The Cheif Returns to Boston

I was very excited when I learned that Robert Parrish would be attending a signing at Borders on School St in Boston. I had the opportunity to meet “The Chief” when I was much younger and I can’t say the meeting was all too memorable. It took place at a Boston College High School Card Show and my lone memory of that day was a listless Parish moving methodically through a crowd of people signing autographs and collecting money unenthusiastically.

I’m happy to say that my second run in with Robert Parrish was much more memorable. Generally bookstore appearances require that you purchase a set product such as a book or DVD and that you only have that one particular item autographed. In this case, the item was supposed to be the newly released 1985-1986 Boston Celtics DVD Box Set. But unfortunately for Borders and as it turned out fortunately for us fans the DVDs never arrived. So as a result it was determined that anything we could bring to the event we could get signed. A quick five minute walk later, my friend Rob and I had official NBA basketballs and were in line to meet the Hall-of-Famer.

Parrish seemed to be genuinely enjoying his time back in Boston and the opportunity to meet a handful of his many fans. I asked Parrish if he’d been following the NBA and he said he was. Parrish said that he was pulling for the Celtics but if they were eliminated then he likes the Phoenix Suns. I also asked Parrish if he talks to Larry Bird or Kevin McHale and he said that he does but he had not talked to them in the past year.
We finally were able to pose for a picture with Parrish and I told him that I finally was able to feel short next to him. Parrish displayed his booming laugh and said “I’m still waiting to feel short.”

Ripken Continues to Impress

Whenever meeting someone with the stature of Cal Ripken Jr., one always runs the risk of having whatever image they have built of such a person ruined. But in the case of Ripken, I’d wager all I have that one would walk away from that encounter with their positive opinion of Ripken maintained, more likely increased.

Ripken appeared Wednesday at the Borders Books and Music on School St and happily greeted and signed for approximately 200 fans. Ripken whose 2007 book “Get in the Game” was just released in paperback is making his way across the country on a promotional tour.

Greeting each fan with a handshake and a warm welcome , Ripken was more than happy to personalize and autograph as many books as fans were able to put in front of him. I got the chance to talk with Ripken for a few minutes and he came across as being sincere and interested in everything that was said to him. When one fan asked if he was tired of signing autographs Ripken replied “this is the easy part; hitting a 90 mile-per-hour pitch is the hard part.”

Watching the energy Ripken exuded with each fan it was easy to see how he was able to play game-after-game and break baseball’s record for consecutive games. Ripken’s new book pledges to give readers eight steps towards getting their life on track. While I can’t guarantee it will work for you, I do know that Ripken is someone worth looking up to.

Canseco Lacking a Bit of Juice

I just returned from the Jose Canseco book signing on School St and there wasn’t too much exciting to report from it. There are people who are shy and then there are people who are virtually silent—Canseco comes from the latter camp. It seemed like Canseco barely took the time to lift his head in between signatures and periodically he would mumble a “hey how’s it going” or “thanks for coming out.” Canseco was flanked by a female companion and a bodyguard and was not allowing for fans to take pictures with him—although fans were welcome to take them from a distance.

There was a good crowd at the event that I’d estimate in the vicinity of 100 or 200 people. The line moved quickly and while Canseco never displayed outwardly rude words or behavior he also did nothing to endear himself to fans.