More Quick Glueck Shtick

* A Close Call
Today I give a well deserved first thought to baseball’s legendary outfielder Stan Musial and manager Earl Weaver. They were part of my youth and provided distinct happy memories. At first it bothered me that both should die on the same day (Saturday Jan.19). But now I get it. The Gods and Lords of baseball couldn’t decide whom they wanted to honor first so they invited both of them to baseball heaven on the same day.

* Double Protection
Suspecting that many of you football fans are growing tired of the weekly post game drenching of the winning head coach, I offer you some immodest proposals. Momentarily, let’s ignore that this sudden drenching of ice-cold kool-aid may induce shock, hypothermia, a heart attack, stroke or repetitive seizures, and does not really foster great love between player and coach. Now if I were a Harbaugh brother for the Super Bowl, a smart move I could make for game day would be to purchase the best made, lightest, most expensive, air-tight and hundred percent waterproof raincoat on the planet. If my team (either Baltimore or San Francisco) were to win, I’d be totally protected. If it looked like my team was going to lose, I’d have a large cold bucket of kool-aid ready to dump on the players. What’s good for the goose is good for the gooser.

* Separated at Birth
Quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Jonathon “Football Manziel” not only have similar looks but both can throw and run you into oblivion. Kaepernick (San Francisco 49ers) and Manziel (Alabama Crimson) are prototype speedy QB’s who can out-run the defense and inject the crowd with a large dose of excitement.

* A Street of Never Return
A friend of mine with an expensive well functioning car GPS recently got lost while he was driving home from Los Angeles. He unexpectedly ran into a number of construction detours. By accident he got on Katella and turned the wrong way. After several hours of loneliness he found himself in Huntington Beach. It reminds me of the 1956 song by the Kingston Trio where the hero gets lost forever on the streets of Boston riding the MTA. Katella is the OC version of a street from which you will never return.

* Let’s Park at the Fun Zone
Lately there has been considerable discussion regarding the Balboa “Fun Zone” and the efforts by brave groups to spend sizeable monies to upgrade the area. Many Newport Beachians are curious about the future availability of adequate parking. How about moving the carousel to the Park at the New City Hall? More room for a parking structure at the Fun Zone and something for the kids to do when their parents attend the city council meetings!

* It’s All In The Interpretation
The wife and I were baby-sitting our daughter’s two kids (Brooke 4 and Eli 2) when they visited during the recent holidays. My wife asked them if they want some fruit yogurt for desert. Brooke said yes and Eli nodded no (or so we thought). While eating her yogurt, Brooke stood up and retrieved a cup of yogurt for Eli who ate it readily. I asked Brooke why she got Eli desert when he had nodded no.
“You see grandpa,” she said with a satisfied knowing smile, “I can understand his language.”

Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., of Newport Beach, is an award-winning writer who can be found at [email protected].