Remembering "El Flaco"

Missing from nearly all the tributes to the great Johan Cruyff today, as news spread of his passing away from lung cancer at age 68, was the impact he had on U.S. soccer fans. Well, some of us, anyway.

After his contract with F.C. Barcelona expired and he declined to play for Holland in the 1978 World Cup, Cruyff came to the U.S. to resume his career. Initially, it was hoped he would be the next big star to sign for the Cosmos. After appearances in a few exhibition games with the team that fall, however, a longer term deal was not worked out.

Instead, Cruyff signed to play for the North American Soccer League's Los Angeles Aztecs during the 1979 season. He wound up winning the NASL's Most Valuable Player award and boosting the team's fortunes on the field and at the gate that year, although Aztecs crowds averaging 14,000 looked tiny in the huge Rose Bowl.

The following year, Cruyff moved on to Washington D.C. to play for the Diplomats. His 45 minutes of brilliance in a match against the Cosmos at the Meadowlands that summer included a moment I will never forget.

With his back towards Cosmos defender Andranik Eskandarian, Cruyff controlled a pass with one foot raised to his waist and, a split second later, used his other foot to juggle the ball over his head and that of Eskandarian. In a flash, Cruyff ran onto his own pass as Eskandarian -- a starter on Iran's 1978 World Cup team and among the NASL's best defenders-- could only turn around, flat-footed, and watch Cruyff race towards the goal.

That stroke of skill and genius by a 33-year-old Cruyff made flying back home from my brother's wedding early that Sunday morning worthwhile. Cruyff was substituted at halftime -- he disliked playing on artificial surfaces -- and within a year he was out of the NASL altogether, choosing to end his brilliant career back in Europe.

"El Flaco," as he was affectionately known to Spanish soccer fans  during the mid-1970s, was a unique talent, a visionary both on and off the field. Certainly, he will be remembered as one of the greatest players of all time.

(Photo of Johan Cruyff from Pinterest)

Little Lewie, the gentle giant

When he was just a teenager in New York City, the man who became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was affectionately known as "Little Lewie" in the neighborhood around Power Memorial Academy, the high school that once stood on Amsterdam Avenue and 61 Street. 

It's been over 50 years since Kareem, named Lew Alcindor at the time, graduated from Power (which closed in 1984), but many people who lived in the neighborhood still have fond memories of the gentle giant who went on to stardom on three UCLA national championship teams and became the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

Flipping through the current issue of Esquire, this picture caught my attention. Besides recognizing Kareem when he was still Lew, I also recognize the setting for the photo — it’s the P.S. 191 playground on Amsterdam Avenue between 61-60 Streets.

When this photo was taken in 1963, I lived in the Amsterdam Houses neighborhood at 40 Amsterdam Ave., across 61 St. from P.S. 191. Just a first grader at St. Paul the Apostle School on 60 St. between Amsterdam and Columbus Aves., I only vaguely recall Alcindor walking with friends to/from school directly across Amsterdam Ave. from me. Of course, his height made him stand out. I recently asked other St. Paul students on Facebook if they had any recollections of him walking past the school or around the neighborhood when he was at Power. 

They sure did!

"I was with Lew when the photographer was taking the pictures and also have this picture and others of that same day. I was just thinking about the few dances we went to together," wrote Eva, who also lived across the street from Power at 40 Amsterdam Ave. 

"Lew used to visit us," wrote Enid. "He and my sister Eva were good friends. He was a nice person. Very humble and respectful. When he would sit down on the sofa, my father and he would be eye to eye level!"

Enid added that Kareem was "a shy person" but trusted her sister, Eva.

Constance shared a similar memory: “I danced with Lew when I was 15-16 years old at the 'Rooftop' club, ages ago," she wrote.

"I remember him dipping his head to enter the door of Fisher's Grocery store," wrote Linda H. "He bought a soda and it looked so tiny in his hand. Little Lewie showed up for a Power dance with a cute little gal that was about my size. The contrast made me smile." 

Andrew wrote with similar memories of the tall teenager. Nancy also recalled him at the Power dances.

"Lew was friends with my brother John (my brother was on Power's basketball team too!)," wrote Nora. "He was at our house a few times too. But my fondest memory is he and my brother tossing me back and forth at the pool. I never hit the water! (I always joke that I made him a better player.)"

"I remember he wore a tan raincoat, similar to one my father had," wrote Linda O. "He was on Amsterdam Ave., walking either to or from Power, in front of that Palisades Amusement Park poster that was on the construction site in front of what would become Fordham, I think." 

"I used to be scared of the 'giant' until one day he said hello in such a gentle voice!" wrote Diane.

"When i saw him I used to say 'hi Little Lewie'," wrote Andrea. Kathy and Karen also wrote that they remembered him as "Little Lewie."

"I will never forget the time he gave me a ride on his shoulders," wrote Tara.

"He used to play with me when I was in my carriage and pick me up and toss me in the air," recalled James C., who is probably grateful the future basketball great did not use him to practice his sky hook shot.  

"He walked past St. Paul's every day on his way to the subway," wrote Pat. "My brother played basketball with him at Power. I have his autograph signed Lew Alcindor." 

Theresa also wrote recalling him walking past St. Paul's as she was walking home, as did Helen.

"We would pass him all the time when we were on the way to the subway," wrote Helen. "Never had a clue as to who he would become."

“All the kids had talked about him and I remember finally seeing Lew Alcindor for the first time probably when I was in the fifth grade," commented Saida. "Lew was walking past St. Paul's toward the subway. I had never seen anyone that height before and I was also impressed by his dignity and seeming determination. He was dressed in a wool jacket and carried a briefcase."

"My mom told me stories about him when she worked part-time at Power," wrote Angelica. "At 4'11" she was amazed by this teenager's height."

"I had the privilege of seeing him play at Power Memorial as a young girl going to St. Paul's," wrote Terri H. "I knew then he would grow (no pun intended ) to be someone special. It was fun watching him not even have to leap to make a basket."

“I lived at 50 Amsterdam and saw him all the time," remembered Catherine. "Went to many of his basketball games. He was a little uncoordinated in the beginning and soon became a great player.”

Hilda wrote that she remembered seeing Kareem "many times around Power."

Robin wrote that she "also saw him a few times at (the) P.S. 191 night program."

"I was very little but my mother would point him out to me and I do remember that," wrote Bill.

Still, boys will be boys, whether they're elementary school children at St. Paul's or high school students from Power.

"Some of the boys playing in the street, waiting for St. Paul's line-up bell, used to throw snow balls at him as he walked down 60th street towards Amsterdam Avenue," wrote Gina. "I think he retaliated a few times."

“Many times my siblings and I walked alongside him as we went to St. Paul's and he went to Power Memorial," recalled Velda. "Sorry to say, we use to tease him about his height.”

Hector summarized the feelings of many people from the neighborhood when he wrote, "Basically anyone who lived in the projects at one time or another saw him. I lived in 70 Amsterdam and saw him quite frequently."

Please feel free to comment on your own sightings of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, either as a youngster, professional basketball player or author. It's unlikely you've forgotten him if your paths ever crossed in New York City or elsewhere! 

(Photo of photo from Esquire March 2016 issue copyright The Richard Avedon Foundation)

Hypocrisy aplenty

If a Republican occupied the White House, wouldn’t Republicans feel it is appropriate for the president to nominate a Supreme Court justice? Wouldn’t Democrats believe it would be fairer to wait for a new president to nominate a justice? It seems there’s plenty of hypocrisy on both sides right now!

Let President Obama do his job and nominate the next justice. Hopefully, his pick will be a person that senators from both parties can be open-minded to accepting or rejecting based on his or her qualifications.

I’m sure most Americans believe the US still has the best form of government in the world. But, a growing number of people feel our political system, as we’re continuing to learn during this presidential campaign, is in need of major improvement.

Would limiting presidents to one six-year term be a step in the right direction? How about electing senators every four years, and limiting senators and House representatives to 20 years in Congress? And, would limiting Supreme Court justices to 20 years of service be a good idea?

Shouldn’t both Republicans and Democrats want to work together on legally viable campaign reform that would reduce the need to raise and spend more money every election? Don’t both parties want to put their heads together on improving a presidential campaign system in which only a few voters from a handful of states largely determine the major candidates?

I would hope so!

Improving our political system so that the government can function to its fullest in the best interests of our country can be done — and will be done, hopefully soon. Putting hypocritical rhetoric about the nomination of the next Supreme Court justice aside would be a good start this week.

(Image from www.smithsonianmag.com)

Carly Simon and Patti Smith: So different, yet similar

They were born only 18 months and five days apart, one in the biggest city in the U.S., the other in the second largest at the time.  But, the differences between Carly Simon and Patti Smith have always seemed so significant, they might as well have arrived on the popular music scene decades and continents apart.

Yet, their similarities, as revealed in their recent best-selling, critically acclaimed autobiographies, are surprisingly as significant.

Carly Simon was born to a wealthy family and had a privileged life growing up in the New York City area.  Her parents hosted the rich and famous in their home, often getting away to their mansion in Connecticut and, each summer, vacationing in Martha's Vineyard.

Patti Smith grew up in a working class family in a modest New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia.

Carly graduated from a private girls high school in Westchester County and went on to Sarah Lawrence College.  She dropped out after one semester in order to concentrate on her music career as one-half of the Simon Sisters.

After Patti graduated from her local public high school, she went to work at a toy factory.

After a few twists and turns, however, their different paths began converging in New York City by the time they were in their early 20s.  Carly found fame as a solo singer in 1971 with her song, "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be."  She had a succession of hit singles and albums over the next several years.

Just as Carly's fame was peaking in 1975, Patti released her first album, Horses.  The differences between their music could not be more pronounced.  Yet, at least one New York radio station, WNEW-FM, saw nothing strange about playing songs from both of their new albums.

After reading Boys in the Trees, Carly Simon's 2015 book about the first three decades of her life, and M Train (2015) and Just Kids (2010), Patti Smith's books recalling events in her life, it's startling to learn how similar many of their experiences have been.

They both worked hard to achieve their success.  Despite her background, the music business gave little to Carly.  She earned her fame with determination, using her singing voice to deal with a stutter that for years undermined her self-confidence.  She also overcame stage fright, triggered by depression and anxiety, to bring her recordings to the attention of more people.

In spite of her humble origins and need to constantly work odd jobs to support herself, Patti found her muse and would not let it go.  She wrote constantly and, eventually, found the right kind of sound to accompany her words.  She sought opportunities to showcase her talent and, when they came, vocalized her poetry in a unique way that caught on with an increasing number of people.

And then there were the men in their lives.

For Carly, the main man was James Taylor, of course.  Both of them already successful, they married in 1972.  Even though they've been divorced for over 30 years, he remains the most significant lover of her life.  But, certainly not her only.

In her autobiography, Carly sheds a lot of light on many other men.  But, she's holding on to some secrets.  Following is her explanation of "You're So Vain," her 1973 hit:

And no, the song is not just about one person. Let’s just say Warren Beatty played second base in this particular infield, which he knows so well, but as for who manned first and third–ask the shortstop. In all seriousness, the subjects of the first and third verses don’t know that this song is also about them, so it would be inappropriate and a rude awakening to disclose their identities until they, them (vain) selves, were notified.

For Patti, the main men were Robert Mapplethorpe and Fred "Sonic" Smith.  She devoted Just Kids to chronicling her relationship with Mapplethorpe, an artistic photographer she befriended shortly after arriving in New York City.  They remained close until his death from AIDS in 1989, by which time she had been married to Fred for nine years.  Fred passed away in 1994.

Broken-hearted but far from broken, both Carly and Patti carried on with their careers and continued raising the son and daughter each of them had with their husband.  Patti reflected on this in M Train:

We want things we cannot have. We seek to reclaim a certain moment, sound, sensation. I want to hear my mother’s voice. I want to see my children as children. Hands small, feet swift. Everything changes. Boy grown, father dead, daughter taller than me, weeping from a bad dream. Please stay forever, I say to the things I know. Don’t go. Don’t grow.

Carly and Patti are both grandmothers now and sharing their life experiences with music fans, some who realize that, like many other things around the world, the similarities of people are often as significant as their differences.

Humans of New York

“She’s a life-long Jersey girl.  I’m a native New Yorker who’s lived across the Hudson River most of his life.  Our first date was an Elton John concert at Madison Square Garden.  On our second date, we just walked around midtown.  I remember buying her a hot dog from a street vendor. The meat fell out of the bun and to the ground after she bit into it, but I didn’t buy her another one.  She still liked me, though, and we got married five years later.”

Inspired by by Brandon Stanton, Humans of New York: Stories; 2015

The Voice

Frank Sinatra meant little to me for almost 40 years. His sound was not what I liked hearing when I began listening to popular music as a young schoolboy in the 1960s. When Sinatra retired from the music business while I was a teenager, I cared as little as I did when he made his comeback a short time later. Although I initially appreciated his hit song about my favorite city as I finished college, I tired of it by the time it became associated with a baseball team whose owner I despised.

Then, many years later, an older co-worker suggested I listen to Sinatra's recordings from the 1950s. Vince, a very likable New Jersey guy, even was nice enough to lend me CDs of some of Sinatra's classic albums from that period. So, I listened to In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers (1956), Where Are You? (1957), Close to You and More (1957), A Swingin' Affair (1957), Only the Lonely (1958), No One Cares (1959), and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).

Wow. What great albums, full of first-rate songs performed to perfection! After appreciating these classic American recordings, I became a Sinatra fan. I began listening to a greatest hits collection from his Reprise Records era, an album I was given years earlier and hadn't bothered with. Sometime later, I bought a 3-CD set of songs he recorded for Capitol Records.

More recently, I've gained an appreciation for the weekend radio program on WNYC-FM of Jonathan Schwartz, a Sinatra aficionado who plays lots of rare and popular gems spanning Sinatra's entire 60-year career. Bob Dylan's album earlier this year of songs recorded by Sinatra is a favorite. I'm grateful for all the attention Sinatra's music and broader contribution to 20th century popular culture have generated as the 100th anniversary of his birthday is celebrated.  

To those who were fortunate enough to appreciate Sinatra at a young age from their family's music collection, good for you. If you weren't lucky to have a Vince help you eventually discover Sinatra's best recordings, it's not too late. One hundred years after his birth, 17 years after his passing, Sinatra's music lives on. It continues being as accessible today as it was to his fans many years ago. And, intertwined with the fabric of the great American songbook, the sound of his voice will remain around for many, many years to come.

A Christmas card

Your sentiments can be purchased from Hallmark

for $4.99 or more, 

or from another card company

for as little as 99 cents.

You can be politically correct with some people
and wish them a happy holiday,

or be forward with others

and repeat the merry Christmas mantra.

You can pay good money for the presents 

on the wish lists of family and friends,

and hope the gifts you receive are those 

on the list you thought hard about.

Is it the season 

to pick the right cards,

say the proper greetings,

to give and get the desired gifts?

Is it that time 

to make it to church,

recall fond childhood memories,

to get together with family and friends?

Is it another Christmas to celebrate 

the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem,

while trying to put aside for a while

the conflict that continues around the Holy Land?

It's Christmas around the world,

that special time of the year 

when Christians can celebrate the gift

that God gave to all who believe in salvation.

It can be all that,

or maybe little of it.

It's what you choose,

or what's expected from others.

Your sentiments can be purchased from Hallmark

for $4.99 or more, 

or from another card company

for as little as 99 cents.

Or...