James Van Allen [and Scrabble]

[Deleted]

Rest in peace.

I met him once, at family friends in Iowa City. He was a neighbor? I don't recall exactly. I was just a kid.

I also blocked Jim Polster at least once.

That's about it.

Oh. I know Maya Lin.

[Wolfgang]

The Van Allen belts. Ahh, yes. Do they sell those at Macy's? Where can I buy one?

In all seriousness, I never met the man. I never knew about the Van Allen radiation belts until long after college (and several courses in college physics). I'm sure I would have liked him had we met. I enjoy talking to old people and listening to their stories.

[Wolfgang]

I don't know Maya Lin. Her parents teach at Oberlin, I hear. The Vietnam War Memorial will be what she will be best known for; but it is something. Some of us will not be known for anything. I've seen her other architectural works; didn't really like them.

Ruffda, is Maya Lin on this forum? You should get her here. I would like to talk to her.

[Deleted]

Maya's father is dead and her mother did not teach. He was a ceramicist at Ohio U.

I haven't spoken to Maya since she was a kid -- 7 or 8? But my mother has. Her brother was a friend of mine, but I haven't seen him since college. He's a writer. Tan Lin.

[Deleted]

Oh wait.

I also know Josh Blue, although I haven't seen him since he was a kid either. I used to play Scrabble with this father.

Speaking of Scrabble, I also know Jim Kramer. I think he's #5 in the world or something like that.

But that's it.

[Deleted]

And I blocked Jim Polster once.

And Jack Morris's little brother struck me out on a 3-2 pitch in high school. I never took the bat off my shoulder.

[Wolfgang]

I know James Worthy and Michael Jordan. One summer, I took classes at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to get all of my humanities elective credits out of the way (and transferred to my real school). Worthy was in my psychology class. On some projects, he and I were partners. Once, I met him at a gym on campus where Michael Jordan was hanging out. So, I got to know him, too. Worthy was a cool guy, very smart, very soft-spoken, humble, and a true gentleman. I have nothing but praise for the man. Jordan was a childish brat, very spoiled, very temperamental, and your garden variety sore loser.

Believe me or not...

[Deleted]

From what I saw, I didn't find Josh's humor very funny. Was it all palsy humor?

I only saw about 3 minutes total...

[Wolfgang]

Oh, I also met David Copperfield, back when he was a nobody. He was doing the night club circuit and one day, he did a show at some hotel bar in Honolulu (somewhere in Waikiki). My dad got free tickets for the whole family because he knew the club's owner. I was just mesmerized by Copperfield. He did the levitating magic wand thing where he would move two wands around him in mid-air, without a wire! Maaan, it was a cool show! After, I met him backstage. He had cold hands.

A few years later, he started appearing on TV.

[Wolfgang]

Once in LA, I saw Olivia Hussey at a Korean grocery store. She is pretty.

[Deleted]

Well, crap. Look what Jim Kramer did:

www.startribune.com/462/story/605733.html

Thatsmaboy!

[Wolfgang]

Was he the Kramer guy on Seinfeld?

[Deleted]

Nope.

There were 3 of us who started playing Scrabble together here at work. My friend Ed (the Seattle Ed), Jim, and I. Jim became really, really good, and Ed and I became competent. Story of my life. Everything I take up, I happen to have a friend who becomes REALLY good at it.

Dammit.

[Wolfgang]

I never really liked Scrabble. It didn't resonate with me. Of course, it didn't help that we didn't own the damn game!

[Deleted]

In case anyone would like to play the final game:

www.scrabble-assoc.com/games//usso2006/f3/000.html