Post-Vacation News And Notes

I'm still getting caught up with the news after returning from Hilton Head...

• A big congrats to the Washington Nationals, winning the opener in their new ballpark, a 3 - 2 dandy over the dreaded Altanta Braves!

I was not able to make last night's game, however I do have a couple of very memorable opening days in my past! My Dad took me to what turned out to be the last opening day ever for the Washington Senators in 1971. Frank Howard slammed a homer as the Senators shut out the A's, 8 - nothing, and I got to miss an entire day of school! And in a personal career highlight, I covered the opening of Camden Yards in Baltimore in 1992! I co-hosted the Harden and Weaver show on WMAL that morning, because the great Jackson Weaver was out sick. My lingering memory from that day was that we were given commemorative train whistles by the O's, but mine didn't last long! When O's Vice President (and baseball legend) Frank Robinson came up to the press box for an interview, he pocketed my whistle. I've always wondered why!

Two other news items of note that occured during my absence...

• In an obvious concession to my riveting commentary on the foolish effort by lawmakers to pick and choose which distractions should and should not be legislated while driving, the Maryland House has killed a proposed handheld cellphone ban. Thank God! I'll be prepared to go hands-free on the cell phone just as soon as they ban every other potentially dangerous driving distraction. If they want us all to be safe, maybe they should ban driving, too!
• My Congressman, Albert Wynn, was so badly beaten and humiliated in the Democratic primary by Donna Edwards, that he's decided to step down in June... six months before the end of his term. Wynn's departure leaves Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley with two BAD choices... Either A) - fill Wynn's seat via an expensive and no-doubt sparsely attended special election or B) - Leave the seat open until January. Considering that I was one of Wynn's constituents for nearly all of his 15 years in Congress, and that as far as I know, he never even visited my part of Montgomery County, I say let the seat stay vacant for now... It's not like it was being filled for the past 15 years! Thanks for nothing, Al... and don't let the door hit your backside on the way out!

They Should Ban Drive-Thru Lanes And Car Radios, Too!

Watch out, people- he's getting up on the soapbox!

It now appears likely that Maryland will soon ban the use of cell phones while driving. The Senate has passed the measure on a party-line vote, and it's now headed to the House in Annapolis. All of this in the name of highway safety. Ok, fine. The bill would allow drivers to continue to cell-chat by using a hands-free device, so apparently the safety issue is that drivers should have both hands on the wheel, and apparently NOT that phone conversation itself can be a distraction. So follow this line of logic with me... If holding a cell phone while driving is unsafe, how about trying to eat a Whopper while driving? How about reaching to change radio stations? How about applying lipstick in the rear-view mirror? How about reaching in the backseat to give your kid a good whack when he deserves it? Shouldn't all of THOSE things be illegal as well?

Look... we've all been annoyed by seeing other drivers doing asinine things while talking on their cell phones. But choosing one distraction over another is a slippery slope. A lapful of spilled ketchup is every bit as likely to cause an accident as a cell phone call. So how soon will it be before drive thrus are boarded up? Just give it time, people!