Category: Rants

Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?

“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson?
Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away.”

More than a decade ago, Paul Simon explained that the above lyric from Mrs. Robinson was, in his words, “meant as a sincere tribute to (Joe) DiMaggio’s unpretentious heroic stature, in a time when popular culture magnifies and distorts how we perceive our heroes.”

DiMaggio was indeed in a class by himself for those who thought of him as a role model, or a “hero”. He was considered by many people as the greatest Italian American athlete ever. I would imagine, with his quiet demeanor and workmanlike approach, he was not at all comfortable with the label of hero.

How could the previous generations not think of DiMaggio in terms of the heroic? Growing up destitute and poor in San Francisco, he was the son of Italian immigrants, his father a fisherman who wanted Joe to follow in his footsteps. He instead became the greatest living baseball player of his era, an athlete so talented and complete he inspired Ernest Hemingway to write in The Old Man and The Sea to “have faith in the great DiMaggio”.

But, counting down to the end of this year, the image of a past hero like DiMaggio may be the absolute best we can do now. In this steroid and drug era of sports, we have seen every type of denial, from the silence of a Mark McGwire, the impassioned defiance of Raphael Palmiero or Roger Clemens, and the embarrassment of a Michael Phelps.

And now we have the most spectacular collapse of all: the Tiger Woods saga. His infidelities and “trangressions”, as he calls them, will probably not have any effect on his chase to become history’s most accomplished golfer, but have we seen the last of Tiger Woods, the role model?

An unfortunate after effect of Tiger’s problems is the fact that no longer should your kids look up to him, but he’s now not a decent model in the life of an adult, either.

Think about it. If you were in the pursuit of excellence in anything related to work or your personal life, didn’t Tiger look like a sterling example?

Golf champion, on his way to being bigger than his sport. The first billion dollar athlete. Beautiful wife, two young children, and a now legendary relationship with his father and how he inspired him with his love of golf.

He looked like a great example to me, and I can only feel extreme disappointment on how it has all unraveled. I would hope he can fix this, stage a comeback. But the damage has been done.

The lesson learned? The one that must always be re-learned, again and again.

Athletes and entertainers are not meant to be role models, period. They, for the most part, no longer deserve the accolades. Take that pedestal we’ve put them on, and tear it down. As far as creating the ideal image on how we should live our lives, they no longer have what it takes. If they ever had it in the first place. And really, isn’t the pressure to be a role model for so many,  a little too much?

Our models for life should be the ones closest to us: family members, friends, people that we know who have lived their ordinary lives to the best of their ability, or maybe have overcome an extreme circumstance. When we watch those closest to us, we take away the lessons we need to enjoy life. Today’s celebrity role model has almost no shot at that. After DiMaggio’s death in 1999, Paul Simon also said:

“In these days of…transgressions and apologies and prime-time interviews about private sexual matters, we grieve for Joe DiMaggio and mourn the loss of his grace and dignity, his fierce sense of privacy, his fidelity to the memory of his wife and the power of his silence.”

Looks like that quote could have been written last week. It also looks like that Tiger is now in seclusion, trying to figure out his next move. I think to get some great ideas on how to live his ideal life, he should hunker down with some biographies of sports legends like DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Vince Lombardi, Joe Montana—hey Tiger, pay no mind to the fact that all of these names end in a vowel, it matters not. Although athletes should not be thought of as role models, they did it right anyway.

Just pay close attention to the way they did things during their careers, Tiger. We could all learn a thing or two.

Summer of Discontent

One of the first articles to be published on this site, way back in 2009, “Summer of Discontent” holds relevance now. There is a general malaise and discontentment surrounding our society still, exacerbated by the prevalence of the 24 hour news cycle, the twin vampires of social media and phone addiction, and never ending political firestorms. Oh, and an economy that has somewhat mirrored 2009. I thought a revisit was due – hope you enjoy the update!

The warm weather of this summer has arrived late this year, extending itself well into September. The swirling rain and clouds of the past several months reflected an American economy still sputtering along, and a majority of people feel disconnected, and not at all happy with the direction of the current “wind of change.”

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While some of us took to the lakes and oceans, for vacations and  summer barbecues, others were searching for employment, a ray of job seeking hope, some quick cash to keep the collection agents at bay. Those that are still left employed are taking their cuts, having their lifestyle altered beyond recognition.

This is, no doubt, the cause of some of the discontent which is now starting to run rampant through our country.

But not all. Many Americans had trouble with the word content long before our consumer based economy started falling all over itself. In the race to be a rat and the attempt to win the contest of bigger house/more stuff, that house of cards is collapsing.

Even if they weren’t part of this illustrious race, Joe and Jane Average Homeowner are still being unnerved by the events around them. The discontent dominos.

With overexposure to television and internet, we don’t seem to learn much, or know much beyond who is the favored contestant on the latest installment of Big Brother or that fascinating Top Ten list of American Idol finalists.

No, the information we absorb doesn’t serve us well at all, shielding us from the very fact that we still have it pretty good, while others around the globe really don’t.

We lament the fact the neighbor has a new car, while a kid dies in Africa from lack of medical care, and his parents (if he has any) are powerless to do anything about it.

(2023 update: New poverty estimates by the World Bank suggest that the number of extremely poor people has fallen from 1.9 billion in 1990 to about 736 million in 2015.)

We envy our friend’s gleaming granite countertops in a gourmet kitchen, as a family that used to own their own home sets up their new residence in a cardboard box on the street…right here in America.

That’s right, the have nots live right in your neighborhood.

(Not so good news ’23 update: Newly released data shows, in 2022, 12.4% of Americans lived in poverty, up from 7.8% in 2021)

I’m no stranger to the occasional feeling of discontentment. We’re are Americans, after all, and entitled to the good things in life, myself included, right? But lately I’ve been reading myself some history, and learning a little bit of what my grandparents may have gone through coming to this country.

Want to feel good about things happening now? Read about the trials of European immigrants coming through Ellis Island.

Their adventures started in the homeland, being scammed by their fellow countrymen before boarding their ship. Then their transatlantic “cruise” consisted of inhumane travel conditions in steerage, crowded together by the hundreds, with the smell of urine in the air, and the only method of cleaning themselves being saltwater.

Arriving at Ellis Island, they were allowed to stay if they were seen to be disease free, and able to answer inspectors’ questions. Some that were deported died by drowning, trying to swim to the New Jersey shore to save themselves from the trip back to their home country.

Poverty and deplorable working conditions awaited most immigrants in America. They built railroads, worked in mines, and worked the high steel of skyscrapers so much that a historian once wrote “the greatest metropolis in the world rose from the sweat and misery of Italian labor.” When I see or read anything like this, I have to ask myself what role the word “discontent” should play in my life.

Here in modern America, we really do have the best of everything, and most of us don’t want for much. If you aren’t convinced this is true in your case, you have the power to change whatever you want.

To start changing, take a ride in what probably is your nice late model year car. Pick up your latte or cappuccino. Go to your massive bookstore in the mall. Sit down in that comfortable leather chair and read yourself some history – the history of your ancestors, and their season of discontent.

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