good talk

6 years ago I saw the first game of a Red Sox-Yankees series at Fenway Park with the Boston Ace Pedro Martinez going for the Red Sox. I had just gotten to town on the Greyhound and this of course was sold out. In such instances I've always been able to get in by getting "scalped" and paying more than face value, I don't care how much it costs I just want to get in. I had never been to Fenway before and naturally was all excited. As I was nearing the Park a guy approached me and offered to sell me a ticket and for a good price even. So I said "Sure" and bought it. At that time at Fenway they didn't have the machine that the ticket-taker can put the ticket into to check its authenticity, I just walked on in. Being all happy to be inside the fabled Fenway Park and to see a big game there I sat down, ah but after awhile a couple came over and one had a ticket for the same seat as myself. Another guy near me was in the same boat and the Head of Security for that Section approached us, he said,"I could ask you to leave but I won't, find another seat. So even though I had bought a counterfeit ticket I was still going to be able to see the game but I was shaken by the experience, hey selling a counterfeit ticket is about as serious a crime as passing counterfeit money, in both cases something of supposed value that you know to be phoney. To calm my nerves I went downstairs and bought a Foot-Long which I slathered with "Hot French Mustard"-----I felt like I had fire coming out of my nostrils. I went upstairs and was able to find a spare seat and had a really nice evening, All's Well that End's Well. 2 years ago this coming summer I was in San Diego and the Red Sox's Josh Beckett was going to go against the Padres' Jake Peavy and this was only the 3rd time in Major League History that two pitchers who were both 9-1 had opposed each other. This was of course a sell-out but I was able to get a ticket by paying over 3 times face value and luckily it wasn't counterfeit, ha, ha, the guy in Boston was an evil blonde whiteguy while the guy in San Diego was a decent blackguy. Not everybody was so lucky, I was talking to a ticketseller and he told me that the night before 400 people had tried to get in with counterfeit tickets (San Diego had machines to test validity) to the sold-out Red Sox-Padres game and all were turned away, bet that made their Evening. Recently C-Span did a Survey of 65 "Authorities" in Ranking the Presidents and I find their Results to be Suprising. They ranked Lincoln first and Washington second, anything that transpired under Lincoln would have happened anyway at around the same time even if Lincoln had never existed, that is that the South would be Suppressed and the Slaves Freed. The South fought like a Dog but still Lost, of the 13 Colonels on "Picket's Charge" on the 3rd Day at Gettysburg which is accepted by all as the South's last stab at winning the War, 7 were killed and 6 were wounded. Washington was a huge part of starting this Country off and was it's First President, it was successful then and it's successful at the present, I don't think this Country will have a lengthy Future but at least it has a an Impressive Past. Washington was easily the most important President, We didn't have to win the Revolution, we didn't have to have a Stable Democracy, described as "Cold and Aloof" that's what it took, he got this thing rolling. They've got Ulysses Grant at 23rd about in the Middle, Grant's always been regarded as a failure because he trusted his corrupt friends. Andrew Johnson they have at 41st, second to the last, he was a great man who wisely opposed punishment of the South that is a "Harsh Reconstruction," and was almost thrown out of Office, he committed Political Suicide for his Convictions. Our Political Leaders these days seem like a bunch of Greedy Pigs and rightly so. I wouldn't think Teddy Roosevelt to be 4th, Kennedy 6th, Reagan 10th although except for Reagan they were okay. The last such poll was in 2000, maybe these guys have been doing Strong Drugs in the Interim, I see no evidence that they haven't. Where are those Great Men of Yore? They Aren't Around Anymore.