Rowing upstream on the Schuylkill

A new park, a new banner, and a new regatta take a bow on the wilder end of the river that flows to the Delaware.

By Stephan Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer

(photo by TOM GRALISH / Inquirer Staff Photographer)

The Birthday Zoo

From this day on, I shall be known as Over the Hill Bill. Yup, I started my 50th year of life today. My Barbi doll sang Happy Birthday for me last night:

• Happy Birthday to you!
• You belong in A Zoo!
• With the Monkeys and the Baboons,
• Happy Birthday to You!

now, you'd think I, who's on a first name basis with Dirt, would have heard this one before. Guess I was just a hapless orphan, cuz I was as shocked as I was amused. Her son DeAndre (tiny guy in the middle), who's 6th birthday was last Thursday, called this morning to wish me happy birthday too; it was like getting a hug from my favorite little brother!

For the Love of Lisa

Lisa is my daughter.

Well, she would have been, if J, who would have been her mother, had let her live. But she didn't. I wasn't good enough for her mother, so her mother insisted on the killing. She recovered well: married a doctor and has three other kids. But Lisa just wasn't welcome in her life.

But my baby is here, in my heart. She's been here since I met her spirit, that day in 1985 when J and I were acting so silly, turning her job into our little playground. She was a student security guard, posted to Ritter Annex that Sunday. We were friends, supposedly going thru a breakup. We went to a party the night before, with her cajoling me to take her and a girlfriend. I didn't want to go, I really didn't. But, after a while, I gave in and had a really good time. We didn't talk much, but we danced a lot and she seemed glued to my lap when we weren't dancing. When we left, around 3am, she was asleep in the backseat while we dropped her buddy off.

Maybe she was feigning sleep? I dunno, but driving up Lincoln Drive at such a quiet time was like old times, and I felt as though our souls were twins again. I did fight the feelings a little, because I didn't want to get hurt again.

Then she awakened, and it was like we never broke up in the first place, at least for that night, she explained. She was kind of frantic, too, for she had to be at work at 5am, and she knew she would miss the bus if she went to sleep at home. So I agreed to take her to work, which meant I had to stay with her in her mom's house, hoping that Mrs. Swift didn't wake up. I actually did get about 8 minutes of sleep after trying for 30 minutes.

J and I had spent quite a few nights at my mom's house, enough that my mom asked several times "Is J here?" or "where's my daughter-in-law this morning?". Seeing mom's face light up when she saw us drinking tea in the dining room is one of the reasons I'll never forget her. Mom never asked if any of my other girlfriends was thinking about marriage.

But this morning, J expressed her emotions uniquely, which really confused me. I was trying to be content being her friend, with no (more) ambitions on an intimate future. I never kept score or a checklist with her, but we never got into that, and everything else we did was satisfying, so I just didn't miss it! And we only had a few minutes to get her to school...

Now things were better than normal. When we got to her assigned building there was another student guard at the desk, so we toured the building, chasing each other. Once we found out that a floor had no one on it the squealing began. When we got to the top floor we started to take advantage of our solitude.

Then "We shouldn't be doing this" as she stopped. I calmed myself and agreed with her, and we sat a couple of minutes talking and drifting back into our play. Trying to resist, I looked out of the window and remarked that we could see old Billie Penn, standing on top of City Hall. And she asked where... Silently inviting me to physically guide her.

A few minutes later, she changed. She was always my love, but now she was my Madonna. She glowed from that point until after she ended Lisa's life, some 4 months later. During that time, though, I did everything I could to be closer to her and assuage her fears. I tried to defend her from her mother's wrath, but I couldn't counteract it, and in the end her mom demanded that she end it.

She took J to the "family planning clinic" cursing me all the way because I wouldn't contribute to my baby's execution. I floundered between sorrow and guilt and anger.

I never believed in ghosts before then, but now I talk to my daughter pretty often. She comforts me when I am distraught about not seeing her grow up. "I wasn't meant for this time, daddy."

My beloved daughter would be 20 next year, probably in February. We celebrate it on Valentine's Day, and she always wakes me on my birthday morning, and then sings to me at 3:47pm.

3/12/07: edited for style and errors

Donahue vs. O'Reilly

This is instantly a classic exchange. It gets to the heart of the emotions of Americans who want to save their children from this stupid war, and exposes the wannabee tough guys who believe they have the right to send everybody's children into this war to die. Except theirs.

Back in the days, Phil Donahue was The MASTER of daytime talk shows. This clip shows that he he could still captivate any audience.

Where's your mouthpiece, Billy?

Did him get him mouthpiece knocked across the studio? Him a stupid ass, yes him is!!!

Rush Hour

In Philly, catching the El or Subway in the morning and evening is an integral part of City Life. Most people are talking to their riding buddies, trying to catch that last wink in the morning or thinking about dinner and their kids and stuff in the evenings. Or they're standing in the aisles, trying not to be knocked around too much by the sway of the trains as they move down the tracks.

Of course, there's also the Trolley lines to bring the West and Southwest Philadelphians to and fro, and the Regional High Speed lines to get around in style up in North Philly, Germantown, Mount Airy, Kensington, Byberry and Trenton, but the R trains are a different culture, more sedate and quiet. The trolley lines are just like the El and Subway: local, comforting after work even though you're pressed against each other like tuna in a can as you speed closer to home.

At one time, I lived in South Philly and commuted to school at Shallcross. We only went home on the weekends, but I was 9 years old and able to be dropped off at the 66 (trackless) trolley terminus, ride it, the El (Okay, Market-Frankford Elevated train) into Center City, then catch the 17 bus home. By myself, with absolutely no thought about who might want to do me harm. Of course, the system was known as PTC then, and yes, the drivers and other personnel looked out for us as though we were their kids. It wasn't all rosy, but what ever is?

My favorite commute of all time was when I lived in East Mount Airy and took the R7 East to work at Two Penn Center. I'd walk to the Stenton train station, sometimes on the tracks because it was the shortest way to get to the station. When the train got there, I'd find a nice seat by a window and watch as we paced the traffic on I-76, crawled past the Zoo and brought us into the Suburban Rail Station. Even in the bitter cold and snow, all I had to do was get to the station, then relax as my ride brought me under my building; a wonderful way to start the day, especially with the Columbian coffee from Au Bon Pain, a long ago luxury.

Commuting from the Northeast was a similar treat, except that I had to drive to Woodhaven station, find decent parking and then wait in the cold for the train after the one I'd plan to get because of this little thing or that going on. But it was always hilarious to be standing and waiting with everyone, most of whom are asleep on our feet, and have the Metroliner whizzz by! The wind would push us back a bit and I'd look down the platform to see how many had just been jolted out of their standing nap - if I hadn't been jolted myself, that is!

El Paso, Texas, on the other hand, has Sun Metro, a dinky little system that nearly 30 years old. Though the city has nearly the same area (except for the mountain in the middle), it's more saturated with cars and trucks. I wouldn't want to depend on it for a rush hour commute!

When Was The Viewing?

Sheikh Jawad al-Kalesi says al-Zarqawi died long ago

Al-Qaida's leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead but Washington continues to use him as a bogeyman to justify a prolonged military occupation, an Iraqi Shia cleric says in an Al Jazeera interview.

So, now that he's dead, can we bring the troops home?

Update 21Sep05: I thought I heard something about a tape that was just published by Al Qaida, featuring either him or Al Zawahiri, and the latter seems more accurate.

Congratulations, General Powell!

Powell to chair board of Eisenhower Fellowships
By Joseph A. Slobodzian
Inquirer Staff Writer

Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has been named chairman of the board of the Eisenhower Fellowships, the Philadelphia-based group that funds international travel and education for potential leaders.

General Eisenhower was a great man. One of his greatest achievements was the Interstate Highway System. I'm sure that he had his blunders, too. General Powell, at 68, still has a lot to give to our nation, and will be remembered for much more than his 2003 speech at the UN.

Thank you, Sir, for making Philadelphia your headquarters!