Archive | March, 2012

Remember the Poor Immigrant

5 Mar

A zip-lock bag with a small rock inside for weight was tossed onto my lawn today. In my neighborhood, this is a standard method of advertising lawn services. What was not so standard was the pamphlet inside, which in part read: “Teofilo Sanchez Landscaping.”

I have friends who argue that immigrants, both legal and illegal, are a drain on taxes and the economy. While I really don’t know anything for sure, I always argue back that immigrants, legal and illegal, will provide the boost we need to restart our economy, and that they will become the next great wave of entrepreneurs.

It seems to me that it doesn’t take too long before a hired lawn guy earning minimum wage (or less) realizes that if he saves enough money for a mower and a truck, he can be the boss.

For all I know, Teofilo Sanchez is a Fortune 500 exec whose family came across on the Mayflower. But I will assume he is not. I will assume he is part of the new wave. I will assume that my theory (which required no insight or imagination) is coming true. I will assume that more and more marketing will target this new demographic, that the people in it will buy more houses and cars, that more will enter college, become wealthy, enter politics and lead.

This story has been repeated so many times it is a cliché. Why then is it so difficult to remember?

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Don’t go without a phone

4 Mar

At the Philadelphia International Flower Show, in front of the better exhibits, arms shoot up in the semi-darkness like a mass salute … a salute with glowing smart phones.

Standing among the throng, my immediate worry was for the companies that make cameras. (They’ve got to be going out of business) My second worry was for myself: How am I going to take a decent picture with all these arms in the air?

While the flower show, which I attended on opening day, was full of rich, lush plant life (the theme was “Hawaii: Islands of Aloha), the event was mostly about getting in the way of people taking pictures and people getting in your way as you try to take pictures.

Putting that aside, however, the show truly can be enjoyed as a mass display of intricate, complex natural beauty tamed and woven into poetic design by human beings.

It can take your breath away. It is well worth the trip, even if you don’t get a decent photo out of it.

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Linebackers as Modern Day Bounty Hunters

3 Mar

Jack Lambert -- not afraid to hit.

Jack Lambert, the “Man of Steel” who played middle linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is famous for tough hits and saying that quarterbacks should be forced to wear dresses.

It was a cute little quote suggesting the sport of football is all about violence, and that the violence should not be held in check.

But football also is about money, lots of money, and when you mix money with violence, you end up with sub-human behavior.

It was revealed this week that members of the New Orleans Saints contribute bounty money to pay players who seriously hurt members of the opposing team. A hit that results in a player being carried off the field earned $1,000; if a player was knocked out of a game the payoff was $1,500, and so forth. In a 2009 playoff, it appears a bounty of $10,000 was provided for disabling a quarterback.

So … does this make football fans feel good or bad? Or indifferent?

While the athletic abilities and physical finesse of NFL players are sublime, the brutality of football may be its biggest attraction. With the epidemic of concussions, things are being done to make the game safer, with the risk of making it less lucrative. Despite this, the game probably won’t get much safer until the players – who gain so much from winning – accept that football is not the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

They might be convinced of this if the NFL trots out the hundred of retired players who are physical wrecks, the ones who live with daily pain and don’t even get medical coverage from their former teams. Let these guys lecture the active players – like one of Scrooge’s ghosts.

That might convince them.

Even better, for at least one game, make them all wear dresses.

The preservation of the game is at stake.

 

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Hey, Hey I’m a Monkee!

1 Mar

Image

The Associated Press obit on Davy Jones, lead singer of the Monkees, used the adjective “pre-fab” to describe his band. When it was assembled by television executives trying to rip off the Beatles – their charm, their wit and their movie “A Hard Day’s Night” – the search was for actors, not musicians. Oddly, they came together pretty well as a band, with remarkably good songs. It wasn’t until today that I realized some of the top people in the business were providing them with material and musical assistance.

The AP obit mentions such helpful luminaries as Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Billy Preston, Ry Cooder and Neil Young.

How can one not succeed with that kind of support?

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