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Welcome to Jeff's Virtual Beach...my own little beach themed sandbox where I can learn a little more about how this Internet thing works and have something to do to keep me off the streets! The beach news will be listed below, so stop by anytime to catch the latest. And feel free to email by clicking the mail box in the lower right of the page.
2009...major spring cleaning The upcoming summer of 2009 seems to be a good reason to get this place back into shape. So most of the 2008 and before virtual leftovers are being tossed out, although a few of my favorites may work their way back in. Stop by and check it out when you have a chance. June 7, 2009 Winterthur...a nice way to spend a summer afternoon. We took my in-laws and were looking to keep walking to a minimum, and it worked out well. We started with Sunday brunch in the Visitors Center. While the primary parking area is up the hill a bit, a drop off area provides easy access. The brunch is a little pricey, but the food and atmosphere were very good, and the service was even better. After brunch, we picked up the garden tram just outside for a 25 minute narrated tour of the grounds, ending at the mansion itself. We had chosen not to do the guided house tour, but there is still much to see, starting with a short film on the history of the estate and a number of exhibits. We then took the shuttle back to the Visitors Center, finishing with cold drinks on the patio. April 13, 2009 Harry Kalas passed away on April 13, 2009. Harry had been the Phillies broadcaster since 1971, the year Veterans Stadium opened. I was 13. Before Harry, there was Bill Campbell and Connie Mack Stadium. I know I attended Phillies games at Connie Mack, and I know I listened to Bill Campbell, but I don't really remember either one. Phillies baseball meant Harry Kalas on the radio and games at the Vet. Mike Schmidt joined the Phillies at the end of the '72 season, had a terrible '73, and then a terrific '74. (I know the Phillies had a third baseman before Schmidt, but I don't remember him either.) From that point on, to me, Mike and Harry were forever linked...a great home run hitter and a broadcaster with a great home run call. Growing up, we played baseball nearly every day in the summer, and frequently wiffle ball when not playing baseball. Every kid was Mike Schmidt at the plate, and if we really nailed one, every kid became Harry Kalas to call it, "Swing and a long drive, deep left field, that ball's outta here! Michael Jack Schmidt!" Then you grow up and leave childhood things behind. But one winter evening in the late '80s, my wife and I were walking through the mall, and I heard this voice from behind me that meant summer and baseball, and it was like an electronic shock hit me. Without ever seeing him, I told my wife, "That's Harry Kalas." Sometimes you leave childhood things behind, and sometimes they leave you. In 1989, Mike Schmidt retired, and that was strange. In my world, he had always been with the Phillies, hitting home runs and throwing guys out by making bare handed grabs of slow rollers down the 3rd base line. And now Harry is gone. I still listen to the Phillies on the radio, probably more than I watch them on TV or see them at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are exciting, and the announcers are solid and professional. But there is just this almost indefinable something missing...a voice of summer and baseball, warmth and childhood.
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Links Matt Brown (old time fiddle music)
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