Ron Santo - humble hero

Ron Santo – humble hero

A hero has gone from among us. Ron Santo, sportscaster and former third baseman for the Chicago Cubs finally lost his battle with cancer and his lifelong enemy, diabetes on December second. Santo was exemplary in so many ways. He was a ten-time National League All-star pick, four times a Golden Glove winner and awarded the Lou Gehrig Award in 1973 by Phi Delta Theta. He scored 1,138 runs, batted in 1,133, put out almost 4,600 runners, led the league in triples in 1964 and got on base 3,400 times. That is the stuff of eight and nine digit salaries these days. This brings up the most noticeable way that Ron Santo was exemplary.

It may seem trite to note that Ron Santo was a different breed of professional athlete than we often see today. His exploits were outstanding. His ego was not. Ron Santo was a humble man. He did not show up in the celebrity gossip columns or the police blotter. He did his job and went home to his family. He was far from unusual in this during the years that he played. Very few players in the sixties and seventies did any trash-talking or grandstanding in press conferences. Those who did were not usually well regarded by their teammates or the fans.

This is a major reason that Ron Santo was so beloved by those who were his fans during his career. It was the humility that cemented the affection and made it so long-lasting that Santo was still well regarded long after he retired from the field and will be easily and fondly remembered for many years now that he is gone. Ron was a phenomenon on the baseball diamond but he saw himself as a common guy who just happened to work on a baseball diamond. The third base line was his office. He did his job and then he took off the uniform with the number 10 on it and went home. The closest he ever came to bragging was to run down the third base line and click his heels after a home win. Ron Santo will be greatly missed by those who miss a more innocent type of professional athlete. I like to think I can picture number 10 going along a golden road, clicking his heels. Farewell, Ron!

Murder by spotlight

Murder by spotlight

It's happening again. The media are stalking some new prey. There's blood in the water and they are closing in for the kill. Some of you may say that this is ridiculous, the media doesn't kill anyone. Perhaps Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana, Anna Nicole Smith and some others may disagree with you.

Being pursued, hounded, watched, spied upon and scrutinized doing even your most routine and normal actions over a prolonged period has to have a marked effect on a person's mental well-being and behavior. Indeed, such effects have been well documented in groups such as survivors of the Holocaust and prisoners of war. How can it be that we, as a society, have missed this relationship when it comes to celebrities in stressful situations? Can it be that we actually don't see it or do we just refuse to care? After all these people have courted the cameras before to achieve their celebrity status! This is the same mentality that says a prostitute or stripper can't possibly be raped by virtue of the nature of their professions and it's a mentality that has no place in modern society.

Why have celebrities become media whores according to the rest of society, forced to perform at any and every time someone else chooses? What makes us think we have the right or the need to see how a celebrity dresses when they go to the market? Furthermore, why should anyone else get to criticize and comment on how a celebrity looks during those private moments? Those times are not performances. They are not intended for public consumption. What happened to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”? Do these cherished rights not apply to someone in the public eye?

Furthermore, there seem to be several double standards at play here! A President admits to marital infidelity and nobody says he should step down or recuse himself from making speeches but, when a golf pro makes the same admission, members of the media begin to comment that he should concentrate on his sex addiction rehab and stop pursuing his livelihood. Beauty queens are cashiered for youthful indiscretions in men's magazines prior to their pageants but there is no mention of any need to forgive other public figures who consorted with known traitors and terrorists in their younger days.

Wake up, America! If you don't think the major media outlets are calling the shots, then you just aren't paying any attention. Look at the way that our opinions are shaped relative to the items cited above! Why was it okay for E!and Inside Edition to hound poor Anna Nicole Smith to death? Shouldn't there be some sort of limits put on this type of media feeding frenzy? Some may say that the media didn't force Anna Nicole to commit suicide! I say that type of thinking carries a distinct aroma of bovine residue and though the media played a huge role there was one other group that was even more culpable.

Those “inquiring minds” that the tabloids and tabloid programs claim as consumers are the most to blame. That's right! Every time someone buys one of those tabloid rags or turns on Inside Edition or TMZ (God, help us!) they are feeding the beast that is stalking other people to death! Isn't it time that we all come to our senses before there is another tragedy? How many more have to die in the name of entertainment? I think it would save a lot of time and be a lot more honest if we would just bring back the Circus Maximus. At least the Romans weren't hypocrites about their love for watching people suffer!