The Bird

Mark Fydrich was born August 14, 1954 in Worcester, Massachusetts.  He played baseball for Algonquin Regional High School in nearby Northborough.  

In 1974, Fydrich was drafted by the Detroit Tigers.  In the minor leagues, one of his coaches dubbed the lanky 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher "The Bird" because of his resemblance to the "Big Bird" character on the popular Sesame Street television program.

Fidrych joined the Tigers spring training camp in 1976 and made the major league roster.  On May 15, Fidrych made his first start. He held the Cleveland Indians hitless through six innings and ended up with a two-hit, 2–1 complete game victory, with one walk and five strikeouts.

In addition to his pitching, Fidrych attracted attention in his debut for talking to the ball while on the pitcher's mound, strutting in a circle around the mound after every out, patting down the mound, and refusing to allow groundskeepers to fix the mound in the sixth inning.

  

On June 28, 1976, Fidrych pitched before 47,855 fans at Tiger Stadium and a national television audience in the millions, as the Tigers hosted the New York Yankees on ABC's Monday Night Baseball with Bob Prince, Warner Wolf, and Bob Uecker in the broadcast booth. Fidrych earned a 5–1 complete-game victory which took only an hour and 51 minutes. 

Fans would not leave the stadium until The Bird emerged from the dugout for a curtain call.   After the broadcast, which was filled with plenty of "Bird" antics, Fidrych became a national celebrity.

I was there that night at Tiger Stadium quietly rooting for the Yankees.  I remember one key moment when Fidrych struck out Yankee catcher Thurman Munson to end a New York rally.

Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA in 1976, won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19–9 record. Shortly thereafter, however, injuries derailed his career, which ended after just five seasons in the major leagues.

Cornell

Tomorrow, August 18, 2025, my grandson, Nate Gerstein, will move into his dorm room to begin his career as a matriculated undergraduate student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.  Best wishes, Nate!

Cornell University was named after its co-founder, Ezra Cornell, who was born in New York City in 1807.  In his early life, he travelled New York State as a professional carpenter.

Upon first setting eyes on Cayuga Lake (one of the Finger Lakes) and nearby Ithaca in 1828, Ezra decided that Ithaca would be his future home.

Cornell made his fortune in the telegraph business as an associate of Samuel Morse. Cornell constructed and strung the poles for the Baltimore–Washington telegraph line, the first telegraph line of substance in the U.S. 

To address the problem of telegraph lines shorting out, Cornell invented using glass insulators at the point where telegraph lines are connected to supporting poles. 

A lifelong enthusiast of science and agriculture, Cornell saw great opportunity in the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Acts to found a university that would teach practical subjects on an equal basis with the classics favored by more traditional institutions. Andrew Dickson White helped secure the new institution's status as New York's land-grant university, and Cornell University was founded and granted a charter through their efforts in 1865.

On Thanksgiving 1958 I had my first contact with Cornell University as a spectator at the annual Cornell-Penn football game at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.  Cornell won 19-7.

One of my teachers at Oswego High School was a graduate of Cornell University:  Jessie Fleischman (English).

In 1964 and 1966, as a Penn student, I travelled to Cornell University to attend the Cornell-Penn football game.  Penn lost both times.

The last time I was on the Cornell campus was in the early 1990s to acquaint my daughter Rachel with the University.

C O R N E double L,

Win the game and then ring the bell,

What's the big intrigue,

We're the best in the Ivy League,

Score the point that puts us ahead,

Knock 'em dead, Big Red

1, 2, 3, 4, who are we for,

Can't you tell, old Cornell

5

7 has always been my favorite number.  I was born on August 7.  

My father was born on September 7.  My mother was born in 1907.  My sister was born (and died) on November 7.  My daughter Rachel was born on December 7.

My brother Paul was born on May 17.  My brother Ted was born on October 17.

Perhaps 5 is also a lucky number for me.  I was born in a year ending in 5 (1945).  My sister-in-law Janet was born the same year.  

My daughter was also born in a year ending in 5 (1975).  My son Bret was born (August 15) in a year ending in 5 (1985) as was his wife Pam.

My wife Cristina was born on November 25.

I should also consider the number 9.  My grandson Nate was born on March 9.  My grandson Leo was born September 29.

Shawshank Redemption

 Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 prison drama film starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.  The latter was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, but lost to Tom Hanks in Forest Gump.

The film tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Robbins), who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murders of his wife and her lover, despite his innocence. Over the following two decades, he befriends a fellow prisoner, contraband smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding (Freeman), and becomes instrumental in a money laundering operation led by the prison warden.  Andy eventually escapes the prison with the help of Rita Hayworth and Raquel Welch.

After the escape, the film shows a scene I found very interesting.  Red (in prison for murder) goes up in front of a Parole Hearing Board.

• Parole Hearings Man: Ellis Boyd Redding (Red), your files say you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated?
• 
  
• Red: Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
• 
  
• Parole Hearings Man: Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society...
• 
  
• Red: I know what you think it means, sonny. To me, it's just a made up word. A politician's word, so young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie, and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
• 
  
• Parole Hearings Man: Well, are you?
• 
  
• Red: There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.

His parole was approved.

I sometimes wish I could talk some sense to myself when I was a young person.  I didn't commit a crime, but I made some stupid decisions that I thought at the time were correct.  As Red said, that version of me is long gone and this older version is all that's left.  

Paladin, Chapter 9

EXT. STREET - DAY

PALADIN exits Sheriff's office and walks to saloon and enters.

INT. SALOON - DAY

PALADIN enters saloon and sees POLLYANNA sitting at a table drinking with a young man.  They are in animated conversation.  PALADIN interrupts.

PALADIN: (speaking to POLLYANNA) Excuse me.  But, we need to talk.

JOHN HENRY: Hey, mister.  You're buttin in where you don't belong.  Shut up and be gone.

PALADIN: (ignoring JOHN HENRY) As I said, we need to talk.

JOHN HENRY stands up, glowering at PALADIN.  PALADIN slowly turns to face him.  Finally, POLLYANNA acts.

POLLYANNA: Hold it, JOHN HENRY, let me talk to the man and I'll get back to you real soon.  Please!

JOHN HENRY reluctantly leaves them alone.  PALADIN sits down.

PALADIN: Lady, you brought me here under false pretenses.  I'm trying to think what I should do for the money I'm not returning.  Any ideas?  

POLLYANNA: Kill BIG DAN and GRACE.

PALADIN: And why should I do that?  

POLLYANNA: Because I paid you.  I saw how you killed those two last night.  What's two more to you?

PALADIN: Maybe I should kill you instead. 

POLLYANNA: I think you'd rather fuck me than kill me.

PALADIN: If you aren't happily wed, why don't you get a divorce?

POLLYANNA: I'd lose half interest in a lucrative property, our cattle ranch.  

PALADIN: Then, there's the matter of CHARLES, who doesn't seem so amorous towards you.  

POLLYANNA: Oh, he acts different when we're alone.  Has to act that way when he's in front of GRACE, a worthless woman.

PALADIN: You're not helping me.  I'd like to do something for the money you paid me, but I'm having difficulty finding a solution.  I'm going to remain in town for maybe a couple of days.  You can find me at the hotel.  Try to come up with something.  

PALADIN departs saloon.

Typing

A typewriter is a machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectively.

The first commercial typewriters were introduced in 1874, but did not become common in offices in the United States until after the mid-1880s.  The typewriter quickly became an indispensable tool for practically all writing other than personal handwritten correspondence. 

It was widely used by professional writers, in offices, in business correspondence in private homes, and by students preparing written assignments.

Typewriters were a standard fixture in most offices up to the 1980s. After that, they began to be largely replaced by personal computers running word processing software. 

The QWERTY keyboard layout, developed for typewriters in the 1870s, remains the de facto standard for English-language computer keyboards.

In the summer of 1960, at age fifteen, with few options, I decided to attend summer school at OHS.  I chose two classes: world history and typing.

I knew that I could no longer submit hand written compositions for school work.  I needed to learn how to type.

I remember sitting in the first row by the door in the back of a room full of typewriters.  I also remember I was the only male in the classroom.  However, I failed to take advantage of such a favorable environment.  I never talked to any of my classmates.

I wasn't the best student, but I learned how to type.  I am typing this blogpost on my computer keypad without looking at the keys, something I learned how to do 65 years ago.   

Cataract

Two years ago, I visited an eye clinic for an annual checkup.  I was surprised when the doctor said that I was getting closer to needing cataract surgery.

Cataract is a medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision.  During surgery, the lens of the eye is replaced by a new and better one.

This year's annual checkup recommended cataract surgery now.  I found a surgeon I trusted.

My surgery took place on Wednesday, July 2nd.  I had to be there at 7 AM.  Luckily, the location was nearby.

I was put at ease when the receptionist, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist all spoke English.  A very kind nurse placed an intravenous in the crook of my left elbow.

When the anesthesiologist approached, I asked him to tell me when he would put me to sleep.  He said, "Now."

The next thing I remember is waking up from my more or less 30 minute operation.  I was carefully assisted to standing up (surgery was in a prone position), walking to the elevator and into our car for our return trip home at about 10 AM.

Cristina has greatly assisted me with the commencement of three weeks of required eye drops, starting with every four hours, but now every eight hours for another two weeks.

I noticed with the new lens that everything appears brighter and more colorful.  Blueberries are now very blue instead of just plain dark.  Good!