Rant On "It Gets Better" (Plus The Phils' Video)

First, at long last here is the Phillies' "It Gets Better" message featuring Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, Hunter Pence, John Mayberry, Jr. and Michael Stutes...



Regarding "It Gets Better," there's been a discussion of its merits on the Outsports Jock Talk Blog in response to a post about a story from Canada. A local paper is doing a series on area gay athletes, and they started with a teenage hockey player who isn't out of the closet and is fearful of people finding out he's gay. The comments have turned into a debate on whether or not the "It Gets Better" project is actually worthwhile.

I am sick of this debate.

Wait. Let me re-state this for emphasis:

I AM SICK OF THIS DEBATE!

The Guy On The El

This is the story of a conversation I had today -- the type of conversation that, if you weren't there in person, you'd think it could only happen in a movie or TV show. (And anything I show in quotes may not be exact, but they're to the best of my recollection. Now that I think of it, I really wish I would've somehow secretly recorded it with the video camera on my phone.)

I was on the Market-Frankford El to make my way home from Center City a little after 5 pm. I had a seat open next to me for a while, until at one point a guy in a t-shirt and jeans got on and sat down next to me. Dark hair, masculine good looks, in good shape, not too old but not very young, maybe around 40 or so at most. A real blue-collar, macho guy. He immediately started to talk, and pretty much didn't let up the whole time.

He started by complaining about the rain, which he wasn't aware was in the forecast. (I don't know where he gets his weather from, but the reports I heard were calling for a chance of late-day showers and thunderstorms.) He's a roofer and you can't put the rubber coating on a wet surface, so not only did he have to stop work on the roof he was on, but he had to go check the roof on another job he had been doing. Then he asked if I was finished with my newspaper because he had a long bus ride to take after he got off the El at Frankford Terminal -- the route 58 to Neshaminy Mall, because he lives in Feasterville and normally doesn't take the bus. (I wasn't really done but I skimmed through the rest of it as we talked so he could take it. There were a couple of regular columns that I figured I could read online, and I skipped over the rest. That probably says as much about how much actual news is in the Daily News as anything else.)

The El train runs through the Kensington section as it makes its way to the terminal. Kensington is where I grew up, but it has really gone downhill over the years. There's a lot of poverty, crime and drugs. It was at one of the stations in that area where he got on, and he talked about the guys on the corners begging for money and having their girlfriends walk the streets. All drug addicts. He was a Marine and was in Iraq and Afghanistan for six years, and was amazed at how much worse it was out there since he came back. His attitude is that they're young and should "get a job!" but he said he realizes it's easier said than done.

He introduced himself as Anthony, and then asked if I was headed home from work. I told him I wasn't, just hanging with a friend downtown. And then it got interesting.

MixBlog 7-27-11: Eagles, Phils, Softball, Etc.

Just a few quick things, since I'm sitting here listening non-stop to a playlist comprised of 70 of Madonna's most famous songs...

Eagles: Now that the lockout is over, putting together the team has begun. Kevin Kolb has finally been traded -- to Arizona for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round draft pick in 2012. In other words, for more than they got from Washington for Donovan McNabb (who's now going to Minnesota). And rumor has it that Vince Young might come in to back up Michael Vick at quarterback.  But of all the players who are leaving, the one I think they'll regret losing is kicker David Akers, who's signed with San Francisco. The kicker the Eagles drafted, Alex Henery, might be great someday, but if he starts off poorly he'll cost them some games. By the way, individual game tickets go on sale Tuesday at 10 am. (It's so weird to have that happen in August instead of June.)

Phillies: Just lost two in a row to the Giants in the teams' first meeting since the 2010 NL Championship Series. It's the first time the Phils have lost a series since mid-June and the first time they've lost two in a row since early June. Granted, neither Roy Halladay nor Cliff Lee started in this series, but the fact that the offense was nonexistent the last two nights again emphasizes this team's Achilles heel and portends what could happen in October. Memo to GM Ruben Amaro: Go get Hunter Pence from Houston. Now. Whatever it takes.

Softball: Time goes by so fast. We have just one game left in the season (we're 7-8, so a win would put us right at .500), so you have just one chance to surprise me by showing up. Sunday, 9 am at Dairy Fields #2 in Fairmount Park. Followed by the league's All-Star game. (I'm not in that one.)

Etc.: Still -- still -- need to post about July 4th, plus the long day in East Rutherford while my friend Kurt auditioned for "The Voice." Plus more comics stuff. And I went to see the final Harry Potter movie. Did I like it? You'll find out...hopefully sooner rather than later. Oh, and I really want to head down to Wildwood or somewhere else along the shore. Deep fried Oreos are calling me...