Bleak Friday

I spent this Thanksgiving in my hometown, Richland, Washington.  Having watched the news I was well aware that some retailers chose to open their doors on or immediately after Thanksgiving Day.  The Black Friday sales typically draw huge crowds in big cities but my sister and I were curious what kind of crowd would form at the Target in Richland, a city where until just recently the traffic signals switched over to flashing yellow at precisely 9 PM.

What we found was kind of shocking and sad, but not altogether surprising.  We arrived about 10 minutes before midnight and there was a line of people that stretched the length of Target's large parking log.  I estimate there were at least 500 people standing out in the cold and wind.  Some, I'm sure, were there for curiosity or simply to be able to say they participated in a Black Friday store opening.  But many were there to unwittingly affirm how badly consumerism has eroded the quality of our lives.  Americans are now so easily manipulated that people have completely lost sight of what should actually matter.

We watched as the doors opened and people sprinted through, presumably to grab one of the limited "doorbuster" specials that didn't seem overly special to me.  The parking lot at the Walmart across the street was also packed having opened at 10 PM on Thanksgiving.  Elsewhere someone unleashed pepper spray on other shoppers to score a cheap Xbox and another person was shot by someone trying to rob them of their Black Friday purchases in the parking lot.

It's all a very disappointing commentary on the era in which we live.  I'm convinced that it will never be as good as it was and few people will ever see the significance of what they've lost.  We had a handful of days each year where the only thing there was to do was be with family and friends... and learn to appreciate what actually matters.

Baseball Never Forgets

I never met Greg Halman.  I'm not sure he ever played in a ball game that I saw in person.  But he played for my Seattle Mariners.  I rooted for him.  I wanted him to succeed.  I remember watching him on television, noting that he had a lot of tattoos.  I also remember that he started off this season on fire and thinking that he looked the most promising of the M's young outfielders.  Very sad what happened to him.  Glad that he got to realize the dream of playing in the major leagues, though.

Halman is the first Mariner player to pass while an active member of the team.  Fortunately most of the Mariners alumni are still with us.  I remember many of those who are not and, like Halman, I remember rooting for them and wanting each of them to succeed.  How many do you remember?

• Greg Halman, OF 2010-11 (44 games), d. 11/21/2011 (age 24), homicide
• John Marzano, C 1996-98 (130 games), d. 4/19/2008 (age 45), fall related
• Russ Swan, P 1990-93 (152 games), d. 4/26/2006 (age 42), fall related
• Rod Scurry, P 1988 (39 games), d. 11/5/1992 (age 36), drug related
• Ivan Calderon, OF 1984-85 (115 games), d. 12/27/2003 (age 41), homicide
• Al Cowens, OF 1982-86 (545 games), d. 3/11/2002 (age 50), heart failure
• Todd Cruz, IF 1982-83 (201 games), d. 9/2/2008 (age 52), drowning
• Dave Roberts, P 1980 (37 games), d. 1/9/2009 (age 64), cancer
• Rick Anderson, P 1980 (5 games), d. 10/5/1989 (age 35), heart failure
• Joe Decker, P 1979 (9 games), d. 3/2/2003 (age 55), fall related
• Wayne Twitchell, P 1979 (4 games), d. 9/16/2010 (age 62), cancer
• Larry Cox, C 1977, 79-80 (240 games), d. 2/17/1990 (age 42), heart failure
• Joe Lis, IF 1977 (9 games), d. 10/17/2010 (age 62), cancer

Although the above list is a bit morbid curiosity it shows that, even when it comes to death, baseball keeps records better than anyone.  Baseball never forgets... and neither will I.

Cleveland Rocks!

I haven't had much to blog about so I thought I would post something about a bit of sightseeing I did in Cleveland.  I heard mostly negative things about Cleveland but I didn't think it was all that bad of a place.  I worked some late nights during the weekdays while I was there.  The baseball regular season had ended so there wasn't an opportunity to see the Indians at Progressive Field—I did see it from the freeway so it joins Coors Field and Kaufmann Stadium as ballparks I've seen first hand from the outside.

Arguably the most well known attraction in Cleveland is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum so I'd planned to go there before my visit.  Some of the locals told me it was a waste of money and that you "really have to like music".  Well, I really like music so I didn't let those opinions dissuade me and went anyway.  I spent around three hours touring the museum.  I think it has 6 levels.  The basement level traced the history of rock with displays representing each of the most influential periods via a timeline... Memphis, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, and the one I lived through... Seattle.  There were also big exhibits for Elvis, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.  On one of the mid levels there was a theater that looped year-by-year videos for all of the Hall of Fame inductees.  There was a ramp up from there with a glass wall that had all of the inductee's signatures followed by showcases for this year's inductees.  At the top was a special exhibit called "Women Who Rock" which was really cool.  Every female musician I could think of was represented with a display case that typically contained a dress or other outfit that they had worn on an album cover or music video.  Shakira's outfit from her Wherever, Whenever video was there :)  As was the meat dress that Lady Gaga wore to the 2010 MTV Music Awards.  It was all kind of an emotional experience because so many of the featured artists are no longer with us but they still speak to you in their songs.

After I had finished with the R&RHoF, I went to the Cleveland Museum of Art.  One of the people I had been working with in Cleveland recommended it over the R&RHoF.  Turns out it is a great museum, too.  I spent another three hours there (until the museum closed) and saw artworks from virtually every era of mankind.  I saw paintings from Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Renior... you name it.  But they also had Egyptian artifacts... Greek artifacts... armor from Medieval Europe... and an exhibit for a Chinese artist named Fu Baoshi whom I'd never heard of but it was interesting nonetheless.