The Cheap Seats

My son - like many millions of other Americans - is in the grips of Soccer Fever. Pardon me, Futbol Fever. This affliction, as predictable as Halley's Comet, comes and goes in the United States rather quickly every four years. As we are currently being repeatedly reminded, soccer/football is the most popular sport everywhere else in the world except here. And I think I know why. Cultural? Bah. Socioeconomic? Pshaw. American Exceptionalism? Give me a break. It's simple really: We are now - more than ever - a nation of nerds. Disclaimer: soccer/football is a great sport requiring incredible footwork, endurance, and heart. World-class players are among the best athletes on the planet. However..... Eternally soccer-mad nations are largely homogeneous. And that just isn't us. Ethnic one-dimensionality hasn't been a part of our history since the establishment of the Jamestown settlement. A multicultural nation such as ours has too many separate histories to...

Hello, my name is Eric - Hi Eric - and I am a binge-viewer. I am a weak, weak man. But I resolve here and now that I will not spend the summer binge-viewing television shows. Twice through all 80 Battlestar Galactica episodes is plenty. I mean it this time. So Say We All. No, I won't pretend I don't know Walter White's fate again. Yes, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was just as good the second time around, but once more would be a path to the Dark Side, right? Repeat with me: My queue is empty. My queue is empty. My queue is empty. That's all I have to share this week. Thanks Eric . I can imagine such a conversation taking place at a BVA (Binge-Viewing Anonymous) meeting in the basement of some local church. Adults circled up on ancient folding chairs, styrofoam cups full of lousy coffee, the Serenity Prayer half-heartedly recited. Very little eye contact is made among the addicts for the obvious reason that no one believes a wo...

For most of my life one thing has been a constant - the more memories I have collected, the more I have lost. Strangely, that trend seems to be reversing itself. Memories long buried seem to be resurfacing. What has begun bubbling up is turning out to be mostly pleasing, smile-inducing things I miss. Sure nostalgia colors most of these longings, but what else are memories for? Such as: Calvin & Hobbes - The best comic strip ever (sorry Charlie Brown) ended its 10-year run way back in 1995. Since then it lives on only in bookstores and school libraries, but has refused to fade away. Bill Watterson's brilliant depiction of a boy and his stuffed tiger is still fresh and insightful. And the cartoonist's staunch, principled refusal to license his creation is in stark contrast to the Schultz family's pimping of Peanuts to sell everything from life insurance to greeting cards to boxer shorts. Good grief!   Audio cassettes - I realize the compact ...

This Monday marks the 25th anniversary of my graduation from college - June 9, 1989. Other than loved ones' birthdays and holidays, it is the only date that I am consciously aware of year after year. The date is significant for two reasons: First, it was the end of an idyllic four years of my young life, Secondly, because 6989 has been a passcode or PIN number of mine for various accounts ever since (Hey, not all reasons are heavy with melodrama). Strange how  relative time can be. When we're pre-teens we can't imagine adulthood. When we are in our 20's we can't comprehend middle-age. Now that middle-age has arrived, becoming a septuagenarian seems impossible. But just like every other of life's benchmarks, that too shall come to pass. Still, I can wait. The U.S. Postal Service doesn't bring a lot of thrills anymore. Yesterday, however, was an exception. I received a letter from Eric Bergman. No, not me. It was from June 9, 1989  Me. On the morning ...

One of the largest egos to ever pass across the American stage belonged to U. S. Army General Douglas MacArthur. With a finely tuned sense of the dramatic, he addressed a joint session of Congress in April 1951 after being fired by President Harry Truman at a crisis point in the Korean War, stating (among other things) that "old soldiers never die, they just fade away."   In the months that followed, MacArthur seemed a sure bet to be the Republican candidate for President in 1952. He was that popular. The notion that an accidental President such as Truman could relieve one of the greatest living Generals from his Far East command offended many Americans. This sentiment was borne out in national polls - MacArthur's popularity skyrocketed while Truman's approval rating sank below 25% - an historic low that has never been eclipsed since. For months afterward the President said very little on the subject. Certain he would be vindica...