October 14th, 2004
“But I feel nothing for their game
where beauty goes unrecognized,
All I feel is heat and flame
and all I see are dark eyes” - Bob Dylan
So its baseball playoff time and everything is business as usual. The Sox and Yanks are playing and as usual all of us in Boston are waiting for them to blow it. But as I look deeper and try to enjoy the games…One thing keeps occurring to me. I have seen a huge glaring black eye of bigotry and hypocrisy on the game that I love. MLB has been talking about the playoffs. Talking about Mariano Rivera’s wife’s Cousin. All kinds of stories being told by the announcers. But no mention of Ken Caminiti. Ken Caminiti died last week of a heart attack. He was 41. He played for the Astros for quite a while and was very popular but so far I have not heard one mention of his name…which is odd because his former teammates are in the playoffs…If any other player had died there would be all kind of tributes. Players wearing armbands. Flags being raised. Video montages of their great plays. Players saying “Lets go out and win one for Ken” You get the picture. They would be doing that if it was some mediocre player…but hell…Ken Caminiti was great! He won the NL MVP the same year that my old buddy Mo Vaughn won it in the AL in 1996. So what’s up with this? What is MLB trying to hide?
1. Ken Caminiti was an addict. He had struggled for so long with his addiction and he was very honest about it. MLB has done nothing to pay tribute to him because in their minds he is a problem. In their minds he tarnishes the white bread apple pie sunday morning image that baseball still tries to put forth. And MLB is just a symptom of our cultures continuous bigotry and discrimination as they treat addicts like 2nd class citizens and like “those kinds of people.” You and I both know that if it was Mo Vaughn who had died of cancer there would be all kinds of tributes. But Ken Caminiti had a disease called addiction that average American Mr. Jones behind his white picket fence does not want to hear about.
2. Ken Caminiti used steroids. Ken Caminiti admitted it to the world in Sports Illustrated. He also stated that more than HALF of all baseball players are using something whether its Steroids, speed…whatever. Baseball does not want you to know that because it would expose them and associate them with “druggies.” Don’t get me wrong. Ken was a damn good player but he felt the need to bulk up and chase the dollar like all the other players around him. He chose to take steroids. BUT he totally ADMITTED it to the world that it screwed up his life. Ken Caminiti may have had his problems but he had the GUTS to do something about it and speak up about it to try and save a few lives. Shame on MLB for this mistreatment.
And so I think of Ken Caminiti and how much I enjoyed watching him play 3B. He could rob you of a double down the line. He hit a ton of doubles himself. He was intense. He was honest. He broke my heart when I heard about his struggles because I know what its like to see someone who is so cool be so powerless over this disease. Ken is at peace now. MLB and all its players can say what they want…or they can speak volumes of curses with their silence. But one thing will never be changed. Ken Caminiti was a great human being who won 3 gold gloves, batted 326 with 40 home runs and 130 RBIs…and in 1996 HE WAS THE BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL!
October 5th, 2004
Something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
“Ballad of a Thin Man”
B. Dylan
BACKGROUND: In Springfield, Massachusetts they arrested a lady for running a needle exchange program. Springfield, like a lot of struggling old mill cities in New England, has found itself having to deal with “The Drug Problem”. There is currently a movement to start a state funded needle exchange program.
ISSUE: A lady wrote in to the Springfield newspaper and insisted that addicts should be locked up, the needle exchange program defeated as a taxpayer waste, and that Sprinfield is getting all the addicts “dumped on them”.
MY RESPONSE/LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
To the Springfield Republican and all its readers,
I was horrified to read the opinion of Amy Bissonnette concerning the proposed needle exchange program. She referred to it as an excuse for towns to “Dump their drug addicts” on Springfield. She also said these addict lawbreakers “should be locked up” and not given “a free ride”. I find her thinking seriously flawed and tragically emblematic of the kind of attitudes that hurt society more than they help.
First of all, to assume that drug addicts are somebody else’s problem from some other place is to not live in reality. Every family in every town in America can name a friend or loved one who has been hurt by the misunderstood disease of addiction. Unfortunately, every town in this state is going to have to deal with this problem in terms of treatment and prevention. Addiction is a disease and to label it a problem being “dumped on you” is like the local hospital wanting to rid themselves of those “annoying lung cancer patients.”
Secondly, a free needle program does not encourage drug abuse. Rather, it shows societies willingness to understand a problem and deal with it in a way that puts the health and safety of the human being first. There is simply no evidence showing that allowing a needle exchange program will increase drug use. There is however a ton of evidence that shows Hepatitis, AIDS, and other diseases increase when people use dirty needles.
Finally, I would like to address her idea that all addicts should be locked up. In her world and many others this would seem like an easy solution. In a world where people do not perceive the addict on the street as their fellow human being but a second-class citizen it would seem a quick fix. But it would do nothing to help the addict or the taxpayer. To provide state funded healthcare to someone with HIV or Hepatitis is a lot more expensive than helping someone have access to a clean needle. Our city councilors and state representatives should realize that it costs thousands of dollars more to incarcerate an addict than to give them a rehabilitation program. Unfortunately, our state has just reduced the number of state funded detox beds from 1000 to 450 so rehab will not be an option for most addicts. As winter approaches either the streets or the jails are going to be full. This is a serious complex problem that must be dealt with by people who are open-minded. People with hope that as a society we can do better. A needle exchange program will be the first step in a journey to see our addicted brothers and sisters live another day and get the help they deserve.
John Morello
Monson, MA
October 2nd, 2004
“Are you Ready?”
A quick reminder to all my New Jersey friends.
MONDAY OCTOBER 5TH IS THE DEADLINE FOR VOTER REGISTRATION!
IF YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED …YOU CANNOT VOTE ON NOVEMBER 2ND!
DO NOT BE LEFT OUT. GO TO ROCKTHEVOTE.COM AND DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO!
DREAM OUT LOUD!
October 1st, 2004
“People are crazy/Times are strange”
B.Dylan
On my way back to Massachusetts from NJ the other day I saw the ultimate mixed message. I Stopped in Connecticut and I’m so glad I had my camera. Somebody call MADD. Talk about “One for the road”. YIKES!
I’ll have a burger, fries, and…uhmmm a Corona!
Would you like to supersize that and get a free jello shot for only .39 cents more
