't care.  These talking heads will not bring back those babies.  The stories that I have heard just don't make sense.  I guess killing of one child, let alone twenty just does not make sense to me.  What kind of place does a person go to that their mind triggers them to do such a horrifying act.  That goes beyond the issue that the pundits will be arguing. This will bring about questions that nobody in their right mind ever thought they would have to answer, let alone ask.

A friend of mine I grew up with said it perfectly early Saturday morning "Trauma when I was a kid was falling off my bike,tree,swing,etc....Today's trauma for kids ...is their classmates getting shot and killed are you kidding me???" I couldn't agree more.  What kind of world do we live in that our 5 year old children are not safe?  What kind of world do we live in where the killer had zero regard of human life, and even less regard for the life of children?  What kind of world do we live in where students feel they can attack police officers without concern for punishment or consequences?

With regards to the issue that the pundits will be spreading their propaganda I have to say just this.  I made it clear last week where I stand on this issue and I am not going to bore you anymore with it.  Actor Dax Shepard tweeted on Friday "I love guns. I have several, but I would gladly get rid of them if it would help prevent anything like this from happening again.".  That's all I have to say about that.

Friday we left our front porch light on overnight in memory of the people that died that day.  I was also overwhelmed at how people came together to memorialize the victims of this tragedy.  I also want to call out attention to the first responders who were at the school within minutes of the call, unfortunately it was already too late.  Lastly, to the parents that lost their children.  I could not even begin to fathom what they are going through as I am quick to console my girls when they bump their heads.  My heart breaks for you and will continue to break for you.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

Avoiding the Real Issue

I took last week off from writing because I had two subjects that I wanted to write about and couldn't decide between the two.  So, come Sunday night as I watched my national pastime, football, the halftime political commentary, that's right political commentary, gave me another topic to write about.  Although I am not up in arms as most people that heard what went on, I did view it as irresponsible commentary by a media icon, and the platform that he used was wildly inappropriate.

NBC sports host Bob Costas took the small time he had at halftime to speak about a tragic murder-suicide the previous day that involved NFL player Javon Belcher.  Costas went on to paraphrase sports columnist Jason Whitlock, who stated that if there were stricter gun control laws the murder-suicide would have never happened.  A truly naive opinion, but that is what it needs to be chalked up too, just an opinion.  But in his expression on his opinion last Sunday night and in the subsequent days, Costas and in part Whitlock did not really talk about the issue, just the ending.

To say that Belcher would not have killed the mother of his child, Kasandra Perkins had he not had a gun is simply just not true. Bob Costas should know better as he was a colleague of O.J. Simpson, and we all know how he handled his domestic situation with his ex-wife.  If Belcher was truly in that place that people who kill go, then it did not matter what he had access to, it was going to happen.

It's easy to claim that because Belcher was a football player he was a violent man.  It's also easy to say that since he was playing such a violent sport that he had developed a distorted sense of reality from concussions.  It's even easier to call Belcher a coward for his actions.  But the issue isn't what he used to kill Ms. Perkins but what led to him committing such a heinous act.  Now if Costas wanted to talk about an issue, why had he not chosen to talk about the domestic violence deaths that we have seen over the years?

This was a domestic dispute that went tragic, as many domestic disputes go.  Belcher had been drinking the night before and Ms. Perkins had come home late and argument had ensued.  Apparently, Belcher had been having troubles professionally, personally, financially and most importantly emotionally.  Belcher was hurt and did not know how to deal with it.  So Belcher did it the only way he knew how.  Kevin Powell of CNN put it perfectly in his article about the issue "when men behave in this manner, it also says, bluntly, that the life of a woman is of no value whatsoever".

I am not going to speculate what happened or what even caused it but I am going to say that Costas was out of line.  If he had done his homework in cases like these he would have found that domestic violence cases that end in death don't normally end by the gun.  He would have also found that men normally choke their significant others in these types of cases, some even run their significant other over with their car.  In Costas' colleagues case a knife was used.  Also, where was Costas' outrage on the bow and arrow killings in Casper, Wyoming the day before the Belcher-Perkins incident?

I am a true believer in speaking out in something you truly believe in, for me its term limits in the U.S. Congress and Senate.  But I am not about to say that if there were term limits in Washington the country would not be in the mess we are in.  Because I am not that naive.  Costas came out and said that he did not have enough time and his message did not resonate correctly.  Well, then I truly doubt that Costas did not know the time limits he had and may have been plugging for his hour long show that was on a few days later. Either way Costas and Whitlock viewed the end result as the issue and once again the true issue has been avoided again. 

Domestic violence needs to continue to be addressed and needs to be educated to the young men and women of this country, especially the young men.  It is not ok to take your transgressions out on a woman, period.  It is not "manning" up by hurting a woman when she has hurt your feelings.  It is appropriate to talk to someone about it before you go out and do something completely stupid.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife

Can I Smoke My Weed?

With the recent passing of some form of legalized Marijuana in three states on Election Day, it got me wondering how much of a colossal mess this has the potential of being.  Massachusetts passed the legalization of medicinal Marijuana, which is a back door way of legalizing it.  Whereas Colorado and Washington voted for a straight out legalization of marijuana.  But since there are only a handful of states that have legalized some form of the drug and there is still a Federal ban on it, the only question that can be asked is, Can I Smoke My Weed?

I truly see no issue with legalizing Marijuana and I just wish the Federal Government would come to their senses and legalize it throughout the nation.  The laws that were voted in by the people three weeks ago will undoubtedly be challenged in Federal Courts to be deemed unconstitutional.  Now you would think this would have been reviewed before the people were set to vote on it.  But that is only part of the problem.  Just think of all the different scenarios where the grey areas of the laws could be challenged and interpreted a different causing legal issues and backlogging the courts.

Let's take Massachusetts for instance. If I have a prescription for marijuana I am allowed to grow.  Can a landlord not rent to me because I grow on their property?  Will their insurance cover them if anything happens in their building due to an accident caused by the growing?  Will landlords be able to discriminate against pot growers?  

Another scenario could be traveling out of state.  I travel for work often.  So if I am traveling and I am taking prescribed medicine on business with me and I go to a state that doesn't have the law, am I now considered an outlaw?  Will an officer respect the prescription from another state even though it is not legal in his state?  He has every right not to.  If he does respect it, then in hindsight we are technically lifting the Federal ban indirectly. So, can I smoke my weed?

I'm not sure how medical marijuana works, meaning if it needs to be taken at specific times or the daily frequency of it, but if I am on the "T" and I need to smoke my weed, can I?  Will I be violating smoking rules, is the T violating my civil right to take my medication in public?  What about work?  What if I need to take a "pot" break at work?  Will my employer have to reprimand me for being stoned at work for simply taking my medicine?  I mean these medicinal scenarios can be viewed as far-fetched or even extreme, but we also live in a society where McDonald's was sued because a customer claimed that McDonald's food made them obese.  Look at your coffee lids and read what it says. It lets you know that the coffee is hot, because someone sued McDonald's because they spilled their coffee on themselves and got burned.  So, if I am sick will I be able to smoke my weed when I need to?

What about the Washington and Colorado laws?  I mean I guess these can be more contained and could be technically treated like fireworks.  However, we have a scenario where people will be going across state lines to buy marijuana.  If so, are we potentially giving illegal marijuana dealers a legal avenue to get marijuana?  Does that put pressure on those state law enforcement to police the state jumping and how many resources will that take? So if I live in Utah, Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Wyoming, Oregon, Idaho and Montana can I buy my weed?

What about personal transport?  If I am a Colorado resident and I am traveling to a state that does not have legalized marijuana am I within my rights to bring it, most likely not, but you could see a question in the interpretation.  What if I am traveling from Colorado to Massachusetts?  Talk about grey area.  One state it's legal to have and the other is legal to have only with a prescription.  Can I grow it in Colorado and send it to someone with a prescription in Massachusetts, or vice versa? Can I bring my weed?

Maybe I am being a little extreme with the scenarios, but I am a simple minded person.  If I came up with these scenarios, what about someone with a wilder and more creative imagination?  Let's not forget about the lawyers, who will dissect these laws with extreme precision.  I am a proponent of legalized marijuana not because I use, because I don't, but because it is a form a prohibition that could be a giant revenue resource in a country that is looking for new ways to raise revenue.  I feel the same way about gambling, for the record.  Just think about resources that this country uses to combat the outlaws on the street and in the courts for marijuana dealers.  All you would need to do if you legalize the substance is hand their names over to the Internal Revenue Service.  I do think that it is a time that has come.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

Road Trip to Clarity

I want to start off by saying that this is my favorite week of the year.  It’s a short work week, even though I took this week off this year.  Come Monday we start our high school basketball season and can begin practicing and it’s Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday, by far.  There isn’t even a second favorite holiday.  If there was it would be a distant second.  I can’t wait to get to my in-laws and eat up whatever my mother in-law serves up.  If she feels unappreciated at Thanksgiving, she can rest easy because her favorite son-in-law appreciates her efforts immensely.

Outside of Thanksgiving I am pretty much a bah-hum-bug when it comes to holidays.  I’m not Irish so I don’t get the St. Patrick’s Day.  Even though St. Patrick wasn’t Irish either.  I’m always coaching on Valentine’s Day, so my wife and I celebrate it our own way.  Easter is what it is.  I can’t stand Halloween and Christmas gets started way too soon and I always seem to be sick at that time, so I have never been a fan.  But I am starting to get in the spirit.

This past weekend we took a family trip to Hershey, PA.  My mother finally retired this summer and my parents sold the first house they ever owned when they came over from Italy.  They both have nice pensions and money saved.  So they decided to buy a motorhome.  My dad has always wanted one and he worked hard and deserves what he wants.  So they wanted to do a maiden voyage and asked me and my family to come with them.  Mostly so they can get comfortable with traveling it but also because they like having me, my wife and kids around.

Why Hershey?  Well, it’s pretty simple really.  Hershey was the closest enough place to go where there was attractions for both adults and children that had campgrounds open without having to go as far as South Carolina.  I had looked up things to do and it was amazing what we can do this time of year down there.  My dad is obsessed with the Amish so we made a trip to Bird-In-Hand, PA to take an Amish Country horse and buggy tour.  My dad was in heaven, he even got to ride up front with the driver who had grown up Amish but never joined the Amish church.  The tour was great and very informational and shed a lot of light on things that I did not realize about the Amish.  We even saw several of the Amish walking about and riding through town on their horse and buggy’s.

How did this trip get me slightly into the Christmas Spirit?  It was our trip to Hershey Park for Candylane, a Christmas lighting display with rides.  Watching the look on my three year olds face was worth the price of admission.   You would have thought it was Christmas morning.  My wife and I are not big on amusement parks so our daughter has never been, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to hit every ride in the park and pose for pictures with every character.  Priceless.

But it was a ten minute skyline ride with my daughter that grabbed me.  It was just me and her, and the ride took us through half of the park.  While Bruce Springsteen’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was playing throughout the park, I was listening to my daughter point out every light display at a rapid pace as if she was going to miss one.  As I looked around the park and see the rest of my waiting family and listening to my daughter it made me smile so much I was almost giddy.  Once we got off the ride my daughter ran with open arms of her grandmother and recount what she saw.  I looked at my wife and said “It’s a place like that this, that could get me into Christmas”.

In the end, I would have to say I had a fabulous time with my family this past weekend.  I am not going to go and say that I am in the Christmas spirit.  That feeling pretty much faded on the ride home.  It had to have been in the moment with my daughter and how excited she got about it that gave me that feeling.  As the weeks pass by and we get closer to Christmas I will be more in the holiday spirit as I watch my children’s excitement build.  It was great family vacation that overcame me and that is something that I will always have.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

3D

If you don’t take it from me, ask my wife.

Florida, Really???

I am going to assume that most of you are like me and are ecstatic that the Presidential Election is over.  I had written an article a couple months back on how the election process has been ruined for me, because it had become too darn personal.  I will admit that the two guys I supported (Romney and Brown) did not win, but two of the three ballot questions went the way I voted.  Was I bitter that President Obama won re-election? Nope.  Will I respect him as Commander-in-Chief? Yep.  Will I voice my displeasure's with him or Senator-Prof. Warren if I feel they have made a mistake, ABSOLUTELY!  But this is not what this article is about.

Last Thursday during lunch I had turned on the news, I think it was CNN, and there was the story of how Florida had still not completed their counting.  For some reason that story just set me off, and I can't even explain why, but I will try.  The fact that Florida is once again a story at election time absolutely aggravates me. For twelve years there have been issues with this state come election time, and it does not look like it is going to get better.  We only know of twelve years of issues because that is when it finally became a national issue.  Seriously, what in the world is going on down there?  Why can't they get it right?  There are a lot of factors that are being blamed for it this time around and I say they are all hogwash.  There is no reason for it other than incompetence.

Courtesy of theweek.com

People blame that the ballot was too long.  Well boo-hoo.  Ballot measures and other elections are going on at that same time and if you didn't know that, that's your fault.  If you only went to vote for President then to be honest you shouldn't be voting anyway.  I was able to pull up the ballot on-line and look at and I am assuming your state department sent out mailers with what was on the ballot, and possibly what it looked like.  It wasn't too long, you just didn't care about the other voting measures.

People said the ballot was too confusing.  This one may have some legs but it’s not an excuse.  I am in the camp of if you can't read English you shouldn't be voting, but I was swayed when I talked to my mom (An Italian Immigrant like myself), and she said that she didn't vote on the ballot questions because when reading English she sometimes mixes up the words and she didn't want to vote against what she truly believed in.  But at least she tried.  But that is a different argument for a different day.  The Florida ballot had three languages, English, Spanish and French Creole'. So this goes back to my previous point, if you really care about the elections you would have found a way to get informed on the ballot.

No wonder it takes so long to count!

Lastly, was the early voting was too short, what???  I'm sorry that Election DAY is an inconvenience for you but you had an additional eight days prior to the election to vote, that's not enough???  I but if there was a 75% sale at Target those people would have made time in their day to get to it, or if the iPhone 14 was going on sale that day there would be no issues.  Are you kidding me, too short??? There is no Federal Law determining that Election Day has to be the first Tuesday after the First Monday in November.  In 1845, it was established to aid farmers and church goers and to avoid winter weather.  Now, early voting back then made sense because it would normally take a day for voters to get to the polls, but to say that you don't have enough time eight days out is just lazy.

So now comes the real issue, why does counting take so long?  If it's such an issue then they need to start planning now for 2016 on how to be more efficient in their counting.  Even the Supreme Court, in Gore v. Bush in 2000 did not have faith in their counting abilities.  The decision, which there were two of, and is usually misrepresented, stated that Florida should be able to continue the recount.  But the decision in which ended the election was that had to have it done by the deadline (essentially the next day).  All that decision said was "Sorry Florida, you ran out of time".

If any of you follow me on social media you may have seen me pop a brain vessel last week over this subject.  My true aggravation about this is really that the debacle in 2000 is true reason for the division in the United States.  It wasn't Pres. Bush, it wasn't Pres. Obama and it wasn't the Democrats or Republicans, they just added fuel to the fire.  It was the recount in Florida.  Thankfully this time, the results did not factor in the decision.  Florida, get cracking, you have four years to try to get it right.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

My Voting Thoughts

By now if you are anything like me you are sick of the political rhetoric that is going on with the Presidential or Senatorial races.  If you haven't made up your mind by now, then you are a glutton for punishment.  I have tried to keep politics out of my blogs this election season, other than my campaign to get informed on your own rather through the television, I think I have done a pretty good job.

One thing I would like to talk about today that I believe are being ignored  through all of the political mudslinging, are the ballot questions.  I am going to give my opinion on the questions and which way I will be voting.  This is in no way meant to entice you or persuade you.  This is just a guy writing a blog the day before the election.

I feel the ballot questions do not get enough play in the public, and I am not sure why that is.  Is it because ballot questions are usually a result of a petition from special interest groups, and then those interests groups scare voters into voting that way?  For instance the vote on banning dog racing a few years back.  I voted no on that question because I apparently understood what would happen if race tracks closed more than the MSPCA.  The only ones that would have their jobs spared in such a ban would be, you guessed it, the dogs.  They would just get shipped off to states that had dog racing.  Jobs and tax revenue gone from Massachusetts, because the MSPCA spent a large amount of money scaring the public into thinking they were saving the lives of these dogs.  Wrong!

Anyway, this year’s three ballot questions are three pretty good ones and to be honest I really went back and forth on these as two of them really test your view on values.

Question 1:  Right to Repair - this one is a no brainer for me.  I don't take my car to the dealership anyway.  The fact that an industry that needed a huge taxpayer bailout 5 years ago should not be able to dictate where I bring my car, (which I paid for, to make AND drive) to be serviced.  Not to mention the fact that GM also has in their warranty that if you don't used their specific "dexos" oil when getting oil changes, then it voids the warranty.  Guess what, they make you pay for that too. I will use whatever oil I so choose.  My Vote: a resounding YES

The next two weren't as easy.

Question 2: Prescribing Medication to End Life - Before reading the proposed law, and I am not quite certain I got the whole thing, I was on the fence with this.  But in the end my Pro-Life stance overcame me.  Now I have no problem with Do Not Resuscitate orders because that isn't speeding up death.  If people want to go home and die, that's fine too, but getting a drug to do it is no different than buying a lethal mix of something off the street.  The law has way too many holes in it and the fact that there is no psych consult and physician administering the medication just turned me away from it.  There needs to be more physician involvement on this for me to even consider it.  My Vote:  NO

Question 3: Medical Use of Marijuana - This question is the one where my beliefs truly don't come out in this law.  Like Question 2, this law also has holes in it.  However, I honestly feel that gambling and marijuana should be legalized.  They are two large tax revenue streams and could possibly eliminate some illegal activities.  But this law is too wide open and vague for its intent.  It allows people to grow their own marijuana for medicinal purposes.  In a time of serious economic down turn, isn't that just adding to the criminal element?  According to the studies it helps and I am all for a drug that helps.  My Vote: a reluctant YES, but could be a NO by tomorrow morning.  That's how on the fence I am with this one.

So, there you have it, 3D's take on the ballot questions.  If you disagree with me on these, then check the other box.  If you are not sure, then there is still time to get informed and I urge you to do so.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

Thanks a Lot Al

As we hunker down for Hurricane, Tropical Storm, or whatever Sandy is the major concern in this area is power outages.  To be quite honest, for me, it's the 70 ft. tree outside my house.  I would perfectly ok with Sandy turning out to be a dud, actually it would be much appreciated, I digress.

Last week Newsweek announced that they will be ceasing print publication at the end of the year. It is truly starting to mark the beginning of the end of the end of an era due to the rise of the internet.  Soon, be able to purchase any type of print media will be like getting a VHS movie or an album on cassette.  It will go the way of the dinosaur.  But is that a good thing?  I guess that depends on who you ask.

I am reminded of a conversation that I, my wife and my friends had on a long trip to Pennsylvania a couple of years ago.  My friend said that "Google puts an end to every argument".  He was 100% right, but it's not only that.  It's the portability and the accessibility of the internet which is making publications like Newsweek become extinct.  The younger generation's position would be to let it die, all they need is their iPhone or their iPad.  But think about the jobs that will be lost with the ceasing of print media.  The press operators, advertising artists, and the delivery drivers.  Let's not for the convenience stores and newsstands that sell these publications as well, it certainly will have its downward spiral.  But it is the sign of the times.

So this brings me to another point, which is the attachment to the portable devices.  Owning a smartphone nowadays is like owning a pair of underwear, almost everyone has one, and if someone doesn't, there is something certainly wrong with them.  Not only does the portability of the internet end every argument, it also prevents conversations.  I was at a party once and at one point everyone at my table was buried into their smart phones and not engaging in conversation.  I made it a point to ask everyone to put their phones away, I was ignored.

The print media has been dying for years because it was too arrogant with the birth of the internet.  Now it's on life support and it is looking to get put out of its misery.  To be honest, it didn't and still doesn't have to be that way.  Print media just needs to charge the same for their internet content as they do for their print content.  That will send shivers down the Generation Xers', actually paying for news?  What a crazy notion!

The advantage that the internet had over print was that most of its content was free, but watch out people, it will not stay like that for long.  Analysts will look at this and try to profit, mark my word.  Just like all the "unlimited" data plans for smartphones.  You would think adding people would bring pricing down and accessibility up, nope, just the opposite.

My point throughout all this rambling is this.  Let's not celebrate the death of print media because when the lights go out and there is no power, you would probably wish you had a book to read.  You may have a library on your iPad, but it won't do you any good when you can't access it.  My plan if the power goes out. Light a wood fire and sit with my family and read books.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

Corruption of the Youth, and Manipulation of the Poor

As a person with a degree in History I love to read books and watch documentaries.  Documentaries, to me, are the true reality TV.  Sometimes it is tough to find a real good documentary, but they are out there.  Some of my favorites are "Waiting for Superman" by Davis Guggenheim, "9/11" by Gedeon and Jules Naudet and "Civil War" by Ken Burns.  Although sometimes documentaries can be so far off base that it makes it painful to watch, such as "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Michael Moore Hates America", where the film makers agenda takes precedent over the facts and the truth is distorted.  Also as a person who has been involved in coaching youth sports for almost 25 years, I have a special place for sports documentaries and that's why I love the 30 for 30 series on ESPN, mainly because it is depicts stories that I grew up.

As I was browsing my online Netflix account the other day to watch something while I did some application testing for work I came across a documentary called "Ballplayer: Pelotero".  It is a documentary about the increasing number of baseball players from the Dominican Republic and what they go through to get signed by Major League Baseball teams.  It was done very well and shows the poverty that these young players come from and the pressure that is on them to sign the big contract so they can pull their family from poverty.  It also shows the corruption, manipulation and downright dirty business there is in the Dominican Republic, where it has been declared the Wild West as far amateur baseball is concerned.

The 1962 San Francisco Giants had four players on its roster that were from the Dominican Republic in which they paid a total $5,000 to play.  One happened to be Hall of Famer Juan Marichal and he led them to the World Series crown that year.  In the 1980's Major League teams began to sink millions of dollars into the Dominican Republic by increasing their scouting staffs and building training facilities on the island to be able to pick up the next big star.  Twenty percent of professional baseball players are from the Dominican Republic, that's a country with a population which equates to two percent of The United States of America.

Major League Baseball instituted a rule that no team can sign a player from the Dominican until he is 16 years of age, and they cannot sign until July 2 of that year.  So they need to be 16 on July 2.  If a player does not sign when they are 16 then the chances of them sign a lucrative deal are slim, if signing at all.  This leads to players families falsifying birth records, identities and injecting their children with Human Growth Hormones (HGH) to be ready to sign that deal when they are 16 years of age.  This has led Major League Baseball to have an investigation office right on the island.

The documentary follows two young players who go to two different baseball academies where coaches are training players for the pros.  The first player was Jean Carlos Batista who is being trained by Astin Jacobo and the second is Miguel Angel Sano, who is considered the best player in the Dominican and will command the largest bonus signing in the history of the island.  Sano is trained by Moreno Tejada.  The movie follows these boys through their training and shows the poverty their families come from.  There is major buzz about Sano, scouts are constantly surrounding him.

It was easy for me to determine that the corruption and manipulation of these players and their families would come from these trainers.  The documentary shows that both trainers are pretty straight laced and are a clueless to the process as the players.  The trainers don't receive money until the player’s sign, so it is in the best interest that these trainers are as rule abiding as the player.

A couple months before the signing deadline a scout from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, as it turned out, gave a false tip to MLB Investigations on Sano's age, which would eventually drive the price down for the young star.  Sano and his family were put through the ringer, blood tests, urine tests, bone density tests.  They organized all the papers that proved his correct age and that it still wasn't enough.  According, to Sano's family member, MLB told Sano to sign with the Pirates and the investigation would close.  The family later videotaped the scout from the Pirates and got him saying they need him to get this to go away.

With all this going on it was Batista that lied about his age.  Apparently his father had changed his age when he was 10 years old, right before he died.  Batista continued to claim his innocence and blamed his dead father for making a mistake, and blaming it on his illness.  It led to a falling out with his trainer and a lawsuit for monies spent on Batista after he served his suspension mandated by the MLB.

This was a powerful documentary, not as powerful of the ones I mentioned at the beginning, but powerful enough to understand what goes on behind the scenes.  The system that has been created by the MLB which has created this monster.  Forcing kids to lie about who they are and do things to their body to better their family's situation.  The one thing that the movie did not mention was schooling, it did not say whether they were attending school or not.  It does say they had attended at one point, but once they started training for their Major League careers it's not even discussed.

I recommend this movie to anyone who likes documentaries.  It is a true documentary about what goes behind the scenes of America's past-time.  Major League Baseball needs to fix this situation or we are going to see 12 year old kids pumping up on steroids looking for the next big pay check.  They need to work with the MLB Players Union to institute and International Draft.  Over the past few years it's been the bidding on the International Players that has demanded the most money, while young prospects in the United States are required to enter the MLB Draft and then negotiate with only the team that owns their rights.  

Ballplayer: Pelotero.  Check it out.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

A Long Overdue Rambling

For those of you reading my blog for the first time on telegram.com this article is a piece I call 3D's Ramblings.  It's my quick take of some recent news stories.  It's fun and thought provoking.  You may not agree with some of my points of view, and that's ok.  I have it done it in a while so I will get rambling on now.

All I want is a Cannoli - an Irish man in Boston on vacation was arrested in the North End on Sept. 12 for holding up a North End bakery at knife point, for a cannoli.  Now, I don't know how versed this man is in Boston's landscape or history, but the North End is not a place to cause trouble.  The residents there always have each other’s back, dating back to the 18th Century.

Things that make you go hmmmm, - A Manchester NH, was arrested twice in one day.  He was arrested in the morning of August 23 for criminal trespassing and receiving stolen property.  Thirty minutes after posting bail he was arrested again for passing a forged check at a bank.  Andy Dufresne was right, he needs to find a better line of work, because being a criminal is definitely not in his best interests.  You just can't fix stupid.

1st Presidential Debate - It is very clear that Mitt Romney outperformed the President in this debate.  I am quite certain that the President will be better when the two hookup again tomorrow night in New York.  However, the backlash that has come out is staggering.  The media and the Obama campaign screaming that Romney lied.  This was a debate, if you thought he lied, speak up.  If you don't say anything you validate his points.  Blame it on altitude, blame it on the moderator, blame on whatever.  The President wasn't ready and it showed, you should expect more out of your leader.  Just saying.

Voter ID - I am a big proponent of Voter ID.  During elections in Worcester I no longer offer to give people rides to the polls that can't get there.  I just tell them I will happily go to the polls on their behalf and vote for them.  Nobody sees anything wrong with that?  It's an easy fix, but you can't fix a process that can easily be corrupted by the beneficiaries.

Annie Dookhan - WOW!  Many people asleep at the wheel on this one.  This will cost millions and this mess won't be cleared for years.  WOW!

Libya -  What happened in Benghazi on September 11 was very tragic.  What has happened since then has been appalling.  The fact that the truth has been deflected by the administration is problematic.  This was a colossal mistake and should be admitted as such.  Requests were ignored for more security and our relationship in the Middle East was miscalculated.  But the fact that the Stephanie Cutter and Debbie Wasserman Schulz are claiming that this is only an issue because of the Romney/Ryan camp is insulting.  It's issue because 4 Americans were killed when they could possibly have been protected.  As Harry Truman said "The Buck Stops Here".  Not in this administration.  It stops somewhere else

Vote for Obama and you're fired? - The media reported last week that a business owner in Florida wrote a letter to his employees that if they voted for Obama they would be fired.  Well of course that was reported incorrectly.  If you read the letter you will see that he never threatened anybody's job.  He simply stated that given proposal and plans presented by the President if he were to be re-elected, he would have to rethink his situation as a business owner.  He simply said he would close up shop and retire, because he would rather do that than pay extensive taxes that would make it hard for him to stay open.  Just something to think about.

VP Debate - If you watched the Vice Presidential Debate it was easy for either side to say that they won.  It was a good debate.  Personally I would have called it a push.  Behind all the laughing, smiling, rude interrupting, and condescending tone that Vice President Biden had, there wasn't much substance in what he said and the fact that he stated that nobody knew that the embassy in Benghazi wanted more security the same day the State Department said that they did ask and were denied just shows how much is being deflected here.  But overall it was a tie, Rep. Ryan was good but not great and should buy a suit that fits.

Things that make you go hmmmm #2 - Last week a Boston man was arrested in Los Angeles because he was stopped at customs for carrying an arsenal of weapons with him, coming from Japan.  What detected the authorities to him? He was wearing a bullet proof vest and flame retardant pants.  If that doesn't scream attention, I don't know what does.  His defense was that in Japan that was the style they were wearing.  I don't even have a joke hear.  People are just crazy.  I am glad they caught this guy. What a cynical world we live in.

Legend passes - College Football fans lost a great man this week in the passing of Beano Cook.  Known for his crazy analysis of football Cook had one of the great advice giving quotes of all time.  "You only have to be 100% on two things in life, flying and heart transplants.  The rest you can go 4 of 5 in".

5 Years and counting - This weekend my wife and I celebrated 5 years of wedding bliss.  I love her just as much today as I did 5 years ago, if not more.  Plus, my mother always said to me if I ever found someone to put up with my "stuff" to not let go.  I have two things working for me in that regard.  Happy Anniversary.

3D signing out!

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

Pursuit of the Positive

This past weekend I had the privilege of going to new a shop that opened in Millbury.  You wouldn't think it was such a big thing, but for me it was very fulfilling and a very proud moment as well.  What was in this store, cupcakes.  That wasn't even what made it great for me, even though I do have one of the biggest sweet tooth’s known to mankind.  It was the accomplishment of the owner that has me beaming.

Renee King, owner of The Queens Cups.  Photo by: Steve Balestrieri

I used to be a youth worker for a community center in Worcester in which I will not name.  I used to have a t-shirt that read "Youth work:  The relentless pursuit of the positive".  That is what I strove for in working with youth.  Not so much that I wanted them to behave well for me and accomplish the task that I gave them for the day, but to succeed long after I had interacted with them.  There have been a lot of hits, even having been out of that profession for thirteen years.  I have seen kids go on and do well in school, go off to college and come back successful.  I have seen kids go on the opposite path and wind up in jail.  This year alone I had seen one of the kids I used to work with murdered, and I saw one play in the MLB All-Star game.  It's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.

But my visit to this new store made me so happy, not because of the absolutely ridiculous tasting cupcakes that are made, but the owner was one of the kids that had come before me when she was really young.  Her name is Renee King and she is the owner of "The Queen's Cups" on Millbury Ave. in Millbury.  I have been close to Renee's family for the better part of 20 years.  I used to work with her mother at the community center and I had also worked with her two older brothers.  Renee, used to be afraid of me for some reason. She would get all shy and quiet and would never talk to me.  When Renee was about 6 years old, her family moved to Millbury, but I stayed in touch with the family after they moved.  I have always looked out for them, even though they have never needed my help, and they have done the same for me.

Renee is a very strong young woman and I am very happy to know her.  She definitely takes on a lot and is always in "pursuit of the positive" , not just with children, with anyone and anything.  We coached basketball together a few years ago and she tried to turn every negative that came at her into a positive.  So it did not surprise me when I found out that she worked with children in the same capacity that I and her mother did.  What did surprise me was this unbelievable talent that she has for baking cupcakes.  In my eyes it came out of nowhere but in hindsight nothing that Renee does should ever surprise me.

So if you are looking for a sweet treat or are looking for the right dessert for a party I suggest that you head down to The Queens Cups, 238 Millbury Ave, in Millbury.  You will not be disappointed, you may even ask for more.  Tell Renee that Nick D. sent you, and that he could not be more proud of her.  

By the way, go for the Reese's Overload...it's heavenly.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

Life IS like a box of chocolates

Everyone has that movie that while flipping through the channels they stop on, always.  I have to admit I have several.  I like my movies and I like seeing them multiple times.  The other day I was flipping through to see what I could have on as background noise while working and I came across one of my All-Time favorites, Forrest Gump.  I must say if you are not a fan of this movie then the movie is not the problem, it has to be you.

That last sentence reminds of a conversation I had with my cousin while I was in Italy visiting family a couple years after the movie was released.  He asked me if I liked it.  I looked at him like he was crazy for even asking the question.  He told me he thought it was just "ok", and that he really didn't get it.  That's when it hit me.  That movie is an American thing.  No disrespect to other countries around the world but Forrest Gump is truly a piece of American Pie, and it has been truly embedded into American Culture.

Was there a message in that movie?  I think so.  I believe there were several.  It told us that anyone was capable of achieving success, not matter what the odds, isn't that what the American Dream is after all?  It showed us that people truly have a destiny whether they want to believe it or not.  It gave us a, somewhat skewed, view of American history and how it intertwined into America lives.  It showed us the benefits of the Civil Rights movement in the South.  It showed us the beauty of America while he was running across country and it showed us the ugly side of Vietnam and the AIDS epidemic.  

Most of all it showed the loyalty that Forrest Gump had and the loyalty that people befriended him had towards him.  He loved his Momma, He loved Bubba, he loved Lt. Dan and obviously he loved Jenny.  He would do anything for any of them and it showed when he kept his promise to Bubba's family on the partnership they had, or how he took a legless Lt. Dan and made him his first mate and partner.  He showed it when the dispatcher told him his mother was sick and he immediately jumped in the water to get to her, even though he had a boat at his disposal.  He took care of Jenny no matter the circumstance and never questioned what happened to her.

Believe it or not but Forrest Gump has become ingrained into our pop culture.  Mainly because the movie represents a certain piece of Americana that makes Americans proud.  But how many times have you uttered the phrase "...Life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you are going to get".  Have you ever had to go to the bathroom and say "I gotta pee" in that southern drawl that Tom Hanks made so famous.  How many times have you referred to actor Gary Sinise as "Lt. Dan".  It had become so subliminally ingrained into our pop culture that there now is a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant.

You may not agree with what I have said above, or maybe have never realized it, there is nothing wrong with that.  But the next time you are surfing through the channels and the movie that you can never get past is on, ask yourself why is it you can't get past it?  Stupid is, as stupid does.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

Upon Further Review

If you haven't heard by now the National Football League (NFL) has locked out its referees and are using replacement officials.  If you truly haven't heard by now you must live in a cocoon because last Tuesday morning all anyone was talking about was the call made in the previous night’s game.  The NFL has long since replaced baseball as America's Pastime and that is mainly because of the product it produces.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has recently had a referee scandal that spoke to the integrity of the game, and also had a player lockout last year that caused games to be missed, nobody cared.  Major League Baseball has been marred in recent years by a steroid scandal.  Baseball’s biggest problem is their inflated payrolls which see the same teams capturing playoff spots every year.  If the league were to miss games due to a lock out, nobody would care.  The National Hockey League is currently in a labor dispute which doesn't seem will be rectified soon, nobody cares.  Last year when there was a hint of the football season being interrupted it was the leading story every day and both sides came to agreement and the season was not touched, everybody rejoiced.

It's because the NFL is a fine tuned machine from top to bottom.  From league officials, to owners, to the players, to hit dog vendors.  The NFL has a great product.  That product is now being tarnished because of a labor dispute with its game officials, and its showing on the field.  I truly feel that  Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, is the best commissioner in professional sports, but he has dropped the ball on this one.  Call it professional pride, call it arrogance, call whatever you want but he needs to step in here and get something done, and done soon.

As a lower level official in two sports (baseball and basketball) it’s tough to take in what is happening to the replacement referees in the NFL, they are just pawns in a wicked game of chess. They are just trying to do the job they were hired to do and do it to the best of their ability.  Unfortunately for them, they are in way over their heads and it is obvious to everyone that watches the games.  That speaks volumes to the integrity of the NFL.

Being an NFL official is truly a difficult job, and not one I think I could ever do.  The rules to remember, the level of play and the speed of the game alone makes the job difficult.  To ask officials that haven't gotten higher than Division II college football and most of them Division III to work at that level with only a couple of weeks of training is unfair, and is some regard could be considered criminal.  These guys have been set up to fail from the word go.

I am a long time believer that the outcome of game is never really determined by an official’s call.  If the teams and players want to play the game to a point where it comes to the call of an official, that is the choice that the teams made and they have to live with the call.  I have told batters in baseball many times when they strikeout to end the game "Swing the bat and don't leave your at bat in my hands".  Games should be decided between the lines and not by the guys with the whistles.

However, I truly feel the replacement referees are not affecting the outcome of games, with the exception of the Green Bay/Seattle game. The replacement official have no control of the game, they don't understand the Instant Replay rules, they don't know what to look for on Pass Interference calls, and they lack confidence in their calls.  That makes the coaches preparation for the game and the players execution that much more difficult.

Last week everyone was talking about Interception/non-interception in the Monday Night game or the ball that went over the upright in the Sunday Night game, which led to Patriots coach Bill Belichick to grab a referee as he was running off the field.  Those weren't the calls that had me scratching my head that weekend.  In Minnesota the referees in the 49ers/Vikings game allowed 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh to challenge a call on the field with no timeouts, TWICE.  Once shame on him, twice shame on you.

Once this labor dispute is resolved it is likely that we will never see these officials again.  Not only have they ruined any chance of ever officiating in the NFL but they may not be welcomed back to their local college boards back home, and for what?  To be part of the chess game.  A big price to pay if you ask me.

So I beg you Commissioner Goodell, Please end this lockout and get the true NFL officials back on the field, America needs its game back.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

The Better Half

On October 20th Thinking In 3D will turn a year old.  When I decided to write a blog I had to think of where my material would come from.  Would it be news, would it be politics, pop culture, sports etc....  I decided to write about everything, like most bloggers do.  I have no hidden agenda and I will call it like I see it.  To be honest, it's not as easy as people think, however, one of my main inspirations for me to keep up with this long is, not to sound corny, my wife.

There have complete blogs that I have written that have been most my wife's idea. Last week, while we were in the car she said to me.  "Thanks for writing my ideas".  I looked at her with a quizzical look as if she was being accusatory.  She calmed my look by saying "I could never arrange my thoughts and put them together in an entertaining article like you do.  So I thank you"  She truly was thanking me.

My wife and I talk to each other a lot about everything, not just things around the house or how to raise our children.  We are not completely aligned politically, which makes some of our conversations interesting.  We are definitely aligned fiscally and we are both in tune with our core family values.  We have seen the great in people, and we have seen the worst in people.  We always have conversations about it. 

This is just a snippet of our exchanges.  This actually happened Friday night when deciding what Chinese Take-Out to order

Me: What do want to do about Lo Mein?

Wife: Well, you like beef and I like chicken, so we'll order pork?

My wife is extremely bright, and some would say she is much smarter than I am, which in most cases I concede to.  When I write these blog articles, or when I was writing papers for my college course, she reads them first.  Partly for spelling and grammar, but mostly for flow and substance.  She is the best copy editor you can find, and she has no issue telling me I am wrong, off base or to even shut up.  Ironically enough it was her asking a friend of mine when we first met if I ever stopped talking which endeared me to her.

I have always been a proponent of hearing both sides of the argument before you form an opinion, my wife has the same credo.  That’s why we have both tuned out the presidential elections until the debates, because the pundits don't adhere to that form of thinking.  That is why my wife and I work so well together, we know how to reel each other back in, and it definitely helps me when I go to write my blogs.  I am entering it with more than one perspective so I don't sound like Rush Limbaugh or Rachel Maddow.  

Everyone makes sense in their own way, you just have to find that sense and understand it.  If you don't believe me, just ask my wife.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.

iJustDontGetIt

Maybe I don't get it, even after 5 years, or has it been 11 years, or is it truly 28 years.  I am talking about the phenomenon that is Apple.  Last week Apple announced the release of the iPhone 5, and the phone from the company that changed the whole telecommunications landscape will have them in stores this Friday September 21st. The next iPhone I get will be my first.  Will it be the iPhone 5?  Unlikely.  I just don't get it, and it's not just the iPhone, it's the whole Apple obsession.

I felt that I was missing something, that's why I wasn't getting it, so I decided to read the Steve Jobs biography.  Steve Jobs had always been someone that I found intriguing and I had heard stories of how he operated. His innovative thinking, his obsessive attitude and his crudeness towards people is why he made Apple what it is today.  He was a perfectionist and expected nothing less from his products, employees and anyone that came in contact with him.  But that wasn't it, that only explains why people love his products.

The only piece of Jobs' persona that could possibly rub off on his flock is what they called in his book the "reality distortion disorder".  That is when Steve Jobs either saw something that just wasn't there or believed something that wasn't true and included it into his reality.  The Apple Flock truly believe that the answer to the worlds problems can be solved by the iPhone 5 or the iPad 3. 

I love my car, but I won't buy the same car every year.  It's too expensive to do that and quite frankly, I like MY car.  So why is it that when a new iPhone comes out people have to have it?  Even if they already have the latest one.  I don't want to use this word to describe the thousands of people who will sleep in the street days before it goes on sale and wait hours in the store to get it, but I will, pathetic.

Maybe, I just don't get it.  On Friday while looking through my Facebook page the number of people I know that were planning to pre-order the iPhone 5 was staggering.  I just don't get it.  Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press put it perfectly when describing this phenomenon "Apple, always brilliant in marketing, has targeted whatever human gene contains the "gotta be first" chromosome. If you have this in your DNA, all the common sense in the world can't get through your skull.".  I just don't get it.

This is a phone!  Not a cure for Cancer, not the answer for Hunger and certainly not the answer to the world’s problems.  The phones costs up to $400.  Now if millions of people have this much disposable income and all the time in the world to wait in line, for days, for a phone, isn't that a tad problematic?  There are people in third world countries that don't act like this for their next meal, but we have to have the iPhone.  The part that humors me the most about this whole phenomenon is the number that follows the title.  It is not indicative of the quality, it's the version.  It just tells me that there were four previous versions and it leaves room for versions to follow.  So why is this particular one, the one to have?  I just don't get it.

I own an iPod, and to be honest, I love it.  But I have had it for 3 years and there no sign in my future telling me that I will need a new one anytime soon.  I think Apple makes great products.  They are highly overpriced, but they can be, just look at what it does at $400.  Can you imagine if it was priced reasonably?  Armageddon.

I just don't get it, or is iJustDontGetit?

3D

Coming Right Atcha

Another Thing Ruined

Before I get started I want to take time to honor those who passed 11 years ago today.  Not a day goes by that I think of that horrific day.  We will never forget those who perished and we will definitely never forget those who sacrificed their lives to try and save others.  God Bless.

For those of you that know me well, I don't deal with absurdity very well.  That's not a bad thing, I don't think anyone should deal with absurdity well.  In my house this year I vowed not to watch one inning of the Red Sox because I felt that the collapse of last year was a sign of things to come and the organization had done its fan base a true disservice, so I decided not to watch.  I look pretty good with that decision.

Over the past couple of weeks another tradition that I always took pride in following has absolutely just become so absurd, I can't stand to watch anymore, and that is the Presidential Election.  The absurdity that I see is not even from the candidates.  I will actually watch the debates because that is where the true colors of the candidate come out.  The conventions did nothing for me, so far as much, I didn't even watch Mitt Romney's or President Obama's acceptance speeches.  All the conventions do is rally the bases of each party and spew more spin than a jet engine.

What has turned me off?  The Electorate.  It has gotten so bad and so divisive, some of the stories you read, and videos you see are just so absurd.  Blaming media bias is an old tune and I'm not going to do it, but I do blame the internet (Al Gore, I'm not blaming you here) and social media because it is a shield for peoples comments.  Everyone hides behind their blogs, Twitter and Facebook accounts, no matter who they offend.  Why? Because someone is voting in the opposite direction of what they are.  It's not a contest.  You actually really don't win anything if the person you support wins, they do.

Four examples turned me off completely 

• The video from the Yahoo blogger that said the Romney's/Republicans  “are happy to have a party with black people drowning".  Referring to the Convention going on while Hurricane Isaac was hitting New Orleans during the RNC.

• Reports that during the RNC that a black cameraman from CNN was heckled so much that the hecklers had to be removed. They were throwing nuts at the man and saying "This is how we feed animals."

• A video that surfaced at the DNC of a woman speaking on how Romney would ruin the country if elected and that if she ever saw him she would "Kill Him"

• This example closed all the doors for me.  Musician Nikki Minaj, who happens to be African-American, came out in support of Mitt Romney.  The backlash was stomach turning, with physical threats and being called an "Uncle Tom" for supporting Romney.

I read an interesting comment on an article today and I had to use it "Who you cast your vote for is your business and yours alone.".  Amen.  I was telling a friend the other day, who obviously has opposite views than I do, "I don't care who you vote for just as long as you vote."  I will take it further by saying get informed on your own, that means don't get your views from Twitter, Facebook, MSNBC or Fox News.  If you truly want to know the truth review the Library of Congress, The Congressional Budget Office, Department of Labor and Department of Energy.

I long for the time when nobody knew who people voted for unless they were asked.  Now it seems to be a pre-requisite to be included into a group or a conversation.  Also, if you do happen to have the privilege to vote and do, mark your ballot and have no regrets.  Vote FOR someone, not AGAINST someone.  A vote for President Obama doesn't mean that you are a Socialist and support Communism.  A Vote for Mitt Romney doesn't mean that you are a Racist who hates Women.  No matter what anyone tells you.  Vote your conscience.

With all that said, I look forward to the debates both Presidential and Vice-Presidential and I will leave the Facebooking and Tweeting to the hacks.

3D OUT

Coming Right Atcha

My Wife is a Baseball Widow

"This marriage is subject to temporary interruption during baseball season"

That is a sign that I used to have hanging in my office before we moved into our house over the winter.  I came across it the other day in the garage and the sign could not be more accurate during this time of year for me and my wife.

Fifteen years ago I responded to an ad in the paper to attend an umpire course at Shrewsbury High School.  I had stopped coaching baseball the year before because, to be quite honest, I couldn't deal with the helicopter parents of my teams, I would go out of my mind now.  I love the game of baseball and I still wanted to be involved.  So I decided to become an umpire.

The course was, and still is, six weeks long.  I thought I was really up to snuff with the rules of the game but boy was I wrong.  Did you know that there is no rule that says "tie goes to the runner"?  Did you know that there is no definition of what determines a swing?  Did you know there is a "fourth out" in some instances?  And batting out of order is not as cut and dry as it seems.  There is definitely brain overload when learning all the rules but in the end you are a true student of the game.

I first got into umpiring and figured I would do it for a couple of years and do it to earn money for my greens fees when I played golf.  But during my first year I made more than enough and I was doing low level Babe Ruth games.  One of the senior members of the board, one of my mentors, and friend told me to keep at and I would be a top tier umpire one day.  It was nice to hear but not something I thought of.  The more I umpired, the better I got and noticed that I was getting more games and better games, and I saw how much money I could really make.

I started dating my wife in 2004, and we got married in 2007.  When we were planning our honeymoon I told her not to cut ourselves short and that my umpiring money would pay for our honeymoon.  She didn't believe me.  Not only did my umpiring pay for a two week Italian honeymoon, there was extra left over.  It is definitely the best part time job I have ever had.

However, as my family grows it gets harder and harder to take games.  I am currently scheduled 78 games this year, and there is a State and Regional tournament that I have not received my assignments for yet.  The past three years I have averaged roughly 85 games, doing strictly high school and college level games.  I'd like to think I get the games because I am considered a good umpire, and to be honest I am nowhere near where I want to be as an umpire.  But will I get there? 

It will be tough as it becomes harder and harder to leave my girls every night to go do a game and some instances miss days with them on the weekend.  The worst part is when I leave for a game and my oldest daughter says AWWWWWW!!!! and it breaks my heart.  My wife has not laid down any ultimatums on this but I could not argue if she did.  But at some point something has to give and to be honest I am not as young as I used to be and my body doesn't respond as quickly.

I just want to thank my wife for understanding not taking away one of the true things I love to do.  She is leaving the decision on my schedule to me and that is admirable.  She has every right to scream and yell at me, but she doesn't.  She has every reason to put her foot down and she doesn't.  I have the next two days off from umpiring and I will spend it baptizing my daughter and spending time with my family.  

This weekend they will need to play ball without me.

3D

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