On The Fly

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Catchers are squatting, and pitchers reporting - you be of good cheer.  “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Hah, you thought it was Andy Williams singing about Christmas. Nope, for millions of baseball fans Spring Training rings in The National Pastime. A time of renewed hope and fresh starts. The season (for me) officially kicks off Monday, April 3, 2017, 1:15 pm (PST) with the Los Angeles Dodgers battling the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. With 162 games to play, 30 teams step confidently into opening day with renewed hope. Yes, I’m still ecstatic about the 2016 World Series Champion Cubs! Go Cubs go! Ok, I’m a California resident but a die hard Cubs fan at heart. However, the Dodgers have always held a special place in my baseball loyalties. I’ll admit my spring ritual is to begin each season listening to a game on the radio with play-by-play announcer Vince (Vin) Scully broadcasting. This year however, ...

Guitar Center, Sunset Blvd., Hollywood “Your taking guitar lessons at 60?” Absolutely! It’s my way of always learning something new and having some fun in the process. “Haven’t you ever heard the cliche, You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” “Of course, but let me be completely clear,” Education is not a bag of tricks and humans are not dogs. Some resemble their  ole’ dog, anyway . . .  For years I heard that platitude from students who would use it as excuse for not being able to successfully learn a new skill to their satisfaction or expectation . Agreed, learning a new skill is challenging. Let’s be honest, it’s downright hard. We tend to get entrenched in our comfortable ruts. Think back a minute. Remember what it was like to learn to ride a bicycle? It was exhilarating! Well, maybe not at first. Did you have training wheels? I’m sorry. What happened when your Dad removed those training wheels. I’ll bet you fell - over and over again. But with...