The Baseball Hall of Fame

Each major sport has their own Hall of Fame and I had the chance to visit baseball's in Cooperstown, NY. I was in Rome, NY, accompanying my wife to Capitol Fest, a minor film festival. There was an afternoon my wife's afternoon was filled with movies, so I headed to the Hall. I remember driving east on Route 90, then exiting onto Route 28 south, then driving and driving through farmland, open fields, and rolling hills. Really beautiful countryside and after a while I start asking myself, where the hell is this place? After about 50 minutes of driving, civilization starts to emerge little by little. I stop at an intersection, take a left, then a right into downtown Cooperstown, and then the GPS announces I have arrived! I look up and there it is. Ok, I was expecting a monolith on the edge of town with 3000 parking spaces to accommodate the masses. Nope, just a regular building right in downtown. I find a parking spot and head in.

The Baseball Hall of Fame

I was impressed with the Hall as soon I stepped inside. It is three modern floors of well curated memorabilia. 

I'm sure many people want to know why is the Hall located in Cooperstown, NY?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Here are some of the Boston Red Sox contributions to the Hall.

I must have taken 60 photos at the Hall. Here is a small sample of them:

 

I was throughly impressed with this display!

There was a section dedicated to memorabilia from baseball themed movies. 

These two highly detailed figures of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams are made entirely of wood.

One of Norman Rockwell's most famous paintings is on display here, quite fitting for the subject.

Whoops!

There is a piece of incorrect information in this depiction of Yankee Stadium. Can you spot it? The clue is this photo was taken in 2016. I called over an employee and pointed it out to him. He looked at it and said he would look into having it fixed.

Everyone inducted to the Hall has their likeness imprinted into a bronze plate. I chose three Red Sox players.

I found this outside of the Hall. It gives perspective of the distance between the batter and pitcher.

The Norman Rockwell Museum

Living in Massachusetts has cultural advantages. We are lucky to have several high-caliber museums such as The Museum of Fine Arts, The Institute of Contemporary Art, and The Norman Rockwell Museum.

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) became famous for his paintings and illustrations of both the simple American life and hotly contested issues of the day.

From an early age, I was interested in his work. Rockwell was beyond talented when it came to conveying expressions in a subjects face. Not to mention the depth of detail in not only the subject, but around them as well.

The museum is located in bucolic Stockbridge, in the western part of the Commonwealth. Rockwell lived here for 25 years.

The Norman Rockwell Museum

"The Problem We All Live With"

The actual dress used for the above painting

Downtown Stockbridge, MA

Rockwell's chair and easel

Rockwell's studio

The Condo Kitchen Remodel

I was living the typical bachelor pad for 6 years before I started dating a women. She moved in and we lived there for almost another 5 years.

Now the pad had its perks, walking distance to downtown, close proximity to two major highways, and acceptable commute times. The pad also had glaring disadvantages, one deeded parking spot, 714 square feet, one bathroom with pink tiles from the 1970s, and cave-like lighting.

We made the decision to start looking for a non-bachelor pad with two deeded parking spots, more square feet, two bathrooms, and more natural lighting.

Living in the suburbs of Boston and attempting to find a decent home under $600,000 is quite a daunting task. Eventually after a year and a half and 8 towns later, we found a townhouse condo in the town we were living in.

We went to the listing and realized if we purchased this condo, it would require several major upgrades namely the kitchen, two bathrooms, paint job on two floors, shaved ceilings, and new recessed LED lighting throughout.

We purchased the condo and waited few years so as to have enough equity for the cost. We received 3 quotes and they were all about the same time and cost.


Here is the kitchen before the remodel...

and here is the kitchen after...

The kitchen now is far more functional with more counter space and the hood vent expels fumes outside. 

Los Angeles Door Tour Part V and Part III Update

The Doors were in downtown LA taking pictures for the, "Morrison Hotel", album. The day was December 17, 1969 and photographer Henry Diltz just finished taking pictures at the actual, "Morrison Hotel," on Stanhope Street. 

Needing the quench his thirst, Jim suggested they head to a bar in Skid Row. They popped into the, aptly named,  Hard Rock Cafe. Diltz photographed them drinking, hanging out, and interacting with the other patrons. The photos from Morrison Hotel were used on the front cover of the album and the photos from the Hard Rock Cafe were used on the inner sleeve and the back of the album.

Years later, The Doors received a call from two gentlemen in London asking permission to use, "Hard Rock Cafe", for a chain of restaurants. The rest is history. A side note; someone was smart enough to place The Doors star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of The Hard Rock Cafe.

Photo Source: The Selvedge Yard

Photo Source: The Selvedge Yard

This is what the Hard Rock Cafe looks like today.

In Part IV, I made it to downtown LA, but I went to the West end of 5th St, not the East end. Last time I did not have a rental car, this time I did. I plugged the correct address into my iPhone and drove there. As I was getting close, I started to look for a place to park. As I got closer and closer, I realized while looking for a place to park, I passed the location. No problem, I will just loop around, find a place to park, find the location, and walk back to the car I told myself. As I was driving and looking to find a place to park, I started noticing the condition of the neighborhood and the people who lived there. At this point, I made sure all the doors were locked. Unbeknownst to me, I was smack dab in the middle of Skid Row. Living in San Francisco for almost three years, I was exposed to extreme poverty, but this was on a level I had never seen. The only way I can describe the homeless people is walking dead. These were not human beings; only shells of their former selves. The streets were filled with detritus, filth, and homeless encampments. Was I in America or some Third World country that I was instantly transported to? I was in such shock, I abandoned my plan of getting out of the car in this battlefield and drove back to Hollywood (I know that sounds so bourgeoisie). 

South Broadway appears to be the main economic drag but its grittiness was still painfully apparent. South Main Street is the geographic line that separates west from east and the geography changes very quickly when you head towards the setting sun. 

What tales could the storefronts and architecture of Downtown tell from the last 100 years of its existence?

The second stop on the tour is Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana. This is the final resting place of Pamela Susan Courson, the longtime girlfriend of Jim Morrison. Although they were never officially married she insisted on the surname of Morrison. Jim, however, was married in an unofficial Celtic ceremony in 1970 to on-and-off girlfriend Patricia Kennealy. Interesting fact from the Park's website, Pam was listed to be buried in Pere-Lachaise with Jim. Unfortunately, the massive amount of red tape to transport a dead body to another country convinced the family to have her interred here. 

To say Jim and Pam's relationship was tumultuous is an understatement. Unfaithfulness and rampant drug use on both sides only fueled the passion of their 5 year relationship. No matter how bad it got between them, they also ended up back together...for the time being!

The influence of The Doors has reached into the popular culture of today. Two of the central characters of The Office are named Jim and Pam. I submit any two names could have been chosen, but it was decided on these. 

Other notable people who are buried here are Leo Fender, Bob Nieman, who is the only MLB player to hit consecutive home runs in his first two major league at-bats, and C.J. "Pappy" Hart, who has been credited with starting the sport of drag racing. 

To say Jim and Pam's relationship was tumultuous is an understatement. Unfaithfulness and rampant drug use on both sides only fueled the passion of their 5 year relationship. No matter how bad it got between them, they also ended up back together...for the time being!

The influence of The Doors has reached into the popular culture of today. Two of the central characters of The Office are named Jim and Pam. I submit any two names could have been chosen, but it was decided on these. 

Hello from Live Fast, Look Good!

Hello,

Well, it's been some time since I wrote my last blog post. It was almost four years ago on May 26, 2016.

A lot has happened in those four years! I should have been posting experiences as they occurred. I pulled the old, "I never have time to blog", excuse. This does not fly in this house especially when my better half is a prodigious blogger, podcaster, and online writer.

So being confined in the condo due the Coronavirus has given me plenty of time to catch up on blogging and the other tasks, "I never have time for". A lot of cleaning, organizing, filing, and online classes have filled the hours.

Some of the posts you will recognize from my Instagram and some posts are completely new. I hope you enjoy these experiences as much as I have!


Fast Eddie