January 7, 2015: Bullying the Blind

Listening to George Shearing play jazz this evening reminded me of the time I saw him live.  I was a young man on a date at a fancy supper club (my first ever) called The Blue Mirror where many of the greats had  performed.  I was flush with cash having just won a bundle shooting pool, a skill acquired in my misspent–but very educational–youth.  Shearing, being blind, was guided to the seat at his piano where he sat silent and still waiting for the crowd to settle as everyone finished their dinner but not their drinks.  After a minute passed, which seemed like an eternity, a man in front broke the uneasy silence by yelling out, “This is a Shearing session, not a hearing session.”  A silent wave of shock and embarrassment swept instantly over the audience as we all tried not to look at one another while glancing at the person who yelled. What kind of person bullies the blind?  How does a blind person respond?  Another minute of dead uncomfortable silence passed, and then Shearing began to play this lively and happy song with his quintet.

January 6, 2015:  Maintaining NFL Jersey Integrity

“You will have to get this NFL jersey professionally cleaned,” said the Zip Cleaner’s employee when I dropped off a load of holiday-dirty clothes at  my local cleaners.  “Aren’t you professional cleaners, I asked?”

“Yeah, but we can’t clean that jersey because of the logo,” he replied.

Can the long arm of the NFL possibly reach this deep into daily life to maintain its “integrity” for all of its stuff by legally specifying how NFL certified garments must be cleaned (under penalty and fine for not complying, I assume)?  I was confused and worried. How long before NFL digital security bots are everywhere protecting the NFL’s “integrity?”

Alternatively, maybe the NFL jersey logo is so sacred it can never be touched by human hand nor harsh chemicals, or; its sublime “integrity” never gets tarnished.  Hope springs eternal…