I've always enjoyed sports. That is, I've enjoyed participating. My two brothers and I would play baseball every day in the summertime when we were young. And we were highly competitive. To the point where we hated to ever lose.
I remember a time when the three of us were visiting our grandparents in Gresham, Wisconsin one summer. We were there long enough to get to know the teenagers in the small town. A number of them gathered on the ballfield each day and would get up a game. They were kind enough to let us join in. One particular day the Fuhrmans were all on the same team, in a close game, when a controversial play occurred.
I was at bat. In came the pitch. I hit the ball; a slow dribbler down the first base line. The ball first rolled foul, but then veared back into fair territory. The first baseman picked up the ball, put the tag on me, and I was declared out. By everyone there except the Fuhrman boys.
We argued that, because the ball had gone foul before it rolled fair, it was a foul ball. The opposing team disagreed. An argument ensued, a rather heated one I must admit, resulting in the cessation of the game amid a lot of shouting.
Now I know a lot of you out there are saying to me, "Jerry, you and your brothers were wrong. You were out."
The fascinating aspect of this story is that we agreed that I was out too. But we didn't say that during the game. It was only as we were walking back to my grandparents home that we determined that we were all in agreement that we had been arguing in favor of what we knew was a bad call.
And then we laughed. That's how competitive we were back then.
I could mention too, the fistfight that I got into with Mike Jones after a football game (I was about 14 at the time, he was 16 and twice my size; not smart). I was a really sore loser and picked the fight with him mostly because he was on the winning team. He proceeded to beat the stuffin' out of me. Now, how smart was that? But I'll not dwell on this...
I reveal this only to give you an idea how much I love sports - and work to win.
Oddly enough, as much as I enjoyed playing baseball, football, basketball, tennis, etc., I hate watching any of it on television. I'm just not much of a spectator. It bores me. I gave up watching baseball years ago; I never watched basketball except perhaps college playoff games; and I rarely sit through a football game these days. After all, I've only so many days left...
Anyway, Virginia Tech crushed Maryland last night, for those of you who follow such things.
Virginia Tech scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes and cruised to a 55-6 win before 65,115 at Lane Stadium. Maryland's loss, its worst since 2000, eliminated the Terps (4-6, 2-5 ACC) from bowl contention ...
For the life of me I don't understand what the Democrats in this state find so appealing about tourism. Congressman Boucher (D-Abingdon) made it his only campaign issue. And won reelection on Tuesday I might add. And now I hear that our Governor - Mark Warner (also a D) - is happily promoting tourism as the cure-all for our problems here in southwest Virginia. Referring to a new privately funded initiative called the Fiber Arts Guild, staff reporter for the Bland County Messenger Stephanie Porter-Nichols writes:
If successful, the shop would mesh with Gov. Mark Warner's plan to create an arts and crafts trail in Virginia similar to The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. This driving route, which features bluegrass, country and gospel music sites from Floyd to far Southwest Virginia, was designed to enhance the economy by focusing attention on this region’s abundant music resources.
I swear to God, I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. I've looked high and low for studies on how much incremental revenue these two geniuses think tourism is going to bring into the area. I haven't found them. If a report exists (and I have my doubts), I'll surely post it so that we can all get a chuckle.
Look, I have nothing against tourism. In fact there are a number of citizens in this part of the country that make a decent living off of people that come here to look at our leaves and rocks. My guess is there will be several that will benefit from a government initiative to bring music lovers here as well. But unless Mark Warner or Rick Boucher can convince Dolly Parton to move to Max Meadows and change its name to Dollywood, the number who will benefit won't be more than several.
But nobody has ever called me closed minded when it comes to new ideas. I'll even go so far as to support a test of their tourism initiative. I hereby suggest that both Boucher and Warner come down to Bland at their earliest convenience. They can put on their blackface makeup and antebellum garb; one can strum the banjo while the other does the Virginia Reel and sings, "Mammy." I'll volunteer to count the proceeds.
That is what they are expecting us to do, after all. While our decent, hard-working neighbors are out trying to make ends meet at the same time that other neighbors are watching their textile mill jobs and coal mining jobs and furniture factory jobs disappear, our governor and congressman ask that we form one big long chorus line, grin, and entertain their tourist friends from up north. And hold a tin cup out should they wish to toss us a few coins in appreciation.
What we need here are employers. What America's corporations need is incentive. What the politicians can provide is tax incentive. And a modicum of protection. Rather than take our precious income and confiscate a sizeable portion of it for state and federal taxes, only to return a piece of it so that we can build a "pickin' and grinnin'" booth somewhere along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Boucher and Warner should create conditions such that America's leading corporations will want to come here to take advantage of a lucrative tax structure.
It worked wonders with the maquiladoras in Mexico, for God's sake. Why not lure the same businesses here?
