Victory Lap

Tomorrow is Opening Day in Cincinnati. The official start of the Cincinnati Reds baseball season has been an unofficial civic holiday for decades. [Back in my day, the Reds, the oldest team in the majors (founded in 1869), used to open the season a day before any other team… ]

It’s a big deal, with a lot of pomp and ceremony, including an Opening Day Parade organized by the merchants at Findlay Market, a public market that’s been around longer than the Reds have.

This year’s Honorary Grand Marshal will be Jim Scott, a Cincinnati radio legend. It’s a fitting honor, as Jim has participated in the Opening Day parade for 56 years, usually walking the entire route and smiling, waving, and high-fiving folks along the way.

Jim walking the parade route with his wife Donna

For Cincinnati Baby Boomers, Jim has been part of the soundtrack of their lives, starting in 1968 at WSAI, an AM station that played pop music, brought the Beatles to Cincinnati, and garnered nearly 50% of the radio audience back then. He moved to WLW-AM in 1984, as the morning host, and stayed in that time slot until 2015. If you’re keeping score at home, the final tally is nearly 47 years in Cincinnatians’ ears.

But this year will be different for Jim. In the Spring of 2022, he was diagnosed with ALS. He went public with the news last year.

I had the privilege of working with Jim, as his morning show producer, back in the mid-90s. At a station with a bunch of talk radio blowhards, Jim was the friendly voice who started your day with a smile. Among a subset of the staffers, he caught a lot of flak for being “too nice.” But I worked with Jim long enough to know that his radio personality wasn’t shtick, it was just a heightened version of Jim. WLW-AM was part of a radio conglomerate that owned 8 stations in the market (if you’re looking for Reason #1 of why I got out of radio, consolidation is the correct answer.) Jim did more charity work than the rest of the on-air personalities at all the stations, combined. Charity auctions. Golf outings. Fundraisers of all sorts. And if there was a speaker’s fee, Jim donated it back to the charity. Sure, all those public appearances helped his name recognition and his ratings. But that’s not why he did it. He did it because he truly was, and is, a nice guy.

In the March issue of Cincinnati Magazine, Steven Rosen wrote a nice feature about Jim’s decades-long involvement with the parade, and his positive attitude in the face of one of the cruelest fatal diseases. Check it out at the link above.

“Being in the parade to me will be a statement that I’m not going to quit. I’ll probably be in a wheelchair, but I probably won’t be the only person there in a wheelchair.”

Jim Scott, in the article linked above

This parade may be the last chance for us to show some love to Jim Scott. He deserves every smile, wave and cheer we’ve got. It shouldn’t be a somber send-off; it’s a victory lap.

Legendary baseball player and manager Leo Durocher famously said “nice guys finish last.” Leo got it wrong in this case, because Jim Scott is the people’s champ.

Illustration by Remi Geoffroi for Cincinnati Magazine

Right now on the Findlay Market home page, there’s a link where you can send a message to Jim.

If you know Jim, please do so. Actually do it even if you don’t know him.

Age vs. Rage

Writing about politics isn’t my strong suit. (Some would say plain old writing isn’t my strong suit… to those detractors I say “me can write gooder!”)

But I’m going to wade into the roiling, boiling waters of American politics – feel free to move on and wait for my next sure-to-be-less-polarizing post about music, or kids, or maybe even puppies.

I think most folks would agree that both candidates in the upcoming presidential election leave a lot to be desired. It’s a sad commentary on our political system that this is the best we can come up with.

That said, I’d rather err on the side of old age when the other option is pretty much the same age + rage.

The kindly grandpa vs. the crazy uncle.

The politician who knows how to get things done vs. the business man who has filed for bankruptcy multiple times.

The guy who has known the pain of unfathomable loss vs. the dude who doesn’t have an empathetic or sympathetic bone in his body.

The person with 50 years of public service vs. the fella with 90+ indictments.

A gentleman who understands “We the People” vs. a guy who only knows “Me, me, me.”

The Commander in Chief vs. the Demander in Chief.

A leader with substantial foreign policy experience who supports our allies vs. a person who has a man-crush on dictators.

But it’s not just about demeanor (or meaner). The track record speaks for itself – check out these stats and facts from this article on Bloomberg.com:

The economy added 14.8 million jobs over the first three years of his term, more than any president in US history over the same period. What’s more, unemployment has held below 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s. Yet many workers have been dissatisfied as soaring inflation wiped out wage gains and then some in 2022. Last year, though, income increases began to outpace price increases.

America’s cost of living, which surged to a four-decade high during Biden’s first two years, is poised to return to its pre-pandemic level this year — when family wealth across income groups is more robust than at any point in the new century.

Access to affordable health care is Biden’s crowning achievement. The number of uninsured Americans hit an all-time low of 7.2% in the second quarter of 2023, while the number of people who signed up for an Obamacare plan for 2024 surged to 21.3 million.

American households are wealthier and in better financial shape than ever before by almost any measure. Even with a bear market in stocks in 2022 and elevated inflation, Federal Reserve data show household net worth rose to a record $156.2 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, from $131.4 trillion at the end of 2020. The stock market, where more than half of all households are invested, has surged.

Preliminary data suggest that inequality continued to narrow in 2023. Even better, the improvement — unlike during Biden’s first two years — was due to rising real wages, at least for some Americans: Lower-income workers saw gains, while median and higher earners saw barely any increase at all, after accounting for inflation.

Since his inauguration, the S&P 500 Index has returned about 45%, more than double the total returns of the rest of the world’s developed-market equities. 

The US was in the midst of its worst spasm of violence in decades when Biden took office, with the homicide rate rising 29% in 2020. It rose again slightly in 2021, but started to fall that autumn. There was a slight year-over-year decline in 2022, then an 11.8% drop last year — the sharpest on record ­— according to estimates by AH Datalytics.

Not to mention the infrastructure bill, a sweeping climate change measure, capping the cost of insulin…

Overall, the blood pressure of America is back to normal after four years of crazed bellowing that left us all on edge and at odds.

Look beyond the age. Look at the record.

The choice is up to us.

Both excerpts above from Tom Nichols in The Atlantic.

Feel free to disagree. That’s what makes America great.

Political rant over. See you next time… with puppies!

Green is Growing!

This recent story by Elizabeth Weise in USA Today had a lot of good news for all the people who share Planet Earth.

Here are a few excerpts:

Wow, the lowest greenhouse gas emissions since 1987 – that’s amazing!

It’s not enough, of course. The article says as much. But we’re headed in the right direction… and momentum is a powerful force.

Let’s keep on the sunny side!

Beer & Philosophy

Beer can turn most of us into philosophers. But in this case (ha!), I’m talking about the business philosophy of the owners of Great Lakes Brewing Co. (based in Cleveland, Ohio). My friend Howard works for Great Lakes, and he flagged this story from Brewer Magazine in his Instagram. The article is a Q&A with co-founders/co-owners (and blood brothers) Daniel and Patrick Conway, as well as the current CEO, Mark King.

I like Great Lakes beers anyway, but I like them even more after reading the piece. Because their recipe for success has as much to do with people as it has to do with barley, malt, and hops. Here’s Daniel talking about employees:

” I recall when our payroll provider helped us create our first policy manual and there was a section where we could insert our own language, and we included that ‘our people are not costs to control, but assets to develop and grow.’ Words in a manual long since forgotten but that spirit is still alive today.”

“our people are not costs to control, but assets to develop and grow.”

Original Great Lakes Policy Manual

Mmm, that’s as refreshing as a Great Lakes Eliot Ness amber lager!

And here’s Patrick, citing a good idea that has helped sustain the brewery since it was founded in 1988:

“I think from the beginning with our ‘triple bottom line’ where we wanted to take care of our finances, but also our city and people and the planet. It seemed so logical to not just focus on profit and it carried us well for years.”

A business focus that includes people and the planet? Sounds as tasty as an Edmund Fitzgerald porter!

More from Patrick later in the interview: ” Invest in good people from the start.”

It shouldn’t be a foreign concept, but it all too often is. Take better care of your people, and they’ll care more about the company.

The Conway brothers started an Employee Stock Ownership Plan back in 2018, so they’re putting their money where their mouth is.

I already liked Great Lakes beers. Now I can feel even better about purchasing those products because I know they there’s a lot of people power in every serving.

Cheers!

Wrestling with Writing. And Vice Versa.

A few days ago, Cincinnati Magazine sent out an email touting their most popular stories of the year, with a three-pronged qualifier:

I’m not sure if they consider “pro wrasslin'” a sport. Doubtful. But I’m going to convince myself that they DO consider it a sport. How else could you explain the fact that the photo essay I wrote back in June didn’t make the list?

OK, I won’t delude myself any longer. Heck, I won’t even dupe myself into thinking that the “essay” part was the main event – Grant Moxley‘s photos were the real stars of the show.

But honestly, I wouldn’t care if the article was the least popular one of 2023. If you had told 10-year-old Dubbatrubba “in the future someone will pay you to attend a low-budget wrestling event, interview some wrestlers, and write a brief story about it” I’d have been so happy that I would’ve given you a celebratory Brainbuster. Or maybe a Camel Clutch. Or a Figure Four Leglock.

As a wee lad, the highlight of my rural Arkansas Saturday mornings was tuning in to professional wrestling on one of the two TV stations that we could get via our crappy rooftop antenna. (If you’re keeping score, they were the NBC and CBS stations out of Little Rock, a good 100 miles away. The ABC affiliate’s signal wasn’t as strong, thus I was denied a chance to see Happy Days in its prime. Talk about deprivation!)

I loved watching old-school pros like Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant, Ernie “Cat” Ladd, Sugar Ray Candy, and the Iron Sheik. I knew it was mostly an act, but it was a great escape from the challenges of everyday life. (And growing up poor in rural Arkansas, there were plenty of those!)

So when Cincinnati Magazine editor John Fox — an longtime friend of mine — asked me if I could write a photo essay about a minor-league wrestling organization based in town, I was ecstatic.

I loved the chance to connect my childhood avocation with my current vocation. It was an absolute blast!

I may never be a world champion in writing (or even win the “intercontinental belt” whatever that is), but at least I’m in the ring, taking my best shot.


P.S. having attended a Northern Wrestling Federation event where one wrestler did a backflip off the top rope and landed on another wrestler outside the ring, with only a thin piece of plywood protecting them from the concrete floor, here’s my response to anyone who tries to tell me that pro wrasslin’ is “fake.”

Shot to Hell

You never know what you’re going to find on Twitter* but it’s usually a hot mess.

*yes, I still call it Twitter – if the egomaniacal twit that owns it wants to pay me $8 a month, I will start using the new (lame) name.

Here’s a lovely Twitter post from Christmas Day – one that perhaps misses the mark by a country mile on the whole “spirit of the season” and “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” vibe:

Here’s a different image for you, Commissioner Gipson:

Thankfully the better angels joined the conversation to provide a bit of perspective for Gunnut Gipson:

Amen!

Hey, Commissioner, your Twitter bio lists “missionary” among your credentials:

Why don’t you make it your mission to quit pandering to a very small minority. This reply summed it up nicely:

You see, Commissioner, until people like you start showing some common sense, Santa’s just gonna keep bringing us more senseless deaths.