For years whenever I thought of former Phillies manager Dallas Green I would remember my anger at him after a three-game series the Phillies played against the Mets during the summer of 1980. Green's analysis of the final game won by the Phils - which followed two Met wins - was that finally the Phillies had played like the Phillies and the Mets played like the Mets.
Not that he wasn't telling the truth...the Mets were pretty bad and the Phillies were about to win the World Series that fall...but I hated that he verbalized it in that manner. But now, thirty-one years later, when I think of Green I will begin to associate something else.
Dallas Green is the grandfather of Christina-Taylor Green, the nine-year-old killed in Tucson who was laid to rest last weekend. Naturally our prayers are that the Green family will be able to find healing and peace within their memories of Christina even in the wake of such a tragic event. But with that said, was it ironic that Christina's funeral was just prior to the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., yet another person whose life was senselessly and violently ended?
If someone wants to legally drive a car, they must essentially register with the government and pass a test which shows their fitness to operate a vehicle without endangering the lives of others. If someone wants to be a doctor, they must complete several years of schooling as well as an internship in order to show their ability to work in that field without endangering the lives of their patients.
If someone wants to be an attorney, they must complete their undergraduate program and law school, and then pass the bar exam showing them to be capable of working in that field. So why then could the accused shooter just walk into stores to pick up all of the ammo he wanted? Why can people walk into gun shows - as detailed on news reports - and often get firearms without background checks?
One can only hope that it will be this tragedy that finally propels us as a nation to seriously address the issue of gun violence.
About Me
- Mack Williams
- My online column/blog, Sportin' Life - now rechristened as The SEVEN - has appeared on various sites for years, and became the basis for my first book, Sportin' Life: Essays on Sport and Life. My second book is entitled Voices From The Blue States - and my forthcoming children's book to be published in 2012 will be entitled "Jackie Robinson and the Negro Leagues." I am currently developing a TV sitcom, to be entitled Joyful Noize, as well as a comedy/drama entitled No Place Like Home. For more info e-mail me at mcwstar@aol.com.
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