The 50th Commemoration of a Miracle: Blimey its Baseball Take 2

Blimey, it's baseball--Take Two: While it was a banner day for baseball in London Stadium yesterday (and once again today), yesterday was also the day NYC commemorated the 50th anniversary of a true baseball miracle--the Amazing '69 Mets taking on all odds to beat the heavily-favored Orioles.

After a divisive set of events in the rebellious 60's (losing some of our greatest heroes to violent backlash), an unlikely band of rag-tag, unevenly talented, but high-spirited athletes representing a split-riden Gothamtown, swept to a unlikely five-game World Series victory. The "gotta to believe" heroes, aligned with a launch to and walk on the moon rallied a city and much of our country to believe in itself once again.

Maybe, one day we will have a true world series that will rally and unite the world.

It's a big day for America's Pastime:

 London Calling, and the Clash is between the Yankees v. the Red Sox--the Play's the Thing.

And the Jazz Played On

DC gave a jazz party at the waterside Wharf as part of its 15th Annual DC Jazz Festival. The many jazz performances were mostly free, and free-form, and they gently lifted the spirits of a crowd of happy people of all ages, as the nearby waves deftly lapped the shore.

A Lesson for the Ages

Who said “there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues”? Take five very gifted middle and high school students (and their teacher) from the Baltimore School for the Arts who play brass, wind, percussion and stringed musical instruments; stir in a gifted jazz instructor, Dr. J.B. Dyer, who can make the complexities of jazz simple; and toss in, Sean Jones, an off-the-charts trumpet player who trades notes with the greats, yet wanted to give back to teaching music education; and you are part of a joyful and soulful explosion of risk-taking, spontaneity, individuality, collaboration, teamwork, trust, and freedom that exemplify the American spirit and the principles of leadership at its finest. That this demonstration was held on the 75th Anniversary of D-Day made it even more fitting.

In a crowded assembly hall at the U.S. Department of Education (in collaboration with the Herbie Hancock Music Institute), history was made and remade. If you ever doubted that students of all ages can learn, that good teachers can teach even the most difficult of subjects, and that people of all views can get engaged and come out of their comfort zones to collaborate for a greater good, your doubts were put to rest in ninety short and shining minutes. The power of music, the power of teaching and learning, the power of being open to new views and ideas, the power of taking risks and learning from the mistakes that might come, all came together through the sounds and the silence of a diverse team of gifted yet humble student musicians and teachers. This was truly a lesson for the ages.

Sad Day in Radio

It is indeed a sad day or days in radio land. New York's WPLJ, named after a Mothers of Invention song was truly an innovative and inventive radio station.  Virtually, at the same time Q-107 or Mix 107.3, also legendary in DC, formerly WMAL-FM, suddenly became K-Love, and lost its rock identity after a long -run, and its last format change.  

Although both stations went through many format changes in their close to legendary 50-year histories, they always stayed fresh, and with a form of rock, and that was often ahead of their times.  

PLJ, started as WABC-FM, one of the first album-oriented rock stations, with interesting DJ’s such as Zacherle, Alex Bennett (who had a legendary radio career of his own), and Vince Scelsa.  PLJ's last song was John Lennon's “Imagine,” released in 1971, the same year the station went on the air. 

Its DC counterpart included many DC rock radio pioneers, such as Stoney Richards, and Dude Walker ending with veteran morning-man Jack Diamond.  It's so-called flight out song was "Cherish" by the Association.  

Both stations inspired many other stations, DJs, and listeners.  Each format shift on both stations, renewed the energy-level in their areas and their commitment to high-quality radio. It is sad to lose their creative takes on what radio can be.