A Lot Goes On In A Big City

I was just thinking about stuff I heard that went on in Dallas yesterday:

First of all, Mia Hamm was part of an Southern Methodist University program that invites world-class athletes every so often to a luncheon and they speak. There was a big fuss, with radio shows doing live remotes and it made the paper and it was on a couple of newscasts. That's as it should be. When one of the greatest athletes in the world shows up to talk about what she used to do, there should be hoopla. She did give the expected pep talk to girls, but is there any way that she could go through one interview without the reporter asking her about her husband (baseball player Nomar Garciaparra)? I mean, c'mon. Her accomplishments dwarf his, and his are impressive.

Secondly, there was this Zig Ziglar motivational deal for business-types. Get this: We have two arenas here in Dallas as they never tore down the old one the hockey and basketball teams played in, and BOTH ARENAS were SOLD OUT at $225 per seat! Okay, there were special business promotions early-on that got major discounts, but is the state of business motivation so bad that 30,000 folks will spend all freakin' day listening to other people remind you to set goals, write them down, be all you can be, blah blah blah? Okay, you get to play hookie for a day on the company nickel. Let's hope THAT'S the motivation. It reminds me of a high school assembly, ("Don't do drugs! Don't drink at the prom you could die! Love yourself!") only you have to pay $225 to go. The businessperson subculture amuses me to no end.

Finally, an absolutely influential musician nobody's really heard of played here last night: Paul Westerburg. He was the front man for a band called The Replacements who, in effect, made it okay for bands not to be talented as long as you can write catchy songs with an edge to them. He played here, and I really would've liked to have seen that show. Had to work, though.

Even though I rarely get to do this kind of stuff, I like living near a big city. At least that stuff is out there. In fact, I'm seriously considering getting tickets to the broadway touring show "The Producers" this summer. Heard good things...