It is Time

It is time for me to begin. My life will encounter a new adventure come October. I will journey to Kathmandu, Nepal and began a new chapter as I have committed to living there for one year. No, I have not been there before, to answer the question on many tongues. And no, I will not be climbing Mt. Everest, to answer the question on the tongues of the rest of you. But I will be living amongst the people, learning their language, their culture, their beliefs. I will be tasting their food, walking their streets, all the while making an attempt to see the world through their eyes.
So it is time for me to begin. Bound For Other Ports will become your ticket to joining me in my grand adventure as I interact with the people of Nepal and learn the Nepali culture. Until my time in the States comes to an end, I will entreat you to my thoughts, fears, and excitement as I prepare for my journey. After that, it will be a journey into the hearts and souls of the Nepali people. A first-hand account of a country most people do not know exists, and certainly do not know where it is. So now I begin.

The Upside of the Downside

Its amazing what happens when people share their stories; simply enough, lives are changed. But too often we are afraid to share our stories. We feel that nobody wants to hear it, or that we will be scorned for our past failures and pains. We need to realize, however, that it prepares the way for others to change, for others to learn from their own past. The upside to the downside of our past is a changed life and a new beginning.

The House That Ruth Built

Its the last season for baseball at Yankee Stadium, so I made the hajj to the (other) Mecca of baseball. The list of names that have played there is a Who's Who of the Hall of Fame. Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Mantle, Berra, and I could go on. Now its the end of an era in a stadium chock full of history, great players, great games, and 26 World Championships (and they make sure you know it). Certainly the team will undoubtedly not falter with a new stadium, but it still will not be the same. I'm sure the voices of Bob Sheppard and Jim Hall will not even sound the same.

I expected Yankee Stadium to be a great, grand, and elegant stadium. The pictures give it a feel of grandeur with the lights surrounding home plate. Each individual light could be a spotlight for each great ball player of the past who has played at Yankee Stadium. The grass greener than a fertile valley. The field gracefully stretching 408 feet to dead center, guarded by the Bleacher Creatures in section 39.

My expectations, however, were not met. It was old. It was dirty. Eighty-five years of existence has taken its toll. The seats were tight, the Yankee blue faded through the years in the Bronx sun. The tunnels surrounding the stadium were even tighter. The concrete walkways painted with black gum spots. The pictures of the past World Championship teams faded hanging over the tunnel entrances. But I realized that is how I wanted it. Yankee Stadium couldn't be any other way. You could still see Babe Ruth hitting the first home run in Yankee Stadium against the demonized Boston Red Sox; Lou Gehrig announcing "Today I consider myself the luckiest man of the face of the planet"; Roger Maris hitting 61 in '61 (again against the Sox).

So the Bronx Bombers are getting a new playground next year. But I got to tell ya, it was a great day of baseball at their old one.

Death of a blogger...

So I realized that the last entry, well, it sucked. I will try harder next time. A fellow blogger buddy told me, however, that its the death of any blog to try to make it great. I just need to write. So I guess I won't try too hard.