A Life For Itself

Author: Christopher A. Kess

  • Five Things – 19 November 2015

    Five Things – 19 November 2015

    Twenty years ago today, the Baltimore Stallions (“Baltimore Colts,” “Baltimore CFL Colts,” “Baltimore CFL’ers,” so on, and so on …) won the 83rd Grey Cup, defeating the Calgary Stampeders.

    One could call this the climax of a two-year flirtation with Canadian football.

    Even though the Stallions filled a vacuum left after the demise of the Baltimore Colts, the announcement nearly two weeks before that Art Modell and his Cleveland Browns would be moving east, meant Sunday afternoons in Baltimore would be spent with the NFL again.

    It meant that the CFL’s American experiment, at least in Baltimore, would be over.  Stallions owner Jim Speros would not even try to operate in what was again an NFL city.  It meant he would not field a 1996 Stallions team.  His franchise would be transferred to Montreal, returning the CFL to that city, to become the continuation of the Montreal Alouettes.

    It meant another Baltimore team disappearing overnight.

    In the midst of a terrible on-field season, the Ravens still celebrate their 20th anniversary this season.  Future Ravens Hall of Famer Ed Reed will be inducted into the Ravens Ring of Honor this Sunday ahead of the game vs. the St. Louis Rams (no irony there).  Ed’s accomplishments for the Ravens have gained him immortal status in Baltimore and one day in Canton, alongside names like Unitas and Mackey and Marchetti.

    But if you’re old enough … and you were there … you remember Tracy Ham running and throwing the way some NFL quarterbacks are praised for now.  And Mike Pringle kicking up Lenny Moore’s dust.  And you remember walking up into the stands at Memorial Stadium and staring at that strange 55 yard line.  Feeling a sense of cognitive dissonance when a team would punt on 2nd down.

    And seeing the Baltimore Colts legends there on the sidelines and feeling like this was it, this was your team.  Your parents and perhaps your grandparents had the Baltimore Colts.  CFL or not, the Stallions were yours.

    These days, the Montreal Alouettes don’t officially consider the Stallions years as part of their history.  There was never going to be a commemoration at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.  The history and accomplishments of the Baltimore Stallions are often drowned out by conversations of the NFL expansion and the controversy surrounding Art Modell’s move to Baltimore.  The last time I even saw any interest was when O.J. Brigance was in the news for his heroics in his battle with ALS, as he won championships with both the Stallions and Ravens during his playing days.

    I’ve said before that the 1983 Baltimore Orioles championship is often overshadowed by the end of the Baltimore Colts nearly 6 months later.  In comparison, the 1995 Baltimore Stallions Grey Cup title is nearly lost, due to the emergence of the team that would eventually be named the Baltimore Ravens.

    Unless you were there and unless you remember.

    And if you do, you know it was more than a flirtation.  It was fun.  It was wacky and strange, just like Baltimore.  And if you were in, you were in fully because you just knew Paul Tagliabue was shutting Baltimore out of the NFL forever.  It wasn’t what our parents grew up with and I’m sure people outside of the area laughed a lot at our expense.  But the team embraced Baltimore.  It embraced our wacky fans and our NFL history and even helped us needle our old friends out in Indiana and in the NFL offices a little.  And the Stallions won us a title.

    Yet, it never sated the appetite to get back in the NFL, never got to be what it could have been, had we not awoken to the news that November morning that the NFL was coming back to town.

    We never got a championship parade.

    Rolling Stone | Wild Stallions: How a Team From Baltimore Rocked Canadian Football

    The Snap | The Baltimore Stallions Celebrate Grey Cup Win, 20 Years later

    Baltimore Sun | After 20 years, Stallions finally celebrate Grey Cup win

    2.

    Ed Reed will indeed be inducted into the Ravens Ring of Honor on Sunday.

    Ray called himself the Ravens’ General.  But if he was the General, Ed Reed was the Admiral, our other Joint Chief.  Ray’s shadow was very wide, and Ed always shunned the spotlight as much as possible so he never got the recognition for his own leadership.  If you doubt it, read this ESPN article from 2013.  Ed did what Ben Zander talked about in his book The Art of Possibility, he led from his own seat.

    Regardless of how much attention he never got, his stats aren’t in doubt, though.  He’s an all-time great.  His Canton introduction is another one I want to go to when the time comes.

    When the Ravens won Super Bowl 47, I was happy that Ray had ended his career with another championship and gone out on top.  But with everything Ed had physically sacrificed for his teammates, all the preparation to go out there and do what he could (making himself so respected that even greats like Manning and Brady would just not throw in his direction) even when he was almost constantly injured, I was so much happier that he’d gotten there just that once.  I really wondered after the 2012 AFC Championship game if that was as close as he’d get to a title.

    3.

    These college kids are getting it done.  #OccupyTowson #OccupyMizzou #OccupyPrinceton

    4.

    I can’t lie.  All this NaNo stuff is kicking my ass.  But it’s worth it.

    5.

    The kick heard ’round the world.  Given her lackluster performances in her first two UFC fights, I didn’t think Holly stood a chance pretty much.  I figured Ronda would go in there and on aggression alone, regardless of how good Holly’s striking was, end this fight the way she’d ended most of her other UFC fights — a clinch, a hip toss, an armbar, a tapout.

    Wow, was I wrong.  Holly dominated her thoroughly.  She kept the fight standing, where she had the advantage, and where Ronda ended up having no shot.  The fight got away from Ronda pretty quickly and she never recovered.  I think Ronda didn’t expect Holly to back down and fight with the poise and confidence she showed.  Holly showed no fear.  Holly didn’t rush her.  Holly fought her own fight and in the end, put on a great win.

    I was hoping for a Cyborg/Ronda fight, but if there’s going to be an immediate rematch, I’m happy for that, too.  Maybe we’ll also get the rumored Miesha Tate/Cyborg fight.

  • NaBloPoMo – Day 19

    Day 19

    Where would you want to retire if money wasn’t an issue?

    —

    I still wouldn’t.  I’d just write and act until the very end.

     

  • NaBloPoMo – Day 18

    Day 18

    What do you hope people remember about you after you’re gone?

    —

    That I wrote some great things.  That I made some great theatre.  Of course, this means I need to write some great things and make some great theatre.  I’m working on that.

     

  • NaBloPoMo – Day 17

    Day 17

    What is one place you need to see to feel like your life is complete?

    —

    I can’t think of any one specific place that would make me feel this way.  There are so many places I want to go and things I want to see and the list would probably be always changing anyway.

    I do want to go to the King Center in Atlanta, the National Civil Rights Museum, and the Shabazz Center.  The National African American History Museum won’t open until next year and I really want to go there.  I want to go to Goree and the Kunta Kinte Memorial in Annapolis.

    Never been to the Blue Note, nor to the Kennedy Center for Jazz.  Haven’t been to the American Jazz Museum or the National Negro Leagues Museum.  I wish I’d had the chance to go the Negro Leagues Museum while Buck O’Neil was still alive.

    I want to drive the Pacific Coast Highway, at least in California.  Big Sur, the Bixby Bridge, Malibu, Oceanside, all that.  I want to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

    I’ve still never been to Grand Central Terminal.  I’m looking forward to the new Moynihan Station.  I want to go to the Transbay Terminal once California High Speed Rail is complete.  I want to see some of the great European railway stations like St. Pancras and the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof.

    I might even want to go see Mt. Everest one day.

    But still, visiting any of these places won’t give my life a sense of completion.  Maybe once I’ve said everything I think I want to say, I’ll feel complete.

     

  • NaBloPoMo – Day 16

    Day 16

    Pretending you have the expertise to make the product a reality, what do you wish you could invent?

    —

    One or both:

    A cure for cancer
    A torus space station

  • NaBloPoMo – Day 15

    Day 15

    More Notes on the trip

    I hadn’t been to Penn Station NY in a while and I’m glad to see New Jersey Transit put up seating along the back wall on the upper part of their concourse opposite the 7th Avenue exit.  It used to be a mess with people standing and sitting on the floor there.  Restrooms are still really small, but nothing much they can do there.

    They did put in new electronic train boards screens, but the process is still a huge cluster.  They don’t announce train assignments until like 5 minutes before departure and huge crowds still form to go down really narrow escalators.  I think it still has something to do with slots for trains returning from Sunnyside Yard, but it’s still a mess.

    My system worked perfectly.

    • If I’m taking the 1 (or 2 or 3) when I get to New York, I try to ride in the head of the train on the way there.  If I’m taking the A, C, or E, I ride in the rear.  Train pulled in, I was right near the up escalator.
    • On the way back from New York, I always use the furthest west escalator or stairway.  If taking New Jersey Transit, I never, EVER try to board from their concourse.  Most people are doing the same (see above).  Fewer people board NJ Transit trains from the Amtrak concourse (I wonder when I see obvious tourists if they’re even aware that it’s possible to do so).  Much easier to grab a seat.

    Taking the 1 instead of the N or R at 42nd Street meant a longer walk to the workshop from the Subway along 28th Street, but that walk underneath 42nd Street station is no fun.  It’s always very hot down there and the elevation changes a lot.  It wouldn’t be so bad if I were used to it, but since I’m not, no thanks.

    On the way back, I got pushed into the uptown 1 train but the person who pushed me in wasn’t ready for the wave of people getting off at 34th Street.  She dropped something, was searching for it on the floor and everything broke down.  Not a pleasant moment.  Hopefully she had things together by the time the train got to 42nd Street.

    The boards showing upcoming 1/2/3 departures are a great touch.  When I got to the fare area, the downtown 1 was 2 minutes away.  I knew how long I had to get my single trip and get upstairs.

    NYC Subway needs a card like Washington Metro’s SmarTrip card.  Touching a card to a reader is much easier than swiping.  For that matter, both systems need an app for fares.  NJ Transit has one that’s really good.  Buy the ticket, show the ticket to the conductor when he or she comes by, and that’s it (a QR code for their faregates at stations like Secaucus is part of the ticket).  You can even pay with PayPal

    Amtrak could use that too, if they’re going to be scanning tickets at boarding.  Let me just hold my phone out instead of needing an extra piece of paper.

  • NaBloPoMo – Day 14

    Day 14

    Already Alive

    If I came alive the last time I was at a writing workshop, this time, I was reminded how alive I already am.   And how alone I am not, both in life and in the writing.  Other writers there were thinking about and writing about some of the things that I’m thinking and writing about.  It’s good to get a fresh take and talk some things out, even if you get tripped up and tongue tide and unsure of yourself.  It’s all part of the process.

    Second person POV was one of the larger topics.  I’ve tried it only a few times and sucked, but given the samples that we read, it can be a delightful change of pace from the usual 1st or 3rd.  As I said in the workshop, I liked the particular distance that 2nd person offered.

    As an exercise, we had to write in second person about a birthday.  With no pressure, the writing flowed.  And the subject wasn’t one that should have been easy to write about.

    Details were the 2nd larger topic.  Which ones most serve the story, which ones need to be cut.  Or as it’s often discussed now in writer circles, “killing your darlings.”  In my practice, I’m going to work on tightening up my details, making them more specific, more concrete.

    I brought pen and paper and my Chromebook and ended up using both, pen and paper more for notes, and my Chromebook more for the actual writing.  It’s still weird often composing first drafts on a laptop, but it’s less weird than it was.  And I can always go back to the notebook whenever I feel like I need to.

    Just like last time, the rest of the prompts were good.

    One was to write a response to yesterday’s horoscope.  I’d never heard of that one before, but it’s one that I intend to use in the future.  That produced the hardest piece of writing, because of the subject.

    Another prompt, we used a song from a different time, to take us back to a time when we heard it, to produce details the song brought up in us.  That one was really fun.  We used the Nostalgia Machine.   We supplied the year and the leader supplied the songs.  I suggested 1985 for the year.  The song I ended up writing about: Everybody Wants to Rule the World.  I’m such a sucker for the 80s, still.

    I always enjoy these workshops and bootcamps.  I’m looking forward to the next.

    Also, I really need a regular class and a desk.

     

  • NaBloPoMo – Day 13

    Day 13

    Describe your ideal day off. What would you do with your time?

    —

    Sleep.
    Write.
    Eat.
    Write.
    Play video games.
    Watch the box.
    Watch stuff on Roku.
    Or take a train trip somewhere.

    peace

  • Five Things – 12 November 2015

    Five Things – 12 November 2015

    1.

    With everything going on over the last few days out in Missouri, this feels apt

    #standwithmizzou

    2.

    One of my old classmates from school, is running for Mayor of Baltimore.  Looking forward to seeing the details of her platform, but she did say some good general things outside of City.

    3.

    I like the Bills all-red uniforms.  I’m probably in the minority there.  I always seem to be when it comes to these different NFL and MLB uniforms.  I wish the Ravens would wear their all-blacks more often.  I wish the O’s would wear their oranges (and wear orange over orange sometimes) and blacks more often, too.

    4.

    The other day, the CEO at my job came over to my desk and asked me to help him get Dragon onto his MacBook.  I suggested he try Dragon on his iPad.  It was already there and therefore, free.  As it turns out, he did just that and had dumped his copy into Google Docs.  When I saw him this morning, he was asking how to get it into the office system to put it in Word to edit it.

    He says he’s writing a book, but doesn’t have the time.  I wonder if he knows he may have stumbled into the solution to his “no time” problem.  I heard last week there’s a book by a guy who dictates and puts out 5000 words a day.  At that rate, he’s probably writing 2-3 books a month.  If you don’t have time or if your interest is quantity, there you go.

    I always wondered if it was cheating if you’re dictating while really able to type.  It’s being discussed here: http://nanowrimo.org/forums/rules-regulations-and-other-minutiae/threads/253594

    I’m not there yet.  I like using Scrivener for Windows and Writebox for ChromeOS.

    5.

    Writing bootcamp this weekend.  I had a great time at the last one and I’m anticipating the same this time.  It’s worth it to be in the room with writers at varying stages — the workshop leader(s) who is/are already published, young, hungry writers, and even some of us older ones in different times of our careers.

    I love being in the room, the energy.  I love the writing without expectation except practice; the things that people in the group wrote last time were exceptional.  I was blown away.  I want to go to one of the readings soon, too.

    I want to get into a regularly meeting class, soon.

     

  • NaBloPoMo – Day 12

    Day 12

    If you had a personal assistant who would do your most dreaded tasks, which items from your to-do list would you assign out?

    —

    I think when people consider the answers to these, they think of things like laundry and cooking, but I like cooking.  I write while I’m doing laundry.  I keep my calendar on my phone.

    I can’t think of anything I’d delegate right now.  I imagine if I became as busy as the CEO of my job, I would need an assistant to keep everything sorted and in place, but I do a pretty good job of that right now myself.