Ballpark of the Palm Beaches - Play Ball!

Amazing.  What was a landfill last year has been transformed into a beautiful spring training site shared by the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals.  The whole training complex is so well done it seems as if it has been there forever.  

When our friends John and Cathy asked whether I’d be interested in seeing a Red Sox game there I jumped at the chance.  Cathy is a die-hard Sox fan and I’m a Yankees fan so the back and forth banter is fun.  I’ve already conceded this season to the Sox though as they have even further improved their roster for this year, especially with the acquisition of Chris Sale from the White Sox. He only had to change socks, so maybe that’s why New York failed to get him (actually, never really tried – guess they conceded the season as well).

As the laws of serendipity prevailed, yesterday’s spring training game at the new facility between the Sox and the Astros highlighted Chris Sale’s first outing as a Red Sox, throwing 37 pitches over the first two innings, giving up four hits, one earned run and notching two strike outs.  He looked rusty but he seemed to have his stuff, the scoreboard routinely recording his fast balls around 95 mph with one at 97. Not bad for the first outing.  He’s a tall sting bean but when he whips his long left arm toward the batter I can imagine the split second decision making at the plate, particularly for a left-handed batter.  He was a joy to watch.  Too bad he’s on the wrong team : - ). Judging by the grip on the ball (photo 3), think he's throwing a change up here...

The Sox are playing three games on the east coast of Florida, facing the Nationals today at the same park and up to St. Lucie to face the Mets tomorrow.  From what I understand, there are 9 players, mostly minor leaguers who will be at all three games, and there will be three buses, one for each day shuttling name players back and forth from the Sox training facility in Ft. Meyers.

Two of the big names other than Sale for the first day were Pablo Sandoval…

and Hanley Ramírez

They bring with them big expectations for 2017.

I enjoyed seeing ex-Yankee Brian McCann again.  Sad to see him go, a ballplayer great talent and a true gentleman...

One only hopes that the City of West Palm will now land a minor league team for these incredible facilities.  Would be nice to have more teams nearby in addition to the Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins Class A+) and the Palm Beach Cardinals (Cardinals Class A+).   Nonetheless, we’ve already booked our season’s tix for their “silver slugger” program at Roger Dean Stadium.

The game itself had a little bit of everything, home runs, stolen bases, double plays but after three and a half hours they played to a 5-5 tie.  End of game, but being out there in the cool breeze, taking in the cadence of baseball, was a nice change of pace. 

Play ball!  Life regains a semblance of normalcy with baseball again.  

Syrian Refugee: ‘Who Picks Their Country?’

Courtesy of WestportNow.Com

The headline struck me.  Indeed, who gets to pick their country?  For most of us it is an accident of birth.  I keep in touch with my old home town, Westport, Ct. through WestportNow.com.  A Syrian refugee, Mohamed al Maassri, spoke to the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club about his experience of settling his family in Norwalk, Ct, fleeing the carnage in Syria. Although his tale is anecdotal, the typical rigorous background checking already in place is not.  Here is a refugee who would be denied the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness in a nation that has welcomed so many fleeing their countries for political or economic reasons – all because of the accident of his birth. What kind of a callous country are we becoming?  This is the face of the "new nationalism"?   It is an ugly one.  Mohamed al Maassri’s experience of US officials knowing “more about me than I did” is already the standard.  Surely, vigorous vetting is a better solution to protecting our nation than Trump's dictum of excluding ALL refugees from specific countries.  

From WestportNow.com… 

Mohamed al Maassri today put a face to the national debate over refugees, telling the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club what it’s like to flee a war in Syria, leaving him stateless, homeless, and destitute.

“Who picks their country?” he said, explaining that it was happenstance that he got caught up in the war in his homeland and ended up in Connecticut eight months ago with his wife and two children.

Maassri’s tale was not that of a typical refugee. He owned a construction material importing exporting business in Dubai at the outset of the war in Syria. He then returned home and saw how the “Assad (government) and Iranian and Hezbolah militias” destroyed his town.

He lamented: “1,500 people were dead in the street, and I don’t know why.”

Because he was a Syrian, he said he was then blocked by Dubai immigration officials from returning to his company and was told his business had been closed. He said he lost everything.

After months of interrogation, Maassri arrived with his family in the United States. “They knew more about me than I did,” he said of the U.S. officials who vetted him.

He and his family finally settled in Norwalk, aided by the Westport Interfaith Resettlement Committee, a group of six churches and synagogues. Members found them a place to live, provided language education, and a got him a job at Whole Foods.

“My goal is to improve myself, so I can do more here,” he said. While he likes his job, he said the pay is not enough to sustain his family.

When asked what he’d like to do, he responded, “I’d like to get back into import export, but I have nothing to start it with.”

A singer, he said we would like to find “a Muslim, a Jew and a Christian, and sing about peace.”

Helen Garten, Sunrise Rotary president, said, “When you do, you’ll come back and sing for us.”

Fake News in La La Land

As they say, you can’t make this stuff up.  I speak of the Academy Awards’ embarrassing mistake of naming La La Land Best Picture, only to have to retract that in the middle of La La’s acceptance speech, naming Moonlight.  This is all because Price Waterhouse Coopers gave the presenters the wrong envelope.  Perhaps the Academy is shopping for a new accounting firm?  In this era of “fake news” the mistake only feeds the Zeitgeist.  Maybe it was Russian hacking?  It's one thing to tamper with the election and it’s quite another to mess with the Academy!

I have not seen Moonlight, but it does sound like award-winning material, adapted from a play.  However, I loved La La Land, particularly Emma Stone’s rendition of the song “The Audition” which I have made part of my piano repertoire.  I also admired the film as a throwback to filmed musicals of the past, albeit updated for our times. 

Our friends Betty and Claudia were visiting this weekend, both movie buffs, and they had not seen Fences (nor had we) and I was surprised to find the film being offered on pay-per-view so we watched it before the Academy Awards yesterday.  I was stunned.  August Wilson stands among the greatest American playwrights.  Although the movie rights to the Pulitzer Prize winning play were bought soon after the play opened in 1987, it was only recently produced as Wilson had insisted that the film have a black director.  His wishes continued to be honored after his death in 2005.  It was Denzel Washington, one of our finest actors, who finally was chosen to direct and star in the play – he was in the 2010 revival of the play on Broadway with Viola Davis as well.  I was surprised that Washington was not even nominated for best director, although he was up for best actor.  Until I see Moonlight, which won for the “best” film, I can’t comment, but what Washington accomplished as a director and as an actor has to be greatly admired.  Viola Davis was spectacular as well.  I will not easily forget this film, Wilson’s writing, or the performances.

When you think about it, how does one chose between a La La Land, Fences, or Moonlight – all award deserving in their own right?  It’s one of the reasons why the Academy Awards doesn’t resonate with me.  I watched part of it, but did not see the controversial ending; both Moonlight and La La Land deserved better.  But so did Fences and Denzel Washington.

I mentioned this before, but never went into any detail.  We attended the 1980 Academy Awards as a guest of the Academy.  Their Annual Motion Picture Credits Database was published by my firm at the time.  In those days, such information was in reference book form.  I used to visit the Academy and the American Film Institute searching for publishable material.

When I received an invitation to attend the Awards, I was able to combine the trip to LA with one of my editorial efforts, and, of course, Ann wanted to join me so I accepted.  Unfortunately, this is way before cell phone cameras and I thought it a little tacky to arrive with my full-size Nikon hanging from my shoulder, so I have no photographs to record the experience.

I had a rented car (not very fancy) and wore just a plain suit.  Ann was dressed nicely but no designer dress or even borrowed jewels.  A valet took our car and in spite of being unknowns (and looking the part), we walked down the red carpet to some applause.  No one asked for our autograph, though : - ).

This was Johnny Carson’s second year as host and the big film, winning most of the awards was Kramer vs. Kramer.  Coincidentally I had met the author of the book on which the film was based, Avery Corman, a year or two before.  He politely autographed a pre-production copy at the American Booksellers Association meeting after we discussed why I felt a special connection with his book: I had been divorced ten years earlier with similar custody issues.

Back to the Academy Awards, I remember standing next to Gregory Peck during one of the brief breaks, I wanted to say something, but felt it would be intrusive.  So we just stood there, admiring all the screen actors I recognized and he knew well.  It was a lot of fun to attend this major Hollywood event, but Ann and I were outsiders, looking in.

After watching the film Fences we took Betty and Claudia to our favorite Sunday night place, Double Roads Tavern in Jupiter to listen to the Jupiter Jazz Society’s weekly jam session.  Professionals play but other musicians can sit in for a set or two.  I’d like to do that myself but as most of my piano playing has been solo; I don’t have the skills for impromptu jazz accompaniment.  So, we go just to enjoy and support such a worthwhile effort.  Organizer Rick Moore, who plays the keyboard with the best of them, gathers a wide range of musicians, ones just starting out, but oh so talented, to retired and seasoned professionals who just like to jam.  It is Rick (and his wife, Cherie, a co-founder of the Society) who drive the mission to preserve jazz for future generations.  And future generations are responding.  Ava Faith, a 13 year old singer, made a surprise appearance last night after singing the National Anthem at the Marlins’ spring training game.  She already has the right stuff, a great young jazz voice and a personality that is impressive.  Wonderful to hear that generation perform the Great American Songbook and to know it will endure.  I tried to capture a brief clip with my twitter feed…

Ava Faith at the Double Roads, Jupiter! pic.twitter.com/4vOLEOxWNM

— Robert Hagelstein (@lacunaemusing) February 27, 2017

To round out yesterday, in the morning Claudia and I took a walk on the beach in Juno, watching the sun rising over the pier…

A Mentor’s Influence Never Stops

How many of us have had important mentors, without whom our lives may have turned out very differently?  When thinking about my own life, the first name that springs to my mind is Roger Brickner. I’ve written about him before, and this entry provides much of the background.  In short, he was my Honors Economics teacher and my grade advisor when I was a senior at Richmond Hill High School.  Miraculously, we reconnected 50 years later as he was the honorary chairman of my high school’s 1960 class 50^th reunion, one I was unable to attend.  But since then we’ve been in touch by email, particularly during Presidential and mid-term elections.  You see Roger’s avocation – among other interests since retiring from teaching – is analyzing elections and projecting outcomes.  As he said “my interest in politics is an enthusiastic avocation. I began to predict presidential elections as a teenager and since I thought Dewey would win in 1948 I have been lucky to pick every winner since that time.”  That is, until the recent election. 

In addition, he is an amateur weatherman, taking after his own heroes, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, carefully recording the salient weather facts at his early 19^th century home in the heart of Haverhill, NH.  And he still loves to travel, having been to more than 100 countries and to most U.S. states. 

Between our travels and his, we knew there would be a time they would intersect and yesterday was the day, as he and a friend were making their way south, having stayed in Charleston SC for a while, and now on their way to Deerfield Beach, FL.  So he called and I suggested we meet for lunch at The Cooper in Palm Beach Gardens.

It had been 57 years since I last saw him; he has the same energetic, optimistic personality.  But did he realize how important he was to me at a critical juncture in my life?  Clearly he did not.  I didn’t know why I was selected for his Honors Economics class as my status in high school in the first three years would be almost classified as juvenile delinquent (the same old story, rebelling from my parents, in with the wrong crowd, taking pleasure just getting by in class, all in preparation to enter my father’s photographic business, a tacit obligation as I would be the fourth generation to run the business). 

Roger said I was selected because he thought I was bright enough to do the work and with that encouragement I was turned on to learning, really for the first time in my life.  We were expected to do a term paper, just like in college!  I selected the topic of motivational research which at the time interested me.

So what did I bring when I saw Roger yesterday?  That paper.  He must have thought it bizarre that one would keep such a token of the distant past.  As a turning point in my life I obviously felt I should keep it (got an “A” by the way).  We were both amused to read my sophomoric conclusion: “Today [1959] motivational research is being used mainly to manipulate the consumer and slowly being used to direct the citizen.  Perhaps in the future manipulators will be trying to control every phase of our lives.”  Roger circled that and wrote boldly: “Surely you must have some comment on this.  Hitler, of course, was a master of these techniques – what shall we do about it?”  And now, we both agreed, perhaps that may be happening via social media, “fake news” etc.  So what should we do about it?

And that is Roger, always inspiring.  Without him, maybe I would have gone into my father’s business, which would have failed anyhow.  I still enjoy photography, but strictly as a hobby. So, I ended up doing what I loved, not photography or motivational research, but publishing. 

Then (from my HS Yearbook, my photo partially sullied by a classmate and Roger’s, one that I took as I was the photographer for the Yearbook)…

Roger Brickner

And now…..

Yesterday we talked a lot about Richmond Hill where we both grew up.  At one time he lived on the same street as my grandfather – 109^th street off of Jamaica Avenue.  I spent my grammar school days at PS 90 right opposite my grandfather’s home which became my Uncle Phil’s.   

109th Street, Richmond Hill, NY

We moved to 115^th Street and 84^th Avenue right before I began High School – a long walk then as there were no school buses.  At one time Roger lived near Lefferts Blvd, which was near my home as well.  He went on to Queens College and then Columbia for his Master’s Degree with a nearly two year interlude in the army serving during the Korean War.

Reminiscing, we couldn’t help but think of Jahn’s as Roger had ordered The Cooper Sundae for dessert which was a dead ringer for Jahn’s infamous “Kitchen Sink.”

Good times, good talk, and it was great to see him 57 years later, and to thank him.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. Henry Adams