The Moyers, the Mariners, the lawyers, and the snake wrangler
I’d like to tell you where I’ve been for the last couple of weeks, but it’s a long and boring tale involving Dick Cheney’s undisclosed location, 144,000 “devil ducks” from Archie McPhee’s, and the phrase “The emulsifiers are ready, sir.” Dull stuff.
Anyway, while I was away, a few things piled up:
- Jamie Moyer may be pitching for Philly these days [mb], but he’s turned commuter. His wife Karen has been talking to reporters [Seattle Times] and FSN to assure everyone that the Moyers, and the Moyer Foundation, remain in Seattle. Good for them. The Moyer Foundation has raised millions of dollars for child abuse prevention and kids with cancer. How come many other local sports superstars (*ahem* Ichiro) don’t contribute to the community like this?
- I was looking online for something else when I found a 25-year-old scholarly paper called “Origins of the Fear of Success,” published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. At last, I thought. Somebody has explained the Mariners. They can only win reliably when they know they’re out of contention for a playoff spot.
- The Times published an article the other day talking up the rose-colored lives of summer associates, law school students on summer internships at prestigious law firms. That article pissed off several law students of my acquaintance, who would like you to know that law school is three years of utter stressful hell, and that summer associate jobs are part of a bait-and-switch tactic designed to lure new lawyers in before loading them up with every undesirable job that can be squeezed into a 70 hour week.
- Samuel L. Jackson called me the other night. Well, sort of. It was all the fault of one of the fine people at my local bar and this site. Share the love and screw with your friends’ minds, before the Snakes-On-A-Flying-Object movie disappears into cult immortality.
Too bad I recycled my MarinersCare annual report, because you calling out Ichiro is wrong. He does give out a lot of money in town, it’s just not through some mega-branded “Ichiro Foundation.”
It’s not just about giving money, though, it’s about serving as a leader and an example for the community. Moyer’s Foundation is great not just because it puts Moyer’s money to work, but because it raises money from other sources as well.
Ichiro has instant publicity potential and a lot of people around here look up to him. He should use his marketing powers for Good.
You read Finnigan’s article yesterday? Someone had a lot of spleen that needed to be vented on his way out to retirement.
Look, Ichiro gives a lot of money, goes on the hospital tours, and the basic stuff like that. But his home is Japan, and that’s where most of his energy is concentrated.
And honestly, Edgar didn’t do a ton in the community until the latter days of his career, and no one is piling on him for being late in the game. But then, Edgar Is God.
2 points, unrelated.
1) I think that the sporty types tend to be more giving later in careers, for sure. Perhaps this is because it probably takes a while in that profession to figure out where exactly you want to make a real home – why commit to a community if you aren’t sure they’re committed to you? Oh, the dilemmas I wish I had.
2) Law school, summer internships, and practice are what you make them. Your friends need to chill.