A hostel tends to take on the demeanor of its staff. I use them whenever possible when traveling because of the ease with which one can meet people, because they promote things to see in the area that really appeal to me, and because they are cheap, which makes sense when you’re not going to be staying in your room.
The hostel in Minnesota was the most hostile place I’ve come across. It’s desk man gave me a cursory tour with instructions that came off more as admonishments, and with preemptive admonishments that made me wonder how many people had indeed used the staff fridge without asking.
Later, the only person in the common room commented that it must be great for him to get to live there and get paid for it, and he responded that that was why he drank. He apparently is always getting asked questions when he’s not on the clock, so when his shif is over, he hides and gets blitzed. His words. He was pretty tight with his social currency.
Minnesota and I didn’t get off to the best start. My private room was more like a closet. Not in terms of size, but in terms of location. It was situated so that I had to go through the large common room to get to it. Not that I mind, but I thought the people staying in the room might think it was obnoxious. That they might hold my ostentations display of wealth against me. I was sure they’d decide that I was an elitist, and therefore should not be invited out to drink. I thought I would be spending social currency I hadn’t intended to.
The idea of social currency comes to me from Alex. The hostile worker got me of to a poor start with Minneapolis, but my interaction with Alex made for a strong finish. Fast forward forty hours.
I had returned my bike, packed up and strapped on my bag, and was left with five hours to finish off Minneapolis. I passed several coffee shops before finding the right one in which to caffienate and finish writing my Minnesota blog post. In a seat by the window, I carefully chose words to express how superior the Walker Museum of Modern Art and Target Field are to their New York counterparts. (Yes, I said that.)
My eyes drifted toward the window though I was focused only on the correct word cyhoice to describe the effect of the evergreen trees growing beyond the center field fence when a young man with mutton chops walked--almost skipped---let’s just say flew past the window, either adjusting his jacket or dancing, wearing an expression of pure joy. It was beyond a smile, it it wasn’t a beam, it was a wave energy that was noticed, and commented on, by people in the café sitting further from the window than I was. It was unabated and easily mockable, but I instead thought I wouldn’t mind having some of whatever it was that he was riding on.
Wigh three and a half hours left, I packed up, not having satisfactorily completed the post, leaving it to be edited and finished at some point over the six hour bus trip that lay ahead. Ten blocks closer to the train station, I saw the grinning hipster smoking outside a restaurant I’d admired earlier. I had talked to enough people in Minnesota. I was going to let it go, when he started talking to me.
He explained how he is a lone wolf, how is boss complimented his vision, how he was really from St. Paul. I asked him how he wants to change the world. It’s not the type of question I’d even ask of a close friend, but it proved to be the right one. Alex, a teacher of math and chess, wants to reform education. I told him I was a teacher too. He told me he knew there was a reason he had needed to talk to me. He offered to buy me a drink. I had time to spare, and had I refused, I would have been being too frugal with my own social currency.
The reason he likes baseball is the duel between the pitcher and the hitter. He likes the meeting of minds, each trying to make the other make a mistake (This may be the most chess-like aspect of baseball. My words.) However, his favorite sports are football, MMA, and couples ice skating. He was not being funny or ironic. He explained himself and it makes sense. The place was trendy. It looked like it could have opened in New York a few years prior, but the bartender was lacking social currency. It was clear that she was interested in only one kind of currency.
I asked the bartender to put his next drink on my tab, and he refused to let there be a tab in my name. He was the host, he wanted to treat, and he didn’t think I should take away his opportunity to buy me a meal and some beers.
I told him that he didn’t understand. I had given myself rules for the trip, and that I still had not fulfilled my rule wherein I would do one nice thing for someone I didn’t know. I didn’t tell him at the time, but I was starting to feel like that wasn’t the case. I knew this guy. I know this guy.
At that point I decided to tell him that I had seen him earlier that evening. He just about fell out of his chair. He said he remembered waling by the café, happy about his new jacket, and thinking that he did not care what it looked like, he was going to smile as big as he could, because you know what, a smile is a windfall of social currency, and that he would smile that smile, because it would start a ripple effect that would make more people have as good a time as he was having.
I said he had just tested and proved his own theory. Someone said you don’t find friends, you recognize them. I had been lying all week. I had told everyone I talked to that I didn’t have any friends in Minneapolis, but that I wasn’t going to let that stop me from visiting. The natives all appreciated that comment. I think it just had a lot of the right kind of social currency.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Trees as High as a Batter's Eye
It’s a good thing this trip isn’t about baseball. If it were about baseball, It would have hit its peak on its first (second?) day. On this day, I found Target Field, which must be the best baseball stadium in use right now, and on this day, I saw a 10th inning walk-off home run. It was the first walk-off hit at Target Field, and for Jim Thome, it was the shot that tied Babe Ruth’s record for the most walk-off home runs in history. It’s a good thing this isn’t about baseball.
What it is about is meeting people in different places and learning more about them, and about their city, through baseball. Spending time in Minneapolis has shown me that this city is meticulously planned. It isn’t a large city, but its streets are spacious and it is easy to get around.
In New York, we tend to think that New York has the best of everything, in particular art, architecture, beauty, money, and fashion. The people of Minneapolis aren’t going to take fashion away from New York, but a visit to the Walker Museum of Modern Art has me thinking that all of the other categories are up for grabs. It is a more modern building than the MOMA, which commissions more artwork than anywhere else in the country, and displays it in a space that is as eye-catching as the Guggenheim, but which provides a perfect setting for installations to be appreciated. It has always seemed to me that the Guggenheim has overshadowed every piece of art I’ve ever seen there. The MOMA, even in its new space, hasn’t got enough space for everything it wants to hang. The Walker is more advanced, architecturally, technologically, and conceptually. It does not presume that its visitors know and love art when they enter. It ensures that they do by the time they leave.
I am surprised that I’m as impressed by Target Field. It manages to pay respect to the team’s past without trying to recapture it. It eschews the trend of building a stadium that looks and feels like a baseball stadium of the early 20th century. It is firmly planted in the 21st, and it indeed may come to define ballparks built in this era. Steel and glass live side by side with wood and concrete, and in center field, a row of evergreen trees incorporates the timber of Twins country. While ivy grows on the wall in Wrigley Field and Citizens’ Bank Park, These trees--which now stand ten feet taller than the center field fence, will eventually grow to be as high as the second-level concourse behind it.
What it is about is meeting people in different places and learning more about them, and about their city, through baseball. Spending time in Minneapolis has shown me that this city is meticulously planned. It isn’t a large city, but its streets are spacious and it is easy to get around.
In New York, we tend to think that New York has the best of everything, in particular art, architecture, beauty, money, and fashion. The people of Minneapolis aren’t going to take fashion away from New York, but a visit to the Walker Museum of Modern Art has me thinking that all of the other categories are up for grabs. It is a more modern building than the MOMA, which commissions more artwork than anywhere else in the country, and displays it in a space that is as eye-catching as the Guggenheim, but which provides a perfect setting for installations to be appreciated. It has always seemed to me that the Guggenheim has overshadowed every piece of art I’ve ever seen there. The MOMA, even in its new space, hasn’t got enough space for everything it wants to hang. The Walker is more advanced, architecturally, technologically, and conceptually. It does not presume that its visitors know and love art when they enter. It ensures that they do by the time they leave.
I am surprised that I’m as impressed by Target Field. It manages to pay respect to the team’s past without trying to recapture it. It eschews the trend of building a stadium that looks and feels like a baseball stadium of the early 20th century. It is firmly planted in the 21st, and it indeed may come to define ballparks built in this era. Steel and glass live side by side with wood and concrete, and in center field, a row of evergreen trees incorporates the timber of Twins country. While ivy grows on the wall in Wrigley Field and Citizens’ Bank Park, These trees--which now stand ten feet taller than the center field fence, will eventually grow to be as high as the second-level concourse behind it.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Ghosts are Out...For Now
Although the trip technically started last night, it still felt hypothetical. I've been to Yankee Stadium enough that it seems normal. I might as well have been going to work the next day. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the following night I'd be seeing a different game in a different city, in an even newer stadium.
Cosmo from New York, in addition to having one of the best Yankee tattoos I've seen, agrees with me that the new Yankee Stadium feels like home. Neither of us were prepared to love it as much as we do. Having grown up in the old Yankee Stadium, I was prepared to miss it every time I stepped into the new one, feeling forlorn over lost youth and fading memories.
Cosmo, who I met at the game last night, but who happens to have grown up minutes away from me, said the reason he likes baseball is because it’s something that has united the generations of his family. He still watches games with his grandmother and his father, and it is something that has not only brought them closer together, but hearing them talk about the players they had seen in their youth has made him feel closer to, and better understand, the history of his family and his country.
As it turns out, It wasn’t hard to find people who think there are better places to watch baseball gaes than my beloved house of hardball, the new Yankee Stadium. I’m used to Mets fans comparing it unfavorably to Citi field. I wouldn’t expect any diferent from them. Mets fans hate. It’s not their fault. Most of them were born into it.
But last night, a Yankee fan wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates jersey (This may make him just a half a Yankee fan) told me that the Pittsburgh stadium is better. His explanation led me to believe that he's talking about the surrounding area, and not the stadium itself. His description had Alex and me looking forward to our visit there next weekend, but it didn't go so far as to persuade me that he truly believed the stadium itself is better. I'll see for myself soon enough. (He said the reason he likes baseball is because of its continuity.)
A Tigers fan said that Comerica park is more fan-friendly. His explanation led me to believe that it’s more non-fan friendly, as he cited the ferris wheel, the speed pitch game, and the kids’ zone as evidence. It seems to me that those things are there for the people that don’t want to watch the baseball game. In my eyes, it’s a credit to the house that George built that no matter where you are, the focus is on the game.
Both of them agreed that the White Sox’ stadium is the worst, though. I can believe that. I’ll get to see for myself soon enough.
As much as I love that stadium, I will allow all the others, and the fans therein, to persuade me otherwise. Last night’s game could be seen as a sign that it may be a good time to take a pause from the pinstripes. With no offense to speak of, two injuries sustained by all-stars and two double plays caused by our captain, it was evident that the ghosts were not in the house last night. Perhaps they’ve flown somewhere else for a while, just as I have.
Tonight’s game: Twins vs. White Sox, Target Field, Minneapolis
Current Book: The Poetry of Robert Penn Warren
Cosmo from New York, in addition to having one of the best Yankee tattoos I've seen, agrees with me that the new Yankee Stadium feels like home. Neither of us were prepared to love it as much as we do. Having grown up in the old Yankee Stadium, I was prepared to miss it every time I stepped into the new one, feeling forlorn over lost youth and fading memories.
Cosmo, who I met at the game last night, but who happens to have grown up minutes away from me, said the reason he likes baseball is because it’s something that has united the generations of his family. He still watches games with his grandmother and his father, and it is something that has not only brought them closer together, but hearing them talk about the players they had seen in their youth has made him feel closer to, and better understand, the history of his family and his country.
As it turns out, It wasn’t hard to find people who think there are better places to watch baseball gaes than my beloved house of hardball, the new Yankee Stadium. I’m used to Mets fans comparing it unfavorably to Citi field. I wouldn’t expect any diferent from them. Mets fans hate. It’s not their fault. Most of them were born into it.
But last night, a Yankee fan wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates jersey (This may make him just a half a Yankee fan) told me that the Pittsburgh stadium is better. His explanation led me to believe that he's talking about the surrounding area, and not the stadium itself. His description had Alex and me looking forward to our visit there next weekend, but it didn't go so far as to persuade me that he truly believed the stadium itself is better. I'll see for myself soon enough. (He said the reason he likes baseball is because of its continuity.)
A Tigers fan said that Comerica park is more fan-friendly. His explanation led me to believe that it’s more non-fan friendly, as he cited the ferris wheel, the speed pitch game, and the kids’ zone as evidence. It seems to me that those things are there for the people that don’t want to watch the baseball game. In my eyes, it’s a credit to the house that George built that no matter where you are, the focus is on the game.
Both of them agreed that the White Sox’ stadium is the worst, though. I can believe that. I’ll get to see for myself soon enough.
As much as I love that stadium, I will allow all the others, and the fans therein, to persuade me otherwise. Last night’s game could be seen as a sign that it may be a good time to take a pause from the pinstripes. With no offense to speak of, two injuries sustained by all-stars and two double plays caused by our captain, it was evident that the ghosts were not in the house last night. Perhaps they’ve flown somewhere else for a while, just as I have.
Tonight’s game: Twins vs. White Sox, Target Field, Minneapolis
Current Book: The Poetry of Robert Penn Warren
Monday, August 16, 2010
Why Do You Like Baseball?
I have never been able to answer this question in any satisfying way. Why ask? You might as well ask why one likes grass, or people, or wheels. Maybe the questions you can't answer are the ones that most need to be asked. Each time I've been a question like that, it has made me meaningfully consider a thing I had previously taken as an entitlement.
As a journalist and as a teacher, I have been shown that when one asks any question, one often finds the answers to many others.
Starting today, I’m setting out on a 9-city baseball road trip to ask the question, “Why do you like baseball?” While asking that question of people who root for different teams in different cities, I expect to find the answers to other questions too. (I suppose I could have called this trip “Eat, Play, Glove.”)
Once when asked the question, “Why is baseball your favorite sport?” I answered that I like how its rules haven’t changed in 37 years.** (To further this point, half of Major League Baseball teams don’t acknowledge that rule change.)
I like rules, and as a teacher, I like to make rules. As a teacher, I've learned that all rules must be established before the game begins.
Rules for this roadtrip:
1. I will root, root, root for the home team.
2. I will read one book for each city I visit. It may be in that city, or on the way to that city.
3. I will write one blog post for each city. You’re welcome.
4. I will do at least one thing other than see a baseball game in each city. I will determine what that thing will be by asking locals what I should do.
5. I will do one kind thing for one person I do not know in each city.
6. I will stick to my budget. I have never done this on any vacation. Ever.
7. I will not drive any cars. I will hail a cab only when safety is a concern (I’m looking at you, Detroit.)
8. I will not buy anything to bring back. My ticket stubs are my only mementos.
9. I will not make the third out at third base.
My first and last stops on this trip will be Yankee Stadium. I am aware that in other parts of the country, I will have to endure home team fans me for being a fan of the evil empire. I will try to defend my choice without being defensive. I will allow them to try to persuade me that the new Yankee Stadium is not the greatest place to watch a baseball game that has ever been built. Tonight I will try to find someone that doesn’t agree with that statement.
TONIGHT’S GAME: Yankees vs. Tigers, Yankee Stadium
Book: Take Me Out To the Ballgame: A History of Basebal in America by Timothy B. Shutt
_____________________________________
**In 1973, the American League adopted the DH. If that doesn‘t seem significant, compare it with our other major American sports. The NFL tweaks its rules yearly, changing definitions or interpretations of what is or isn’t a catch, where the goal line is or isn’t , and whether one type of contact is or isn’t a penalty. Three years ago, the NHL overhauled not just its rules, but the lines on its playing surface. This has changed the game in hopes that the American public would latch on more to a sport that is more has become more offensive, more exciting. It is more exciting, but the NHL is still waiting for the American public to realize that. My favorite rule change is that last year the NBA acknowledged something that had already been accepted by players, fans, and referees since 1989: that if a player is on his way to the basket with the ball, he can take more than one step without being called for traveling. I choose 1989 because that is the year after I was called for traveling on my way to scoring what would have been my first 2 points in a junior high basketball game. Some say I wasn’t a good player. I say I was ahead of my time. Here’s hoping that on this trip, I can stick to my own rules as written, and avoid being penalized for traveling.
As a journalist and as a teacher, I have been shown that when one asks any question, one often finds the answers to many others.
Starting today, I’m setting out on a 9-city baseball road trip to ask the question, “Why do you like baseball?” While asking that question of people who root for different teams in different cities, I expect to find the answers to other questions too. (I suppose I could have called this trip “Eat, Play, Glove.”)
Once when asked the question, “Why is baseball your favorite sport?” I answered that I like how its rules haven’t changed in 37 years.** (To further this point, half of Major League Baseball teams don’t acknowledge that rule change.)
I like rules, and as a teacher, I like to make rules. As a teacher, I've learned that all rules must be established before the game begins.
Rules for this roadtrip:
1. I will root, root, root for the home team.
2. I will read one book for each city I visit. It may be in that city, or on the way to that city.
3. I will write one blog post for each city. You’re welcome.
4. I will do at least one thing other than see a baseball game in each city. I will determine what that thing will be by asking locals what I should do.
5. I will do one kind thing for one person I do not know in each city.
6. I will stick to my budget. I have never done this on any vacation. Ever.
7. I will not drive any cars. I will hail a cab only when safety is a concern (I’m looking at you, Detroit.)
8. I will not buy anything to bring back. My ticket stubs are my only mementos.
9. I will not make the third out at third base.
My first and last stops on this trip will be Yankee Stadium. I am aware that in other parts of the country, I will have to endure home team fans me for being a fan of the evil empire. I will try to defend my choice without being defensive. I will allow them to try to persuade me that the new Yankee Stadium is not the greatest place to watch a baseball game that has ever been built. Tonight I will try to find someone that doesn’t agree with that statement.
TONIGHT’S GAME: Yankees vs. Tigers, Yankee Stadium
Book: Take Me Out To the Ballgame: A History of Basebal in America by Timothy B. Shutt
_____________________________________
**In 1973, the American League adopted the DH. If that doesn‘t seem significant, compare it with our other major American sports. The NFL tweaks its rules yearly, changing definitions or interpretations of what is or isn’t a catch, where the goal line is or isn’t , and whether one type of contact is or isn’t a penalty. Three years ago, the NHL overhauled not just its rules, but the lines on its playing surface. This has changed the game in hopes that the American public would latch on more to a sport that is more has become more offensive, more exciting. It is more exciting, but the NHL is still waiting for the American public to realize that. My favorite rule change is that last year the NBA acknowledged something that had already been accepted by players, fans, and referees since 1989: that if a player is on his way to the basket with the ball, he can take more than one step without being called for traveling. I choose 1989 because that is the year after I was called for traveling on my way to scoring what would have been my first 2 points in a junior high basketball game. Some say I wasn’t a good player. I say I was ahead of my time. Here’s hoping that on this trip, I can stick to my own rules as written, and avoid being penalized for traveling.
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