Not Such Deep Thoughts, Part IV

Old berry has been busy lately and hasn’t had much time for blogging, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped thinking, and while I have a moment to breathe, I thought I’d share a few of those thoughts with you:

Once again, it’s a great time to be a Boston sports fan. The Bruins and Celtics are both in the playoffs, the Sox are cranking it up in a beautiful home stand with the Yankees, and Bill is knee deep in the NFL draft. It just doesn’t get any better then this.

I’m getting a little behind the curve in the yard care department, and although I’m beat down tired, I’m about to jump back into my role as Chauncey Gardener. There’s nothing that clears the mind like working in the yard on a beautiful spring day. Kneeling on the still damp ground while you get your hands dirty scooping wet, black soil around fresh plantings, the warm sun on your back as you commune with nature in a most intimate way, it's perhaps the best therapy money can’t buy.

I love jelly donuts, but they do not hold me in the same high regard.

I know that a lot of people think that printed newspapers have outlived their usefulness and are a dying breed, but I’m not one of them. While it’s true that most information today can be found online, and can also be downloaded to your iPod or Kindle for offline enjoyment, I would miss terribly the “sharing of the Sunday paper” ritual that’s been so much a part of my life. Passing around an e-ink display will just never measure up in the family bonding department. Perhaps a melding of the two technologies would prove both satisfying and profitable: a subscription to the daily news on a reader that included a once a week hard copy on Sundays. I’d certainly buy into that.


That is all.

On Bob Lobel

Being a Boston sports fan and being roughly the same age as him, Bob Lobel has been a constant in my life for quite a while, and I'm going to miss him. I first heard him on 'BZ radio when I was in my twenties, and he graduated to sports anchor just as I was starting my family. I spent a lot of time rocking babies while he filled me in on the world of sports.

I'm gonna miss him most on Sunday nights, though. Boston is unique in it's local sports coverage, if you're a sports fan and do any travelling at all you find that out fast, and Sports Final has given us some of the finest local sports moments ever. The show where he brought Ted, Bobby and Larry together and just let them talk.., genius.

Another reason I'll miss him is that he actually responded to his audience. I have a local sports memorabilia collection, and unlike now when the Pats and Sox are on top of their respective heaps, it used to be quite a challenge obtaining some of it. One of my "things" (as my wife likes to call them), is my collection of local players football and baseball cards, and the biggest challenge has been my collection of Pats QB's cards back to the start of the franchise. Preferably rookie cards, and autographed when possible. I was stuck on Zolack. I couldn't find any records as to whether he even had one, so I emailed Bob and asked him if he would find out from Scott the year and manufacturer of his rookie card. He responded the same day and said that not only would he find out, he would be surprising Scott and other guests by flashing their rookie cards on camera.

I remember telling a coworker the Friday before the show that Bob was going to be showing Zo's card and he rolled his eyes and said "yuh, riiiggghhht." Monday morning he was in my office asking me how I knew him. To this day he still doesn't believe that I cold emailed him and he responded. "Your wife knows him, right? Your uncle? Come on, give it up!"

That's how you build an audience of loyal fans.

So yeah, I'm gonna miss him. Like all of us, the man has had his ups and downs, and although everyone has a right to their opinions, it's been a little disheartening to see some of the personal comments people have made today. Like the guy or not, why would anyone jeer a man as he moves on to another phase of his life? I don't get it.

Thanks for all the memories, Bob. I hope you can take some time off to enjoy life with your family and friends. Just don't be gone for too long...