Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.
...And all these words you were meant to say
Held in silence day after day
Words of kindness that our poor hearts crave
Please, don't keep them hidden away~~~Hidden Away; Josh Groban
As the year 2010 comes to a close, and in its wake we make preparations to enthusiastically usher in 2011, I want to pass along this reflection. 2010 had some amazing highs. And by the same token, had some sobering lows. But through it all, Family, and some damned Good Friends, made this ride more meaningful~~~because it was shared. It is my fervent prayer that that same kind of collective spirit will continue to exist thereby giving us the resiliency to handle 2011---like the little engines, that could.
Some of the high points included:
- the AmeriCorps Buffalo/The Belle Center, promised stipend increase.
- effecting the 13 May 2010, Vocational Trade Fair, at The Belle Center.
- the AMTRAK excursion to the George Eastman House Museum in Rochester was special.
- the bus excursion tour of the Southern Tier Wineries.
- my two sisters helping me with the photo extravaganza at The Annunciation Lofts.
- 29 September 2010; CONSTRUCTION CAREER DAYS, with the Operating Engineers,
in Lakeview, NY.
- 6 October, 2010 @ THE CAZ.
- the Bishop Fallon High School HALL of FAME Dinner; with inductees
teacher/coach Carl Albert, and Class of 1969 graduate, James Scime.
- 13 December 2010, started a new endeavor; ironically located adjacent to Lipsitz,
Green, Scime & Cambria LLP.
- a great Birthday Party, at home, for our 26 year-old USMC veteran son, Philip.
Low Points~~~not going to enumerate, other than to say that I had some Angels that
appeared from nowhere, to lend a hand.
It is my sincerest prayer that we all continue to be blessed with The Lord's Bounty, and that the hopes, prayers, and the truths we hold dear in our hearts, be granted~~~in His Name, Amen.
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Merry Christmas To ALL MY DEAR DEAR FAMILY & FRIENDS~~~and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen Angels that just seem to come out of nowhere!!
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.
...A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
O night, O holy night, O night divine! ~~~O Holy Night: the Christmas Carol that I'm partial to. Written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847.
This is my effort to express to all of my Family and Friends a warmest, joyful, and fulfilling Merry Christmas. This last year has been so amazing~~~on so many levels. And I am grateful that through these many experiences I have had Family, Friends, and Our Lord to share these with.
You may recall in my "Santo" Web Log, that I included this material:
Thank you for your response to our WNYJOBS ad for a Part-Time Transportation Coordinator. We have been collecting and reviewing the candidate responses and are now reaching out to a group of individuals whose background seems suited for the position. As usual, we heard from a very diverse group and had a lot of work to do in narrowing the field. I would like to touch on a couple issues and make a couple requests before we move on to set up interviews.
1.The position is a Part-Time administrative position for the foreseeable future. And because of the part-time nature of the position, only statutory benefits are currently available. Although we are getting busier and I would love to see this change, I am asking each candidate to confirm that they understand this. As you can imagine, we are concerned about filling the position only to have someone leave us when they find full-time work.
2.Please provide us with your salary requirements and a list of references.
3.Finally, I’d like to try a little different approach to the initial interviews by asking each candidate to respond to a couple questions.
a.Please pick a specific job duty that you’ve had to perform in the past that you weren’t particularly fond of and explain why you feel that way about it.
b.Describe to us a work-related event that you were involved in where you had a great deal of fun, and explain why.
c.If you had the opportunity to work a flexible schedule, what would your preferred work schedule be, and why?
Thank you for your interest in our transportation position. We are interested in beginning interviews in the very near future so we look forward to your response and we wish you luck in the process.
Sincerely,
"Marcus" Regoord
Vice President - Finance & Administration
Marcus;
1. Yes I fully understand this to be a PART-TIME position. At this juncture in my life, this is the most suitable type of employment I am seeking. Your offer is consistent with my expectations. Salary expectations would be consistent with payroll structures already in place with your Payroll; Human Resources Departments.
2a. When Airborne/D H L Express chose, in 2007, to get away from loading the very transportable and movable COCHRANE CONTAINERS, and started loading the industry-norm; "A" CONTAINERS. That decision left me to completely fend for myself. I received absolutely no support from local management to make sure that the work that, in effect, was still available for me to undertake, was done so in a humane manner. In being left to my own resources, I was reduced to the resident freak-show. With the COCHRANE(C) Containers, I could 'cheat' mother nature and take advantage of structures and apparatus around me, to get the work done. With the larger "A" Containers, where it was like going in to, and out, of a house, there were no structures or apparatus to 'lean' against, or hold onto. So I was reduced to crawling on my hands-and-knees, and doing the 'letter-sort'.
2b. The AM sort!!!!! I was in my 'element'!!!!!! I ruled!!! I was so good, the industrial-engineers that came in and 'clocked' me~~~to everybody's chagrin~~~ended up basing the Northeast Region productivity standards, on my performances. 18 parcels a minute; one every three seconds, had to be pulled from a pallet, or "C" Container, and placed on conveyor belt for driver review and extraction. Whether the parcel was 5#, 15#, 35#, or 75#~~~that was the standard that was set.
2c. My preferred flex-time schedule would be full-time days; a few days a week. That would be, as if to say, 8AM-5PM kind of thing; possibly Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Or Monday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Marcus~~~you have asked some 'loaded' questions. I assume I would be given a face-to-face opportunity to amplify any points and concerns you may still have.
Lou Marconi 716.578.8568 cell phone
As fate would have it, I come home Friday 17 December 2010, from endeavors, and my daughter gives my a note to advise me that Marcus Regoord called!! And normally I would have been upset that she didn't call me on my cell to get me up to speed on this, on a current basis!!!
It is like Joe Sullivan of the Buffalo Employment Training Center says~~~all you have to do---is make ONE SALE.
On Monday, 20 Dec. 2010, I'm going to return Marcus' call and thank him for follow-up interview efforts, and in effect, decline the possible offer!! You see, this one project that I have been working on throughout this year, has finally come to fruition!! My Merry Christmas!!! There have been some bumps along the way, but I started, on 13 December 2010. I walked(boy is that wishful thinking!!) in, and the Office Manager already had my punch-card in her hand~~and punching me in!!! And later in the AM, as she is trying to 'settle' me in, Charlie, from an independent organization, is calling me on my cell-phone for a 'phone-interview'. I didn't have to explain myself because Cheryl gave me the courtesy to 'take' the call.
For those whom wish to know more detail, I will discuss in email format, whom this employer is. In these "Julian Assange" days, discretion begs to be observed.
I do need to ask for some prayers from Family and Good Friends. I suspect some of this has to do with the bitterly cold weather. But 'something' is going on with me, health-wise; with my legs. I had some serious problems attempting to effect some actions~~~that had been 'routines'.
They have put a little scare in me because I have always tried to conduct myself, like the little engine, that could.
Merry Christmas; Happy New Year, and may all that has been the fulfilling moments and energies that have kept you moving forward through this year, continue to be bestowed upon you in this Blessed New Year.
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
...A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
O night, O holy night, O night divine! ~~~O Holy Night: the Christmas Carol that I'm partial to. Written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847.
This is my effort to express to all of my Family and Friends a warmest, joyful, and fulfilling Merry Christmas. This last year has been so amazing~~~on so many levels. And I am grateful that through these many experiences I have had Family, Friends, and Our Lord to share these with.
You may recall in my "Santo" Web Log, that I included this material:
Thank you for your response to our WNYJOBS ad for a Part-Time Transportation Coordinator. We have been collecting and reviewing the candidate responses and are now reaching out to a group of individuals whose background seems suited for the position. As usual, we heard from a very diverse group and had a lot of work to do in narrowing the field. I would like to touch on a couple issues and make a couple requests before we move on to set up interviews.
1.The position is a Part-Time administrative position for the foreseeable future. And because of the part-time nature of the position, only statutory benefits are currently available. Although we are getting busier and I would love to see this change, I am asking each candidate to confirm that they understand this. As you can imagine, we are concerned about filling the position only to have someone leave us when they find full-time work.
2.Please provide us with your salary requirements and a list of references.
3.Finally, I’d like to try a little different approach to the initial interviews by asking each candidate to respond to a couple questions.
a.Please pick a specific job duty that you’ve had to perform in the past that you weren’t particularly fond of and explain why you feel that way about it.
b.Describe to us a work-related event that you were involved in where you had a great deal of fun, and explain why.
c.If you had the opportunity to work a flexible schedule, what would your preferred work schedule be, and why?
Thank you for your interest in our transportation position. We are interested in beginning interviews in the very near future so we look forward to your response and we wish you luck in the process.
Sincerely,
"Marcus" Regoord
Vice President - Finance & Administration
Marcus;
1. Yes I fully understand this to be a PART-TIME position. At this juncture in my life, this is the most suitable type of employment I am seeking. Your offer is consistent with my expectations. Salary expectations would be consistent with payroll structures already in place with your Payroll; Human Resources Departments.
2a. When Airborne/D H L Express chose, in 2007, to get away from loading the very transportable and movable COCHRANE CONTAINERS, and started loading the industry-norm; "A" CONTAINERS. That decision left me to completely fend for myself. I received absolutely no support from local management to make sure that the work that, in effect, was still available for me to undertake, was done so in a humane manner. In being left to my own resources, I was reduced to the resident freak-show. With the COCHRANE(C) Containers, I could 'cheat' mother nature and take advantage of structures and apparatus around me, to get the work done. With the larger "A" Containers, where it was like going in to, and out, of a house, there were no structures or apparatus to 'lean' against, or hold onto. So I was reduced to crawling on my hands-and-knees, and doing the 'letter-sort'.
2b. The AM sort!!!!! I was in my 'element'!!!!!! I ruled!!! I was so good, the industrial-engineers that came in and 'clocked' me~~~to everybody's chagrin~~~ended up basing the Northeast Region productivity standards, on my performances. 18 parcels a minute; one every three seconds, had to be pulled from a pallet, or "C" Container, and placed on conveyor belt for driver review and extraction. Whether the parcel was 5#, 15#, 35#, or 75#~~~that was the standard that was set.
2c. My preferred flex-time schedule would be full-time days; a few days a week. That would be, as if to say, 8AM-5PM kind of thing; possibly Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Or Monday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Marcus~~~you have asked some 'loaded' questions. I assume I would be given a face-to-face opportunity to amplify any points and concerns you may still have.
Lou Marconi 716.578.8568 cell phone
As fate would have it, I come home Friday 17 December 2010, from endeavors, and my daughter gives my a note to advise me that Marcus Regoord called!! And normally I would have been upset that she didn't call me on my cell to get me up to speed on this, on a current basis!!!
It is like Joe Sullivan of the Buffalo Employment Training Center says~~~all you have to do---is make ONE SALE.
On Monday, 20 Dec. 2010, I'm going to return Marcus' call and thank him for follow-up interview efforts, and in effect, decline the possible offer!! You see, this one project that I have been working on throughout this year, has finally come to fruition!! My Merry Christmas!!! There have been some bumps along the way, but I started, on 13 December 2010. I walked(boy is that wishful thinking!!) in, and the Office Manager already had my punch-card in her hand~~and punching me in!!! And later in the AM, as she is trying to 'settle' me in, Charlie, from an independent organization, is calling me on my cell-phone for a 'phone-interview'. I didn't have to explain myself because Cheryl gave me the courtesy to 'take' the call.
For those whom wish to know more detail, I will discuss in email format, whom this employer is. In these "Julian Assange" days, discretion begs to be observed.
I do need to ask for some prayers from Family and Good Friends. I suspect some of this has to do with the bitterly cold weather. But 'something' is going on with me, health-wise; with my legs. I had some serious problems attempting to effect some actions~~~that had been 'routines'.
They have put a little scare in me because I have always tried to conduct myself, like the little engine, that could.
Merry Christmas; Happy New Year, and may all that has been the fulfilling moments and energies that have kept you moving forward through this year, continue to be bestowed upon you in this Blessed New Year.
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Was I, In Heaven?!?!
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.
...I never dreamed we'd meet again this way
You're looking well
I'm not afraid
You have a lovely home
Just like a picture.
No, I live alone
I found it easier~~~In The Winter; Janis Ian(1975)
While I'm running around, with my Dodge Caravan, in a snowfall on Monday, trying to cover some errands,in due course of time, I come to realize that I am no longer in possession of a personal item that I have become very very attached to. Of course, even while I am trying to concentrate on the driving because it is treacherous, the realization of the loss---is a distraction. In realizing the loss, the first thing I do is pull into a lot, and start 'combing' the vehicle interior-area that is within my reach. In my feverish effort to correct the situation, I'm nonetheless, coming up empty-handed.
I decide that I have to retrace my steps. Now here is the thing. There wasn't that many 'steps' to trace, because the weather was drive-prohibitive. I started off my errands, by going to Valvo-Line, to get my wipers replaced. The two-year-old wipers; were shot. The one working the passenger-side of the windshield had actually become a spaghetti-looking noodle, having separated away from the rest of the blade element. The thing with this Valvo-Line transaction is that~~~I never got out of the Van. So in the moving and shuffling for the wallet, and receipts, if I lost the item, while doing this, it still had to be---in the van. The only real place where I might have lost the item HAD TO BE by my RR TRAX Retreat location. I went there, in the early afternoon with the intention of doing a thorough job of sweeping off, with my broom, all of the large amounts of snow that was still sitting on the top of my van. I went there for two reasons. The first is that the van would rest on an incline so the snow will sweep off easier for me. And the second reason is that the dropped snow doesn't have to be removed from a driveway, by shovel!! And while I did this with my gloves on, I am thinking that when I stepped out of the van to commence the work, maybe the item had dropped into the four inches of snow on the ground. What did I do?? What could I do!! I dropped to my knees and starting combing the snow in the areas around where my footprints previously were. The effort proved fruitless.
I was crestfallen. I went home, and just acquiesced to the sense that this item, was lost, forever.
In the light of a new day, Tuesday, I decided I was going to tear through as much of the front part of my van as possible. I still sensed that perhaps there was an iota
of territory of my van that I had overlooked. While still in the driveway, I start cutting through this, that, and the other thing; still nothing.
So I decide that I'm going to go to that TRAX Retreat area of mine, and cut again, through the snow. I go there, do some more 'combing', and still---nothing.
While I'm doing this, the AMTRAK Maple Leaf Ltd; N/B, goes flying by. And the rooster-tail of drawn-up-snow left in its wake, puts a smile on my face. I guess it was the smile that put a renewed sensed of determination in finding this sentimental
item of value. Having now settled back into the van, I am now groping and feeling my way along the framing-upright that keeps the passenger seat attached to the floor of the van. As I'm making my way around the back and the under-side of this support-frame, my fingers begin to feel this washer-type artifact. As I get a grip on it to draw it toward me, I'm thinking; this seems to have some substance to it!! As I bring it up into the light of day, I see that it is shining. With this instant sense of redemption, I have come to realize; I found it!!! I found It!!! I was so happy!! I felt I had reclaimed my soul!! I was whole, again.
So later in the afternoon of Tuesday, I went to the Buffalo State College Library and did a little research work to place on FACEBOOK subject matter having to do with Dec. 7, 1941. And later in the day posted some additional
information having to do with our USMC son Philip. December 7, 2008, our son, Corporal Philip Marconi, was recognized by the Erie County Legislature, for his service to Our Country. The result of which is the Erie County Legislature proclaiming that every Dec 7th, as Philip Marconi Day!! As a father, I must add~~~I'm proud!!
A brief intervention; perspective:
I caught the SPECIAL REPORT News Conference with President Obama, Tuesday afternoon.
This is the Special Report that had to do with the package he worked out with the Republican leadership to extend the Bush-Era Tax Cuts, and as well, getting an extension on the unemployment insurance benefits that were to run out at the end of this year. After the speech announcing this development, he had conducted a press conference. And during this question & answer session, he was pretty much posturing himself as a realistic; a well-intended pragmatist, instead of an ideologue. He was, of course doing this because he was getting challenged from his own party, as well as the Republicans and Independents. Obama's position to extending the tax-cuts was that it was more money in the take-home pay of average Americans. The Republicans contend that extending the tax-breaks will encourage more investments, and will foster more job growth through investment, capital expenditure, and confidence for small businesses to expand and hire.
He missed a golden-opportunity to sell his point, to the disillusioned Democratic Party. He had gotten this question from Ms. Goldman, from the Bloomburg News Service.
As she was working her way through her question, she wanted the President to answer why the unemployment rate was still around 9.8%. If I were Obama, I'd have hinged my presidential success on the REPUBLICAN perspective. According to the Republicans the extension of the tax breaks will mean investment, business growth, increase demand because of more disposable income, which in turn will bring about job growth. In other words, instead of the wealthy hording~~~they will be hiring.
If I were Obama, I'd have said this to Goldman; in effect saying this to the Republicans, the Democrats, and America. According to everything I've been hearing from the Republicans, because of growth and hiring---not hording---I'm going to venture that by the end of the first quarter of 2011, the unemployment insurance rate will be down to 6.5%. If it isn't~~~I'm holding the Republicans accountable. Two things would result. The Democrats would develop a united-front supporting Obama. And the Republicans would bear the responsibility of having to get the gilded class~~~to HIRE, instead of hording.
Thursday evening, I am invited to a Christmas Party of sorts at this new restaurant on Delaware Ave, in the Village of Kenmore. Now called the Delaware Restaurant, it was once-upon-a-time the area, Carvel ice Cream Store location!! While most of the very important persons in this extravaganza are affiliated with operations in the Town of Tonawanda, and the Village of Kenmore, there are some very very high ranking personalities from the City of Buffalo, and Erie County. Hand-shakes were aplenty.
New names and acquaintances were made. Some old friendships were further cultivated,
and some rough-edges were tapered and smoothed-over~~~and some assurances were made--- with the firmness of the hand-shake. Still a work in progress; some fruit may be appearing soon, on the vine.
My sister Rose is traveling up to Buffalo, with our University of Mississippi daughter Erica, just having completed the fall semester and returning home for the Christmas break. Rose is coming to Buffalo for an additional reason. She has put together a four-day-week-end at the Holiday Valley Ski Resort, for the family. I respectfully decline participating. The reason is that, for some time now, I had made a commitment to help with the Boxes of Love Christmas Outreach Program at their distribution location at the Frederick/Douglass Community Center on Friday, and the distribution
extravaganza that takes place on Saturday, at The Belle Center on Buffalo's Lower West Side. It is a program, and a disposition, that I feel a strong belief in, and have developed a very strong attachment to. You don't know, or really understand, until you sit, and are looking in the eyes of these men, and women. These are human beings, whom along with their children, would not otherwise have a Christmas. And yes, this can all be spun into a million different what-ifs, what-nots, and why-did-you-do-this, or why-didn't-you-do-that. It is Christmas. It is time to get the hands that were in the pockets, reaching out, and contributing, for a good cause. It is time to rejoice, proclaim, and have everybody share in the Good News of this Moment; the birth of Our Savior.
Time to digress, back to Tuesday. I had this dream that I can so vividly remember the detail of. I can even recount some of my thinking that was taking place in my head.
I'm in this office building, and there are at least two floors. I am on the second floor. Check this out!! I am walking around, on the second floor. And in walking around, I am light, fluid, and easy on my feet. At one point I'm even thinking...gee, I'm able to do this[walking], again. There is even this movement that I am undertaking near some elevators where I start to 'feel' like I actually skating backwards(dreams; they don't always stay with the grain!!!). Those that can skate backwards will understand this; those that can't will have to try to realize what I am trying to visualize!! When skating backwards, what you are doing, in rapid succession, while leading and digging in the back part of your blades, is a series of to-the-right cross-overs, and then---to-the-left cross-overs, with each skate. My brother Dominic developed this skill-set to where he was the starting defenseman for the 1974-1975 McKinley High School Screaming Eagles Varsity Hockey Championship team. While I was marginally capable with the skill-set, I was able to envision doing this very well~~~in my dream. There came this point in my dream, where I realized I was going to have to take the elevator to go to the first floor. And as I'm about to migrate over to the elevator, the following thought comes to me, "I better grab my two canes, I may need them. when I get downstairs."
Was I, in Heaven?!?!
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
...I never dreamed we'd meet again this way
You're looking well
I'm not afraid
You have a lovely home
Just like a picture.
No, I live alone
I found it easier~~~In The Winter; Janis Ian(1975)
While I'm running around, with my Dodge Caravan, in a snowfall on Monday, trying to cover some errands,in due course of time, I come to realize that I am no longer in possession of a personal item that I have become very very attached to. Of course, even while I am trying to concentrate on the driving because it is treacherous, the realization of the loss---is a distraction. In realizing the loss, the first thing I do is pull into a lot, and start 'combing' the vehicle interior-area that is within my reach. In my feverish effort to correct the situation, I'm nonetheless, coming up empty-handed.
I decide that I have to retrace my steps. Now here is the thing. There wasn't that many 'steps' to trace, because the weather was drive-prohibitive. I started off my errands, by going to Valvo-Line, to get my wipers replaced. The two-year-old wipers; were shot. The one working the passenger-side of the windshield had actually become a spaghetti-looking noodle, having separated away from the rest of the blade element. The thing with this Valvo-Line transaction is that~~~I never got out of the Van. So in the moving and shuffling for the wallet, and receipts, if I lost the item, while doing this, it still had to be---in the van. The only real place where I might have lost the item HAD TO BE by my RR TRAX Retreat location. I went there, in the early afternoon with the intention of doing a thorough job of sweeping off, with my broom, all of the large amounts of snow that was still sitting on the top of my van. I went there for two reasons. The first is that the van would rest on an incline so the snow will sweep off easier for me. And the second reason is that the dropped snow doesn't have to be removed from a driveway, by shovel!! And while I did this with my gloves on, I am thinking that when I stepped out of the van to commence the work, maybe the item had dropped into the four inches of snow on the ground. What did I do?? What could I do!! I dropped to my knees and starting combing the snow in the areas around where my footprints previously were. The effort proved fruitless.
I was crestfallen. I went home, and just acquiesced to the sense that this item, was lost, forever.
In the light of a new day, Tuesday, I decided I was going to tear through as much of the front part of my van as possible. I still sensed that perhaps there was an iota
of territory of my van that I had overlooked. While still in the driveway, I start cutting through this, that, and the other thing; still nothing.
So I decide that I'm going to go to that TRAX Retreat area of mine, and cut again, through the snow. I go there, do some more 'combing', and still---nothing.
While I'm doing this, the AMTRAK Maple Leaf Ltd; N/B, goes flying by. And the rooster-tail of drawn-up-snow left in its wake, puts a smile on my face. I guess it was the smile that put a renewed sensed of determination in finding this sentimental
item of value. Having now settled back into the van, I am now groping and feeling my way along the framing-upright that keeps the passenger seat attached to the floor of the van. As I'm making my way around the back and the under-side of this support-frame, my fingers begin to feel this washer-type artifact. As I get a grip on it to draw it toward me, I'm thinking; this seems to have some substance to it!! As I bring it up into the light of day, I see that it is shining. With this instant sense of redemption, I have come to realize; I found it!!! I found It!!! I was so happy!! I felt I had reclaimed my soul!! I was whole, again.
So later in the afternoon of Tuesday, I went to the Buffalo State College Library and did a little research work to place on FACEBOOK subject matter having to do with Dec. 7, 1941. And later in the day posted some additional
information having to do with our USMC son Philip. December 7, 2008, our son, Corporal Philip Marconi, was recognized by the Erie County Legislature, for his service to Our Country. The result of which is the Erie County Legislature proclaiming that every Dec 7th, as Philip Marconi Day!! As a father, I must add~~~I'm proud!!
A brief intervention; perspective:
I caught the SPECIAL REPORT News Conference with President Obama, Tuesday afternoon.
This is the Special Report that had to do with the package he worked out with the Republican leadership to extend the Bush-Era Tax Cuts, and as well, getting an extension on the unemployment insurance benefits that were to run out at the end of this year. After the speech announcing this development, he had conducted a press conference. And during this question & answer session, he was pretty much posturing himself as a realistic; a well-intended pragmatist, instead of an ideologue. He was, of course doing this because he was getting challenged from his own party, as well as the Republicans and Independents. Obama's position to extending the tax-cuts was that it was more money in the take-home pay of average Americans. The Republicans contend that extending the tax-breaks will encourage more investments, and will foster more job growth through investment, capital expenditure, and confidence for small businesses to expand and hire.
He missed a golden-opportunity to sell his point, to the disillusioned Democratic Party. He had gotten this question from Ms. Goldman, from the Bloomburg News Service.
As she was working her way through her question, she wanted the President to answer why the unemployment rate was still around 9.8%. If I were Obama, I'd have hinged my presidential success on the REPUBLICAN perspective. According to the Republicans the extension of the tax breaks will mean investment, business growth, increase demand because of more disposable income, which in turn will bring about job growth. In other words, instead of the wealthy hording~~~they will be hiring.
If I were Obama, I'd have said this to Goldman; in effect saying this to the Republicans, the Democrats, and America. According to everything I've been hearing from the Republicans, because of growth and hiring---not hording---I'm going to venture that by the end of the first quarter of 2011, the unemployment insurance rate will be down to 6.5%. If it isn't~~~I'm holding the Republicans accountable. Two things would result. The Democrats would develop a united-front supporting Obama. And the Republicans would bear the responsibility of having to get the gilded class~~~to HIRE, instead of hording.
Thursday evening, I am invited to a Christmas Party of sorts at this new restaurant on Delaware Ave, in the Village of Kenmore. Now called the Delaware Restaurant, it was once-upon-a-time the area, Carvel ice Cream Store location!! While most of the very important persons in this extravaganza are affiliated with operations in the Town of Tonawanda, and the Village of Kenmore, there are some very very high ranking personalities from the City of Buffalo, and Erie County. Hand-shakes were aplenty.
New names and acquaintances were made. Some old friendships were further cultivated,
and some rough-edges were tapered and smoothed-over~~~and some assurances were made--- with the firmness of the hand-shake. Still a work in progress; some fruit may be appearing soon, on the vine.
My sister Rose is traveling up to Buffalo, with our University of Mississippi daughter Erica, just having completed the fall semester and returning home for the Christmas break. Rose is coming to Buffalo for an additional reason. She has put together a four-day-week-end at the Holiday Valley Ski Resort, for the family. I respectfully decline participating. The reason is that, for some time now, I had made a commitment to help with the Boxes of Love Christmas Outreach Program at their distribution location at the Frederick/Douglass Community Center on Friday, and the distribution
extravaganza that takes place on Saturday, at The Belle Center on Buffalo's Lower West Side. It is a program, and a disposition, that I feel a strong belief in, and have developed a very strong attachment to. You don't know, or really understand, until you sit, and are looking in the eyes of these men, and women. These are human beings, whom along with their children, would not otherwise have a Christmas. And yes, this can all be spun into a million different what-ifs, what-nots, and why-did-you-do-this, or why-didn't-you-do-that. It is Christmas. It is time to get the hands that were in the pockets, reaching out, and contributing, for a good cause. It is time to rejoice, proclaim, and have everybody share in the Good News of this Moment; the birth of Our Savior.
Time to digress, back to Tuesday. I had this dream that I can so vividly remember the detail of. I can even recount some of my thinking that was taking place in my head.
I'm in this office building, and there are at least two floors. I am on the second floor. Check this out!! I am walking around, on the second floor. And in walking around, I am light, fluid, and easy on my feet. At one point I'm even thinking...gee, I'm able to do this[walking], again. There is even this movement that I am undertaking near some elevators where I start to 'feel' like I actually skating backwards(dreams; they don't always stay with the grain!!!). Those that can skate backwards will understand this; those that can't will have to try to realize what I am trying to visualize!! When skating backwards, what you are doing, in rapid succession, while leading and digging in the back part of your blades, is a series of to-the-right cross-overs, and then---to-the-left cross-overs, with each skate. My brother Dominic developed this skill-set to where he was the starting defenseman for the 1974-1975 McKinley High School Screaming Eagles Varsity Hockey Championship team. While I was marginally capable with the skill-set, I was able to envision doing this very well~~~in my dream. There came this point in my dream, where I realized I was going to have to take the elevator to go to the first floor. And as I'm about to migrate over to the elevator, the following thought comes to me, "I better grab my two canes, I may need them. when I get downstairs."
Was I, in Heaven?!?!
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Ronald Edward Santo
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.
Sky gettin dark above me
Baby I need your lovin
Got to have all of your lovin
Baby I want your lovin~~~My Pledge of Love; Joe Jeffery Group, 1969
After my RailBarons.org experience on Tuesday AM, I found myself
doing some bops-and-weaves, and some musical-chairs with some
errands. These include Mang Rd/Park, Mickey-D's and the location with all the
crazy renovation now going on, at Sheridan Dr. & Delaware Ave.,
and Niagara Hobby~~~where, in taking my valued 2-8-8-2 articulated-mallet
locomotive to be serviced, as I'm scootering in, I am greeted by former
ABX/DHL casual employee, Anthony Aquisto. What does he do!?!? In front of
a number of customers and co-workers, he drops to his knees, and does
one-of-those, chanting---I'm-not-worthy; I'm-not-worthy!! We laughed; under my breath though, I'm pleading and gesturing to stop it already, and get up!!
I have never mentioned much of Anthony before because he was just a "casual"; would only get spotty work consideration. But when he would be on board, he always wanted to work in my area. We worked well together, and he always respected me because he saw
first-hand, the insanity of what I was up against, what I had to do to effect
my energies to complete my responsibilities, and some of the punks that would
conspire to make things more difficult for me than what already had existed.
That again, is Niagara Hobby & Crafts, Union Rd. Cheektowaga, NY.
Wednesday, there was nothing of real significance~~~in NORTHTOWNS!!!
But a cylinder-shaped 'band' of cloud-cover was creating a lake-effect
snow fall across South Buffalo, South-towns, Cheektowaga, Depew, and
the Western portion of THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY that created such
depth~~~and resulting chaos, that Buffalo/West Seneca ended up on
Thursday evening's, NBC & CBS NATIONAL NEWS!!! For all I know, we were probably
on ABC, too; I just couldn't get to that channel in time.
Thursday; since this is a journal I'm just going to post the attached this way,
and we'll see where this goes:
Thank you for your response to our WNYJOBS ad for a Part-Time Transportation Coordinator. We have been collecting and reviewing the candidate responses and are now reaching out to a group of individuals whose background seems suited for the position. As usual, we heard from a very diverse group and had a lot of work to do in narrowing the field. I would like to touch on a couple issues and make a couple requests before we move on to set up interviews.
1.The position is a Part-Time administrative position for the foreseeable future. And because of the part-time nature of the position, only statutory benefits are currently available. Although we are getting busier and I would love to see this change, I am asking each candidate to confirm that they understand this. As you can imagine, we are concerned about filling the position only to have someone leave us when they find full-time work.
2.Please provide us with your salary requirements and a list of references.
3.Finally, I’d like to try a little different approach to the initial interviews by asking each candidate to respond to a couple questions.
a.Please pick a specific job duty that you’ve had to perform in the past that you weren’t particularly fond of and explain why you feel that way about it.
b.Describe to us a work-related event that you were involved in where you had a great deal of fun, and explain why.
c.If you had the opportunity to work a flexible schedule, what would your preferred work schedule be, and why?
Thank you for your interest in our transportation position. We are interested in beginning interviews in the very near future so we look forward to your response and we wish you luck in the process.
Sincerely,
"Marcus" Regoord
Vice President - Finance & Administration
Marcus;
1. Yes I fully understand this to be a PART-TIME position. At this juncture in my life, this is the most suitable type of employment I am seeking. Your offer is consistent with my expectations. Salary expectations would be consistent with payroll structures already in place with your Payroll; Human Resources Departments.
2a. When Airborne/D H L Express chose, in 2007, to get away from loading the very transportable and movable COCHRANE CONTAINERS, and started loading the industry-norm; "A" CONTAINERS. That decision left me to completely fend for myself. I received absolutely no support from local management to make sure that the work that, in effect, was still available for me to undertake, was done so in a humane manner. In being left to my own resources, I was reduced to the resident freak-show. With the COCHRANE(C) Containers, I could 'cheat' mother nature and take advantage of structures and apparatus around me, to get the work done. With the larger "A" Containers, where it was like going in to, and out, of a house, there were no structures or apparatus to 'lean' against, or hold onto. So I was reduced to crawling on my hands-and-knees, and doing the 'letter-sort'.
2b. The AM sort!!!!! I was in my 'element'!!!!!! I ruled!!! I was so good, the industrial-engineers that came in and 'clocked' me~~~to everybody's chagrin~~~ended up basing the Northeast Region productivity standards, on my performances. 18 parcels a minute; one every three seconds, had to be pulled from a pallet, or "C" Container, and placed on conveyor belt for driver review and extraction. Whether the parcel was 5#, 15#, 35#, or 75#~~~that was the standard that was set.
2c. My preferred flex-time schedule would be full-time days; a few days a week. That would be, as if to say, 8AM-5PM kind of thing; possibly Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Or Monday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Marcus~~~you have asked some 'loaded' questions. I assume I would be given a face-to-face opportunity to amplify any points and concerns you may still have.
Lou Marconi 716.578.8568 cell phone
Friday; always interesting, often good, but this Friday would end up having
me, possess a heavy heart.
There are those of you in this viewing audience who know me well enough to know that a part of my persona; a part of my very essence, includes a metaphysical attachment with The Chicago Cubs. To begin with, one must understand that this attraction was incubated in an era when Major League Baseball(MLB), was still THE NATIONAL PAST-TIME. As kids, we longed for the lazy-crazy-hazy days of summer~~~to play sand-lot baseball!! In playing at our level, we, as well, wanted to know about mythical athletes playing in these mystical, Parthenon-type-shrines called, Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, The Polo Grounds, Municipal Stadium, and Forbes Field, etc. So in 1961, because of this topical irregularity with Crosley Field, my initial draw was to the Cincinnati Reds. You see, the left-field-warning-track rested against an inclined area because a part of Cincinnati's drainage system, ran along that area of the stadium outfield. So when the left-fielder was retrieving a fly hit deep-to-left, he would have to run up an incline as he was about to encounter the field-field Fence!! Those kinds of nuances just left a lasting impression on me. But then something happened in 1963, that would have a profound effect on me. Kenneth Douglass Hubbs (December 23, 1941 - February 13, 1964) was an American second-baseman who played from 1961 to 1963 for the Chicago Cubs in the National League. He was killed in a plane crash near Provo, Utah prior to the 1964 season.
In his short big-league career, Hubbs was considered to be an excellent fielder but a poor hitter. In 1962, he became the first rookie to win a Gold Glove Award, and set several fielding records. Those achievements helped him win the MLB Rookie of the Year Award that season. At the time of his death, Hubbs was considered to be one of the best second basemen in the game.
When I learned of this plane crash, I became an instant Chicago Cubs, fan. In Hubbs, Chicago had a new-found sense of enthusiasm. There was this sense of a rebirth, a rejuvenation; an aspiration of attaining the National League Pennant for the first time since 1945. I got sucked into this same kind of excitement and enthusiasm. And why not?!?! In Ken's passing, his legacy, combined with one hell of a line-up, at least on paper, still suggested success was imminent.
Hell, the Cubs outfield already had hall-of-Famer, Billy Williams. As well, in the outfield, was this promising rookie, named Lou Brock~~~yeah, that Lou Brock.
The Lou Brock saga would be the start of the "crying of a million tears" that Ronald Edward Santo would often philosophically impart, when trying to come to terms with a set-back in Ron's professional and personal life.
In 1964, a promising young outfielder named Lou Brock was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio. The trade became known as one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history, although few people could have predicted that outcome. At the time of the trade, Brock's best season at the plate had been an ordinary .263 and he was having trouble defensively, while Broglio had won 18 games twice in his career. Following the trade, Broglio would go on to win only seven more games and retire from baseball after three years, while Brock would lead the Cardinals to two world championships, become baseball's all-time stolen base leader, and be elected to the Hall of Fame.
The infield consisted of the now-famous double-play-combination of Kessinger-to-Beckert-to-Banks(...it is a great day to play baseball, let's play two!!!). The infield of The Chicago Cubs was anchored at third base by Ron Santo. Feisty, competitive, and yet down-to-earth, A rookie in 1960, Ron Santo was maturing as an athlete, a professional, and as a human being to where, by the late 1960's, he had become the iconic image of Wrigley Field, and the Chicago Cubs.
Then came 1969!! In Ron Santo's life-experiences, many of those million tears had to have occurred during the late summer of 1969. Throughout Spring and continuing well into the lazy-hazy-crazy days of Summer, by all accounts, The Chicago Cubs, behind the offensive and defensive play of Ron Santo, were destined for an appearance in the world Series!! But a Leo Durocher ill-timed vacation, a black-cat appearing in front of their visitors dugout during a NY Mets game, and Fate, would decide otherwise. And what should have been an uplifting baseball story focusing on the Cubs first pennant appearance since 1945 with Detroit, ended up becoming the Epic Saga of The Miracle Mets. 1969 would be the meteoric apex of Ron Santo's career.
A nine-time National League All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner, Santo hit .277 with 365 doubles, 67 triples, 342 home runs, 1,331 RBI and 1,138 runs in 2,243 games covering 15 major league seasons with the Cubs (1960-73) and White Sox (1974).
In his 15-year career, Santo finished in the league top-10 in batting average three times, slugging percentage five times, on-base percentage seven times, base on balls nine times, games played eight times, home runs seven times, RBI eight times, runs scored three times and total bases five times.
He holds or shares many defensive records for third basemen, including most consecutive National League games at third base (364), most years leading the N.L. in putouts (seven), most years leading the N.L. in assists (seven straight), most years leading either league in total chances (nine) and most years leading either league in double plays (six).
Santo was a member of the Chicago Cubs radio team as an analyst since 1990 and was a pioneer in raising funds for juvenile diabetes research. For 32 years he hosted the Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes, which raised more than $40 million to support diabetes research, progress and continued hope for a cure.
Beloved Cubs iconic 3rd Baseman, Ron Santo died early Friday morning, at age 70. Ron Santo, a Nine-time All-Star, and longtime broadcaster, was truly a Chicago legend. The iconic third-baseman was referred to, by ESPN, and many other sports commentators, as the greatest player NEVER elected into the Hall of Fame. He wasn't Mr. Cub; that was Ernie Banks -- but Ron Santo was the next best thing. So it was with great sorrow that Cubs fans around the world reacted Friday when they learned Ronald Edward Santo had died from complications of bladder cancer.
That sadness is, as well, shared by myself. This essay is dedicated to you,
Ronald Edward Santo; February 25, 1940 – December 2, 2010.
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
Sky gettin dark above me
Baby I need your lovin
Got to have all of your lovin
Baby I want your lovin~~~My Pledge of Love; Joe Jeffery Group, 1969
After my RailBarons.org experience on Tuesday AM, I found myself
doing some bops-and-weaves, and some musical-chairs with some
errands. These include Mang Rd/Park, Mickey-D's and the location with all the
crazy renovation now going on, at Sheridan Dr. & Delaware Ave.,
and Niagara Hobby~~~where, in taking my valued 2-8-8-2 articulated-mallet
locomotive to be serviced, as I'm scootering in, I am greeted by former
ABX/DHL casual employee, Anthony Aquisto. What does he do!?!? In front of
a number of customers and co-workers, he drops to his knees, and does
one-of-those, chanting---I'm-not-worthy; I'm-not-worthy!! We laughed; under my breath though, I'm pleading and gesturing to stop it already, and get up!!
I have never mentioned much of Anthony before because he was just a "casual"; would only get spotty work consideration. But when he would be on board, he always wanted to work in my area. We worked well together, and he always respected me because he saw
first-hand, the insanity of what I was up against, what I had to do to effect
my energies to complete my responsibilities, and some of the punks that would
conspire to make things more difficult for me than what already had existed.
That again, is Niagara Hobby & Crafts, Union Rd. Cheektowaga, NY.
Wednesday, there was nothing of real significance~~~in NORTHTOWNS!!!
But a cylinder-shaped 'band' of cloud-cover was creating a lake-effect
snow fall across South Buffalo, South-towns, Cheektowaga, Depew, and
the Western portion of THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY that created such
depth~~~and resulting chaos, that Buffalo/West Seneca ended up on
Thursday evening's, NBC & CBS NATIONAL NEWS!!! For all I know, we were probably
on ABC, too; I just couldn't get to that channel in time.
Thursday; since this is a journal I'm just going to post the attached this way,
and we'll see where this goes:
Thank you for your response to our WNYJOBS ad for a Part-Time Transportation Coordinator. We have been collecting and reviewing the candidate responses and are now reaching out to a group of individuals whose background seems suited for the position. As usual, we heard from a very diverse group and had a lot of work to do in narrowing the field. I would like to touch on a couple issues and make a couple requests before we move on to set up interviews.
1.The position is a Part-Time administrative position for the foreseeable future. And because of the part-time nature of the position, only statutory benefits are currently available. Although we are getting busier and I would love to see this change, I am asking each candidate to confirm that they understand this. As you can imagine, we are concerned about filling the position only to have someone leave us when they find full-time work.
2.Please provide us with your salary requirements and a list of references.
3.Finally, I’d like to try a little different approach to the initial interviews by asking each candidate to respond to a couple questions.
a.Please pick a specific job duty that you’ve had to perform in the past that you weren’t particularly fond of and explain why you feel that way about it.
b.Describe to us a work-related event that you were involved in where you had a great deal of fun, and explain why.
c.If you had the opportunity to work a flexible schedule, what would your preferred work schedule be, and why?
Thank you for your interest in our transportation position. We are interested in beginning interviews in the very near future so we look forward to your response and we wish you luck in the process.
Sincerely,
"Marcus" Regoord
Vice President - Finance & Administration
Marcus;
1. Yes I fully understand this to be a PART-TIME position. At this juncture in my life, this is the most suitable type of employment I am seeking. Your offer is consistent with my expectations. Salary expectations would be consistent with payroll structures already in place with your Payroll; Human Resources Departments.
2a. When Airborne/D H L Express chose, in 2007, to get away from loading the very transportable and movable COCHRANE CONTAINERS, and started loading the industry-norm; "A" CONTAINERS. That decision left me to completely fend for myself. I received absolutely no support from local management to make sure that the work that, in effect, was still available for me to undertake, was done so in a humane manner. In being left to my own resources, I was reduced to the resident freak-show. With the COCHRANE(C) Containers, I could 'cheat' mother nature and take advantage of structures and apparatus around me, to get the work done. With the larger "A" Containers, where it was like going in to, and out, of a house, there were no structures or apparatus to 'lean' against, or hold onto. So I was reduced to crawling on my hands-and-knees, and doing the 'letter-sort'.
2b. The AM sort!!!!! I was in my 'element'!!!!!! I ruled!!! I was so good, the industrial-engineers that came in and 'clocked' me~~~to everybody's chagrin~~~ended up basing the Northeast Region productivity standards, on my performances. 18 parcels a minute; one every three seconds, had to be pulled from a pallet, or "C" Container, and placed on conveyor belt for driver review and extraction. Whether the parcel was 5#, 15#, 35#, or 75#~~~that was the standard that was set.
2c. My preferred flex-time schedule would be full-time days; a few days a week. That would be, as if to say, 8AM-5PM kind of thing; possibly Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Or Monday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Marcus~~~you have asked some 'loaded' questions. I assume I would be given a face-to-face opportunity to amplify any points and concerns you may still have.
Lou Marconi 716.578.8568 cell phone
Friday; always interesting, often good, but this Friday would end up having
me, possess a heavy heart.
There are those of you in this viewing audience who know me well enough to know that a part of my persona; a part of my very essence, includes a metaphysical attachment with The Chicago Cubs. To begin with, one must understand that this attraction was incubated in an era when Major League Baseball(MLB), was still THE NATIONAL PAST-TIME. As kids, we longed for the lazy-crazy-hazy days of summer~~~to play sand-lot baseball!! In playing at our level, we, as well, wanted to know about mythical athletes playing in these mystical, Parthenon-type-shrines called, Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, The Polo Grounds, Municipal Stadium, and Forbes Field, etc. So in 1961, because of this topical irregularity with Crosley Field, my initial draw was to the Cincinnati Reds. You see, the left-field-warning-track rested against an inclined area because a part of Cincinnati's drainage system, ran along that area of the stadium outfield. So when the left-fielder was retrieving a fly hit deep-to-left, he would have to run up an incline as he was about to encounter the field-field Fence!! Those kinds of nuances just left a lasting impression on me. But then something happened in 1963, that would have a profound effect on me. Kenneth Douglass Hubbs (December 23, 1941 - February 13, 1964) was an American second-baseman who played from 1961 to 1963 for the Chicago Cubs in the National League. He was killed in a plane crash near Provo, Utah prior to the 1964 season.
In his short big-league career, Hubbs was considered to be an excellent fielder but a poor hitter. In 1962, he became the first rookie to win a Gold Glove Award, and set several fielding records. Those achievements helped him win the MLB Rookie of the Year Award that season. At the time of his death, Hubbs was considered to be one of the best second basemen in the game.
When I learned of this plane crash, I became an instant Chicago Cubs, fan. In Hubbs, Chicago had a new-found sense of enthusiasm. There was this sense of a rebirth, a rejuvenation; an aspiration of attaining the National League Pennant for the first time since 1945. I got sucked into this same kind of excitement and enthusiasm. And why not?!?! In Ken's passing, his legacy, combined with one hell of a line-up, at least on paper, still suggested success was imminent.
Hell, the Cubs outfield already had hall-of-Famer, Billy Williams. As well, in the outfield, was this promising rookie, named Lou Brock~~~yeah, that Lou Brock.
The Lou Brock saga would be the start of the "crying of a million tears" that Ronald Edward Santo would often philosophically impart, when trying to come to terms with a set-back in Ron's professional and personal life.
In 1964, a promising young outfielder named Lou Brock was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio. The trade became known as one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history, although few people could have predicted that outcome. At the time of the trade, Brock's best season at the plate had been an ordinary .263 and he was having trouble defensively, while Broglio had won 18 games twice in his career. Following the trade, Broglio would go on to win only seven more games and retire from baseball after three years, while Brock would lead the Cardinals to two world championships, become baseball's all-time stolen base leader, and be elected to the Hall of Fame.
The infield consisted of the now-famous double-play-combination of Kessinger-to-Beckert-to-Banks(...it is a great day to play baseball, let's play two!!!). The infield of The Chicago Cubs was anchored at third base by Ron Santo. Feisty, competitive, and yet down-to-earth, A rookie in 1960, Ron Santo was maturing as an athlete, a professional, and as a human being to where, by the late 1960's, he had become the iconic image of Wrigley Field, and the Chicago Cubs.
Then came 1969!! In Ron Santo's life-experiences, many of those million tears had to have occurred during the late summer of 1969. Throughout Spring and continuing well into the lazy-hazy-crazy days of Summer, by all accounts, The Chicago Cubs, behind the offensive and defensive play of Ron Santo, were destined for an appearance in the world Series!! But a Leo Durocher ill-timed vacation, a black-cat appearing in front of their visitors dugout during a NY Mets game, and Fate, would decide otherwise. And what should have been an uplifting baseball story focusing on the Cubs first pennant appearance since 1945 with Detroit, ended up becoming the Epic Saga of The Miracle Mets. 1969 would be the meteoric apex of Ron Santo's career.
A nine-time National League All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner, Santo hit .277 with 365 doubles, 67 triples, 342 home runs, 1,331 RBI and 1,138 runs in 2,243 games covering 15 major league seasons with the Cubs (1960-73) and White Sox (1974).
In his 15-year career, Santo finished in the league top-10 in batting average three times, slugging percentage five times, on-base percentage seven times, base on balls nine times, games played eight times, home runs seven times, RBI eight times, runs scored three times and total bases five times.
He holds or shares many defensive records for third basemen, including most consecutive National League games at third base (364), most years leading the N.L. in putouts (seven), most years leading the N.L. in assists (seven straight), most years leading either league in total chances (nine) and most years leading either league in double plays (six).
Santo was a member of the Chicago Cubs radio team as an analyst since 1990 and was a pioneer in raising funds for juvenile diabetes research. For 32 years he hosted the Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes, which raised more than $40 million to support diabetes research, progress and continued hope for a cure.
Beloved Cubs iconic 3rd Baseman, Ron Santo died early Friday morning, at age 70. Ron Santo, a Nine-time All-Star, and longtime broadcaster, was truly a Chicago legend. The iconic third-baseman was referred to, by ESPN, and many other sports commentators, as the greatest player NEVER elected into the Hall of Fame. He wasn't Mr. Cub; that was Ernie Banks -- but Ron Santo was the next best thing. So it was with great sorrow that Cubs fans around the world reacted Friday when they learned Ronald Edward Santo had died from complications of bladder cancer.
That sadness is, as well, shared by myself. This essay is dedicated to you,
Ronald Edward Santo; February 25, 1940 – December 2, 2010.
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
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