Semi-Annual Trip to Rockaway

You can check out my blog entry for April 2, 2006 since we did essentially the same thing today.  The only new thing was the Memorial to the victims of American Airlines Flight 587 which was placed at Beach 116th Street and the Boardwalk.  This flight crashed in the Rockaways on November 12, 2001.  Many relatives of the deceased wanted the memorial at the site of the crash, but it was built at Beach 116th Street which is a business rather than a residential area.

1964-65 Worlds Fair Revisited

Today we went to the Queens Museum which offered a tour of the site of the 1964-65 Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadows Park.  We started out in the Museum and walked over to the site of the New York State Pavillion. This structure is in disrepair but we met some people there trying to restore it.  There is a big map of New York State on the floor which is in very bad shape.  They received some start-up money from the National Endowment for the Arts, but millions of dollars will be needed to completely restore the building.  From there we walked over to the Hall of Science, another building that was contructed in 1964.  It brought back memories.

Today is Karen's Birthday

Karen was born 6 years and one day after me.  I remember that when I came to pick her up for our first date in August 1980 I saw a Taurus sign in her apartment.  At that point I knew our birthdays were just one day apart.  Today we celebrated by going out to Applebees fro dinner where we both drank Pina Coladas, a tradition that started on our honeymoon in Hawaii in October 1983.  A few weeks ago I sent Brian Matthew an e-mail making a request for our mutual birthdays.  You can download it at http://www.sendspace.com/file/n1j6od 

The Mets Won on My Birthday

The days turn into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years.  Where have all these years gone?  Today is my 58th birthday.  I am old enough to remember the oldies when they were current hits.  I even remember the first year of the Mets in 1962 and the first year of Shea Stadium in 1964.  It is hard to believe that big Shea will be gone in two years.  At least I spent my birthday doing something I enjoy.  We saw the Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 7 -2 with home runs by Ramon Castro, Damion Easley, and Jose Reyes.  We are able to see the new stadium being constructed right next to Shea.  Oldies radio enthusiast Alan B who had seats downstairs dropped by for a few innings.  Tomorrow is Karen's birthday.

Moment of Silence for Virginia Tech

Everyone was saddened to hear about the mass murder at Virginia Tech.  32 people were killed by a crazed gunman.  As time passes more details will be released.  This should especially saddened all who work on college campuses.  My condolences to the family and friends of those murdered.

Bad Rainstorm today

Ther was a bad Nor'Easter today which dumped over 5 inches of rain with heavy winds over the NYC area.  I just can't stay cooped up in the apartment so we walked very fast to the local multiplex to see "Are We Done Yet?".  What can I say?  A little water never hurt anybody.  The Met game at Shea was obviously rained out so at 4 PM we turned on the Yankee game at Oakland.  The Bronx Bomber were winning 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth.  Mariano Rivera gave up a three run home to Marco Scutaro with two outs to blow the save.  Well Din, your Yankees are not invincible.

Our first Met game of the season

We headed over the Shea today for the first time of the season to see the Mets play the Washington Nationals.  We met Alan B there who must be New York's greatest oldies radio enthusiast.  Anyway, the Mets didn't do too well against the lowly Nationals as they lost 6 - 2.  Losing picture Orlando Hernandex (El Duque) was ejected after he hit the opposing pitcher after givin up his third home run.  We'll be going again next Saturday.

Tags: New York Mets

Mets Win Home Opener 11-5

The oldies enthuiasts who read this blog should check out Breakfast with the Beatles at http://www.bwtb.net .  Today Dennis Mitchell is featuring Beatles songs less than 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Today was the penultimate opening day at Shea Stadium.  I had never attended an opener at Shea, but in 1983 I had jury duty which let out early on spening day.  That was the season that Tom Seaver returned to the Mets.  While I was waiting on the ticket line the game sold out.  Anyway, I was able to listen to the game on radio in my office from  1 PM to 2 PM while I was summarizing the transcript of the undergraduate focus group.  Pagebyrner, are you still reading?  Do you do focus groups.  Anyway from 2PM - 4 PM I was at the reference desk and was able to monitor the game from http://espn.com between reference transactions.   When I returned to my office at 4 PM the Mets had taken the lead 6-5 in the bottom of the 8th.  When I got home I found out the Mets broke it open and won 11 -5.

Mets Lose, Yankees Win

We knew that the Mets could not win all their games this season.  They lost to the Atlanta Braves 5-3 with Tom Glavine getting the loss.  However in the Bronx the Yankees came from behind to beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-7.  Jason Giambi hit a home run in the 8th to bring the Yankees to a one run deficit.  In the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs Alex Rodriguez hit a grand slam home run to win the game.  That is the type of performance that is expected from a man with a 252 million dollar contract.  Din, the only time I root against the Yankees is when they play against the Met.

 

Saturday Night Oldies was only on from 6 -7 PM since WABC was carrying the Ranger game.  I just went to http://www.reelradio.com which is a collection of old radio shows and am listening to a Washington, DC station from 1973.

We saw the movie Blades of Glory at the local multiplex.  Another dumb movie.

Successful Opening Day for Both NY Teams

I am off from work today and tomorrow for Passover.  I have the time so I may as well use it.  Last night the Mets with Tom Glavine beat the Cardinals 6-1.  Tom Glavine looked really sharp.  He needs to be consistent for the Mets to win the NL East.  Today the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-5.  Carl Pavano's performance was acceptable even though he allowed 4 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.  He made over $15 million by being on the disabled list for 1 1/2 seasons.  Most people don't earn that money in a lifetime.

Tags: New York Mets, New York Yankees, Baseball

Mets Opening Night in St. Louis

Tonight the 2007 baseball season starts for the Mets in St. Louis.  It is a long season and you never know what could happen.  There are many questions about the pitching staff this season especially with Pedro Martinez out until August.  I bought a 7 pack of tickets for the family plus two other games.

Today we saw the movie Reign over Me at the local multiplex.

Tags: New York Mets