A Red Rose in The Hall… Thorns and all.

Ever enter a home and see a bouquet of roses displayed prominently in the entry hall?

Kind of makes you want to come in - welcomes you so to speak.

But when you enter 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, you know before you cross the threshold, something special is missing… and that is the greatest hitter in the history of baseball, one Peter Edward Rose.

Not just any old garden variety rose this.

But a Rose that got to the bases with hits 4,256 times, the most in baseball history. A record unlikely to be broken.

Astounding.

Rose was also a Rookie of the Year,  an MVP and helped his team to win three World Series. Did I mention a forty-four game hitting streak? Sort of perfected the head first slide… garnering him the nickname, Charlie Hustle.

And hustle he did, all game, every game, for twenty-three years.

Pretty amazing athlete.

And he used some pretty poor judgement off the field. Seems Pete had a penchant for gambling. On games. team games. And as it turns out, BASEBALL games.

Flawed, like every human being.

Okay, I can hear the purists now… he disrespected the game.

What a crock. There are players in the Hall who disrespected the game, and in so doing, diminished hard earned records of players who went before. Give that one a rest.

Twenty-five years is a pretty stiff penalty to pay. But forever?

The other element of the story is how the rules (remember the rules that are so sacred) were manipulated to keep Pete out of the hall.

"In August 1989, three years after he retired as an active player, Rose agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while playing for and managing the Reds, including claims that he bet on his own team. In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame formally voted to ban those on the "permanently ineligible" list from induction, after previously excluding such players by informal agreement among voters."

The powers-that-be have spoken, and Charlie Hustle stays outside. Let's call it The Pete Rose rule.

He was wrong. He finally admitted it. He paid a price.

But he deserves, on his body of work… on the field, to be with the other greats. Why not let the entire body of 600 voters, sportswriters all, decide Pete's fate? All candidates require an overwhelming majority in order to enter the hall. Why not put it to a vote, unencumbered by bureaucrats.

In the United States of America, self-proclaimed as the world's greatest democracy… the man deserves a vote.

One of the best Reds ever… a Red Rose.

Thorns and all.

A Golden Life

Our golden retriever, Miss Molly, has been the cover girl for my blog by default.

I remember the day I set up this page to post some of my thoughts, for all the world to see, for good, bad or indifferent, as an aspiring writer, I thought - Why not get some stuff out there?

When the time came to choose a photo for the cover page, I chose a recent one of Miss M.  No focus groups, no long selection process, no reason other than… she's, well, Molly.

And Molly has been as constant as the Northern Star these past fourteen years.

Happy to be home? So Is Molly.

Working late in the office? Molly asleep under my desk.

Want to go for a walk? Molly too.

Answering the door late at night? You guessed it, Molly right there.

Driving from New York to British Columbia. Molly gets the whole backseat.

Feeling down? Molly with her head on your knee.

Lost a big deal? Molly with a shoe… C'mon boss, let's go out.

Simple fact is that Molly is always there

So what other image should grace my blog, but our golden girl?

When you open the dictionary to the word, 'loyalty', there is a photo of Molly… want to try, 'kind-hearted'... there she is... 'courageous', yup…

I'm writing a memoir to publish after Molly leaves us behind on this planet. It will be titled. 'A Golden Life'… and folks will think it is about Molly's life, her exploits, highlights, tough times, humorous moments. And to be sure, it will be all about Molly.

But the life she touched with gold -

Will be mine.

So… Why not be great?

I have a plaque in my office with a simple message - "When you feel like quitting, think about why you started."

So when I pick up the file I have been working on the past five years titled, "Flyers", I sometimes feel like quitting. After all, what could I possibly know about producing a major motion picture? And why would anyone want to pay to see a story about the Wright Brothers invention of the airplane anyway?

In September 2010, I was inspired to begin a project to produce a film about the Wright Brothers. Three elements contributed to my inspiration. First, I have always been fascinated with the history of these inventors who shared my family name. Second, my uncle Neil Paterson won the Academy Award for screenwriting the picture "Room at The Top" in 1959. And third, I am a lifelong film buff (okay, maybe not lifelong… probably didn't see my first film until I was about eight years of age… I think it may have been "Lassie Come Home").

I've traveled to Kitty Hawk, Dayton, Huffman Prairie, The Smithsonian and The Henry Ford in Dearborn researching the story on the ground and have read the majority of books about the Wright Brothers. I travelled to Hollywood to meet with representatives of major studios and met with directors and screenwriters in an effort to find someone who shares my passion for the project.

I have found a tie between Bill Gates and the wonderful story of the Wright accomplishment and discovered many links to other notable, successful individuals who are mesmerized by the sheer perseverance and creativity employed by two bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio.

And still no collaborators.

Yet.

That's the great thing about having a dream. You get to feel like quitting, and then you get to think about why you started.

And you get to ask -

Why not be great?