Mint Condition

Me Pops was on a trip one time with an old friend; I'll call him Cloyce just to give him a name. While in Philadelphia, they decided to take a tour of the US Mint.

Miraculously, they were able to park within a block. But as they were climbing the steps to the Mint Cloyce remarked, "Bill, should I tell them at the door that I've got my pistol with me?"

Pops stopped in his tracks. After a second or two of thought he explained quickly and quietly, "Okay, Cloyce, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna stand here a minute and talk, pretend we're discussing an issue, act like we forgot something, and then we'll go back to the car. Then we're gonna leave your gun there."

"I don't go nowhere without my gun!" Cloyce responded indignantly.

"Then you ain't going to the US Mint!" Dad said firmly. They got back to the car and drove off.

What a waste of an ideal parking space too. 

Walking the Walk

I'm not really a big city person. I prefer the quiet of rural and semi-rural areas. Still, after having spent time in the hearts of New York City, Boston, Toronto, and now Philadelphia, I must admit there is a charm in what is often called a walkable downtown.

While we did have to move the rental car once on the Sunday we spent in Philadelphia last week, once parked we found several things to see within an easy walk. Granted, Philly is an old and historic city compared to Detroit (as are New York and Boston) but there sure seems to be more to see there than at home. What was most interesting was in how quickly things changed. We could be in a noisy, touristy area, then turn a corner to discover row houses which clearly date to the 1700 and 1800 hundreds nestled in quiet, narrow streets. It really did feel like stepping back in history.

There were museums and shops and outdoor activities all around. They tended towards pricey yet not terribly so, and there was free things to see and do just the same. We had our pictures taken by the Rocky statue near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, for example. 

I doubt that I could live too long in such tightly packed areas but I think I could do it for a year simply for the experience, these dense downtown areas. Perhaps it's familiarity, but I do not feel that for Detroit. C'est la vie.

Philly

I am just returned from a trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My sons and I took in a ball game at Citizens Bank Park, the home field of the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a dull game until the 10th inning, when the home team won on a two out bases loaded two run single. The crowd went home happy. 

Citizens Bank is the most recent stadium we've visited. It's not the best but it isn't bad. It is a better place to watch baseball than my hometown Detroit Tigers' Comerica Park, where most seats are simply too far from the field. We sat in the third deck of Citizens yet every bit of a hundred feet nearer the action than at a comparable spot in Comerica. The Philly skyline was clearly visible. Honestly, it's more impressive than Detroit's. Oh, and we had ice cream in small collectible baseball helmet bowls. Ice cream tastes better in baseball helmet bowls. It's just science.

We spent Sunday more or less walking Philadelphia. I have pictures of the Liberty Bell and the chamber of the Continental Congress in Independence Hall. It wasn't the cathartic experience which I as a history wonk expected. Independence was declared in that room, and the Constitution formed. Our Founding Fathers debated great things there and history literally made. I'm glad to have seen it. I simply wasn't as moved as I had always imagined I would be.

We posed by the Rocky statue on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum and spent a sublime half hour or so in the quiet of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, a massive and beautiful Church. The three of us ate a too expensive but nonetheless very good pepperoni pizza at a somewhat high end pizza joint (high end pizza joint?) and had desserts of what the locals called Water Ice. It's basically a thick frozen Coke and available in several flavors. You need a spoon to eat it and man oh man, the cherry one I had was outstanding. My sons expressed the same sentiments for the banana and peach flavors they each respectively chose.

So, Philadelphia. Would I visit again? Indeed I would. For cherry water ice, to be sure.

It's Still the Fall Classic.

Today's lead sports story on AOL had comments about the Philadelphia Phillies - Tampa Bay Rays as being weak from a television network's point of view. Well, so bloody what?

We're talking baseball here! America's game! The greatest game in the history of the world! The networks can think what they want; this is the Fall Classic and deserves respect on that ground alone.

So it's not a New York - Los Angeles matchup, or even a Subway series like the Cubs/White Sox matchup so many wags fantacized about. But baseball isn't continental per se: it's the ultimate provincial game. You root for the home team because they're your team and some false national sports symbol like the Dallas Cowboys or even The New York Yankees. You watch it because you love the game and not the parties which surround some games. It isn't like the Super Bowl, which is anymore just an excuse to party as few really care about who's playing, making it not truly about the game.

So shut up and let Philadelphia and Tampa fans enjoy their respective teams' day in the sun. And watch the Series for what it is: America's salute to herself and her culture.