Mets 6 Cardinals 2 in My First 2018 Game at Citi Field

This is likely the first time I attended a baseball game in March as the season began a few days early this year.  We usually go on the first weekend of the season, so this year was no exception. Jacob de Grom who cut his hair in the offseason was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  He was sharp as he allowed 1 run and 4 hits with 7 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.  Home runs by Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d'Arnaud led the hitting attack as the Mets won 6-2.  This is the first time since 2013 that they won their first two games of the season.

The only problem was that relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak left the game with a sore left oblique.  Hopefully, this is a minor injury as I don't want to see the team decimated by medical problems as it was last season.

Game recap

Mets and Yankees Win on Opening Day Saddened by the Passing of Rusty Staub

Very early this morning Rusty Staub passed away in Florida at the age of 73 in Florida.  I am sure that all baseball fans and players who knew him were greatly saddened today.  There is so much that can be said about him but I am going to refer my readers to a biography of him written by SABR member Norm King.

Mickey Calloway made his managerial debut at Citi Field as the Mets beat the Cards 9-4.  Noah Syndergaard stuck out ten to lead the Mets to victory.  Yoenis Cespedes led the hitting attack by driving in three runs.  I wish the Mets could have openers every game as their record is 37-12 on opening days since 1970.  It is a long season and anything can happen over the next 161 games.

Game Summary

In Toronto, the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 6-1 in a game featuring two home runs by Giancarlo Stanton and an excellent pitching performance by Luis Severino.  The Yankees could run away with the AL East, but its a long season.

Game Summary

Happy 30th Birthday to Lee

Where did all these years go?  March 28 is Lee's 30th birthday.  He is wearing his Wheel of Fortune t-shirt as he is the family's champion of this game show.  He is looking forward to the start of baseball season which will be on March 29.  He shares his birthday with my friend Herb Hollander.

Random Comments of the Day

I just I haven't posted random comments in a while so here goes:

• Radio personality Don Imus is retiring this week after 40+ years in radio.  I never cared for his style of radio, but he certainly had an impact.  Back in 1977-78 while I lived in New London, CT, he had a big following there as WNBC come in loud and clear about 120 miles away from NYC.
• Today for the first time since I retired from NJIT I ate lunch at Subways.  All of them are pretty much the same.
• Lee hears his favorite Bob Dylan song, Tangled up in Blue, on WFUV this morning.
• I am looking forward to Opening Day this Thursday.

We Saw A Bronx Tale for Lee's Birthday

Every year we take Lee to see a Broadway show for his birthday (March 28), so this year he picked A Bronx Tale.  It is a streetwise musical that takes place on the stoops in the Bronx in the 1960s where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he'd love to be.  It was a movie released in 1993 that starred Robert De Niro.  That film was adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name.  The musical opened at the Papermill Playhouse in February 2016 and the moved to Broadway.

Bob Dylan's Never Ending Tour Resumes in Lisbon, Portugal

I just checked Bill Pagel's Boblinks page and found out that the Never Ending Tour has resumed.  Dylan will be 77 years old in May and he keeps going.  Here is the setlist:

Lisbon, Portugal Altice ArenaMarch 22, 2018

1.	Things Have Changed (Bob on Piano)
2.	It Ain't Me, Babe (Bob on Piano)
3.	Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on Piano)
4.	Simple Twist Of Fate (Bob on Piano)
5.	Summer Days (Bob on Piano)
6.	Make You Feel My Love (Bob on Piano)
7.	Honest With Me (Bob on Piano)
8.	Tryin' To Get To Heaven
9.	Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Bob on Piano)
10.	Pay In Blood (Bob on Piano)
11.	Tangled Up In Blue (Bob on Piano)
12.	Soon After Midnight (Bob on Piano)
13.	Early Roman Kings (Bob on Piano)
14.	Desolation Row (Bob on Piano)
15.	Spirit On The Water (Bob on Piano)
16.	Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on Piano)
17.	Why Try To Change Me Now (Bob center stage - no harp)
18.	Love Sick (Bob on Piano)
	(encore)
19.	Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on Piano)
20.	Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on Piano)

Snow, Snow Go Away

I wouldn't mind so much if this were January or February, but on March 21 we shouldn't get 8 - 12 inches of snow.  The weather forecast stated that the storm will intensify over the next few hours and may not end until about 5 AM.  Since the days are longer in March, the snow will melt quicker, but not instantaneously.  It is hard to believe that open day at Citi Field is in 8 days.  I am sure the groundskeepers will get the field in shape.  Our first game is on March 31.  I hope I won't have to wear my winter coat to the game.

Monday at the Jewish Museum

According to records kept in this journal the last time I visited the Jewish Museum was in August 2015.  So, I thought it was time for a return visit.  The exhibits I saw were:

• Marc Camille Chaimowicz: Your Place or Mine - a cross-disciplinary work in painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, installation, furniture

• Scenes from the Collection - the was the entire third floor which included nearly 600 works from antiquities to contemporary art, many of which are on view for the first time at the Museum

Record and CD Fair at the Watson Hotel on West 57th Street

Today I made a return trip to the Watson Hotel on West 57th Street for a Record and CD fair that is held there monthly.  Since I was there 6 months ago I thought it was time to come back as the vendors and selection of music changes.  Here is what I bought:

• A Tribute to Bob Dylan - covers of his songs by various artists
• Willie Nelson - City of New Orleans
• Roseanne Cash - Hits 1939-79
• Neil Diamond - Dreams
• Sam & Dave - The Very Best of
• Beatles - The Acoustic Submarine (I don't know if these are covers of Beatles songs by other artists)
• Spyro Gyra - Wrapped in a Dream
• Santana - Supernatural
• Neil Young - Unplugged

All the CDs above cost me $30

One of the vendors even remembered me from my September visit.

Ed Charles of the 1969 Mets Passes Away at 84

It was announced yesterday that "The Glider" Ed Charles of the 1969 Mets passed away at his home in East Elmhurst, Queens.  We have already lost several members of that famous team:

• Tug McGraw
• Tommy Agee
• Cal Koonce
• Don Cardwell
• Danny Frisella
• Gil Hodges

A few other members of that team are facing health issues, but it is almost 50 years since that "miracle."

Sometime in the early to mid 1980s I met Ed Charles in Flushing Meadows Park.

• Obituary in the New York Times
• Biography from SABR Bioproject

So Much to See at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I did a search of my journal and read that I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art on February 20, 2017.  Since it was just over a year since I was there, I thought it was time for a return visit.

I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but since the museum is so large it is so difficult to absorb everything observed.  There was art in many different formats and from almost every corner of the world.  I think it would really take 2 or 3 days to examine everything.  Thus my observations today was very cursory.

I was impressed by this exhibit - Thomas Cole's Journey: Atlantic Crossings.  Cole is a landscape painter who lived from 1801-1848.  The highlight of the day for me was seeing Washington' Crossing the Delaware painted by Emanuel Luetze.  My cell phone photo is below.

I found at through Facebook that my fellow recent NJIT retiree Bill Reynolds was at the Whitney Museum downtown,  Inevitably, our paths will cross at another museum.

I Bought Tickets for 10 Met Games Today

It was a cold and blustery morning, but I drove over to Citi Field and bought tickets for 10 games this season.  If I bought them online I would have had to pay a $5/ticket service charge, so I saved $150.  They are all in section 514 which is the upper deck behind home plate.  I will likely go to several weekday afternoon games and try to meet up with some of my retired Facebook friends.  For the first time, I will be going to a game in March, so I am really hoping that the weather warms up by then. 

I Bought Tickets for Paul Simon at Madison Square Garden in September

In February I reported in this journal that Paul Simon is retiring and will give a farewell tour with the proceeds going to charity.  He will be "Homeward Bound" as he will be performing at the Prudential Center in Newark and at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in September.  Today I bought tickets for the MSG show on Friday, September 21.

I paid about $100/ticket, but I was annoyed that Ticketmaster wanted $23/ticket as their fee.  There is no choice but to pay the fee as one can't go to the box office.

I doubt that Art Garfunkel will not be there with him at all since he has been having problems with his voice.  I also sense that Paul and Art are not on the best of terms. Maybe I'll be surprised that night.

17 Days Until Opening Day

Opening Day at Citi Field is Thursday, March 29.  I am not complaining that the date was moved up, but I am hoping that the weather won't be cold when there is a ball game.  As of now, we will be going to Game 2 on March 31.  Later this week I will go over to the box office at Cit Field to buy tickets for about 10 games for the family.  Likely, I will go to several weekday afternoon games and ask through Facebook is there anyone there that I know.  I have met several people for the first time at the ball park.

Museum by Donovan and Herman's Hermits - Appropriate Oldies

Recent NJIT Retirees Like to Visit Art Museums - MOMA PS1

For many years I have observed the MOMA PS1 building from the #7 line by the Court Square stop, but I was never there.  Earlier this week when I visited MOMA on West 53rd Street I found out that visitors could go to MOMA PS1 for free within 14 days.  So, how could I go wrong by going there today?

Here is a list of the exhibits that I viewed:

• Carolee Schneemann: Kinetic Painting
• Cathy Wilkes
• Maria Lassnig: New York Films 1970–1980

It is really a small world when I encountered Bill Reynold who also recently retired from NJIT.  He worked in Instructional Technology/Media Services.  He actually came to the museum from Randolph, NJ which got about 2 feet of snow.  I follow him on Facebook and observe that he does a lot of traveling.

Bill Reynolds

Best Wishes to Mike Seidman for a Full and Speedy Recovery

Bonnie Watson Pope reported on the Forest Hills High School, 1960-75, Alumni Page that Mike Seidman suffered a stroke while visiting a friend in south Florida.  He was not paralyzed but suffered a serious clot in his leg.  He underwent several surgeries and is on the road to recovery, but is still in the hospital.  I am sure that I speak for everyone in wishing a full and speedy recovery for him.

Mike and I graduated from Forest Hills High School (FHHS) in 1967.  He didn't know him very well back then but we reconnected in the late 1990s through an AOL folder of FHHS alumni.  We both joined a similar Facebook group about 10 years ago.  He and I organized a small reunion of FHHS 1967alumni that was held at Ben's Deli in Manhattan last October.  I took the photo seen above at that reunion.

Visit to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

Today I visited the Museum of Modern Art for the first time in many years.  Its collection includes over 200,000 works of modern and contemporary art over 6 floors.  The exhibits that I saw today included:

Tarsila do Amaral: Inventing Modern Art in Brazil

The Photography of Stephen Shore from the 1960s until today

Thinking Machines: Art and Design in the Computer Age, 1959–1989

Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978–1983

The highlight of the day was seeing Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

Please Keep Politics Out of Funding New Hudson River Tunnels for Railroads

Senator Schumer Fights

For New Yorkers

There is a desperate need for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River as the two already there are over 100 years old and were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Also, the number of New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains using these tunnels has increased dramatically. There are long delays caused by problems almost every day.  This new tunnel would have been completed but 8 years ago Fatso (former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie) refused to allow its construction.

This Gateway Project was supported by the Obama administration who was willing to share the cost among New York, New Jersey, and the federal government. The "beloved" President of the United States has encouraged Republicans not to vote to fund this project.  As stated in the New York Times there is an antagonistic relationship between Trump and Senator Chuck Schumer since the Senator has blocked or delayed presidential nominations to key posts.

It is very sad that local and regional commuters are caught in the middle of a very bitter political fight.  The Gateway Project is very badly needed to ensure reliable service.  Please keep politics out of it.

Thank Goodness I Didn't Have to Go to Work Today

There was a big Nor'Easter in this region today.  I think most of the rainfall came overnight, but at about 12 noon I went outside to get a pizza and the winds were very strong.  My umbrella did not survive the storm.

This morning I received emails stating that there were delays on the #7 train.  I still subscribe to the Delayed on New Jersey Transit Group on Facebook.  Many posters reported horrific delays on the trains caused by downed power lines near Secaucus.   25 years and 3 months of transit delays were enough.  I did some reading, watch a movie on a DVD, but did not have to go on the #7 line or New Jersey Transit.  This is one reason I like retirement.

Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Sam Cooke at the Paley Center

I think I have visited the Paley Center almost once a week since I have retired.  Lee came with me today as he wanted to see his buddy, Elvis Presley.  We found his 1968 Comeback special in their vast collection of the history of TV and Radio recordings.  After that, he wanted to see the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Yours truly actually watched those show before Lee was a gleam in my eye.  We saw the shows from:

• February 9, 1964
• February 16, 1964
• February 23, 1964
• September 12, 1965 - this show also featured Soupy Sales doing the Mouse.

We actually fast forwarding through those 3 shows and only viewed the appearances by the Fab 4.

We found the first show of Shindig in September 1964 which featured Sam Cooke singing Blowin' in the Wind.