"The Week That Was" is The Week That IS! Much has happened in the past week that will be with us for a long time. Last Sunday, the Ravens found defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Tuesday, January 20th, we witnessed the Inauguration of our 44th President and the dawn of a new era.

We also saw the passing of artist Andrew Wyeth, a painter of legend whose visual gifts conveyed rural Maine and the souls of ordinary people. I had a personal encounter during a summer in Maine in the 1970’s which forever influenced my own artistic endeavors. I was painting outdoors with a workshop group, completing a landscape of a small pond in Tenant’s Harbor. I had always been motivated by Wyeth’s moody landscapes; and in those early years when I first dared to dip a brush into watercolor, the dark hills of Maine prevailed in my palette. Later, I was drawn to brighter, more impressionistic applications of color. But on this day, a few yards from our group, an old 1940’s wood-sided station wagon driven by a beautiful woman (no, not Helga) pulled up. Out of the passenger side emerged Andrew Wyeth, who wandered over to our pond and stood behind me. In a low voice he spoke these words, “Young man, I like the way you made those rocks and the way the shadows meet the water.”

It was like the voice of God, and I floated along on “Cloud 9” for some time after.

The Ravens: No Super Bowl ... but a Player who Survives

Despite a close encounter with the helmet of Pittsburgh’s safety Ryan Clark in the fourth quarter, Ravens running back Willis McGahee emerged from a Pittsburgh hospital the next day with the message, "I'm OK". He suffered a concussion and a neck injury, but is expected to fully recover with the hope of getting a continuing Ravens contract signed by Ray Lewis - and maybe a Super Bowl in 2010!

A New President, A New Era

This January 20th swearing in of Barack Obama as our 44th President was 48 years to the day after the same oath was administered to John F. Kennedy in 1961. My first memory of that day was of lugging a heavy black & white television from Suzanne's and my first home, a small apartment in Norfolk, Virginia where my navy ship was docked between two Middle East trips. The TV's destination was two blocks away to the JEB Stuart Elementary School's 2nd grade classroom where Suzanne taught. We both felt that JFK's inaugural would be exciting for the children to watch. Later, in the crowded USS Aldebaran wardroom, all our ship's officers were deeply moved by Kennedy’s famous speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". As those words were spoken, a soon-to-retire World War II warrant officer commented: "You young guys, it's your show, now! "

January 20th, 2009 marks historic change for our country. Despite the oft-spoken "First African American in the White House”, there have been many more observations crossing daily papers and the internet. One that strikes me deeply was a commentary by respected Washington Post columnist, David Ignatius: "Obama's advisors say he makes decisions more confidently than anyone they have ever watched in politics. He's fashioning a new style of governing, as if by instinct, by rebuilding a center. He's heading into the loneliest, most difficult terrain on earth and he's still making it look easy..... but it won't be."

One positive indicator of President Obama's good instincts is the appointment of former Senator George Mitchell as special emissary to facilitate a peace settlement for the Israeli-Palestinian attacks in Gaza. George Mitchell and the Afganistan-Pakistan special envoy Hal Holbrooke are proof, as are the economic stimulus steps, of the new President's need for optimism amidst reality.

More to come as we look ahead to the business and public policy arena in the nation's Capitol and the historic State House in Annapolis when politics and policy begin to compete in the days ahead.  7:48 PM •  0 Comments •

50th ANNIVERSARY of "THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED" On December 28, 2008, Baltimore celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Baltimore Colts' 1958 victory over the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium. It was the first NFL game in history to go into sudden death overtime, with a final score of Baltimore 23, New York 17. Johnny Unitas, who made famous the “2 minute drill”, Alan Ameche, Raymond Berry, and Lenny Moore became heroes in the history of Baltimore and professional football. The Colts went on to win two World Championships and the 1971 Super Bowl.

“The Move”
The Colts had a villain as well in owner Robert Irsay who acquired the team in 1972. When the city of Baltimore refused to upgrade its stadium, Irsay started shopping the team. Indianapolis, with its new Hoosier Dome, was ready for an NFL franchise.

In March of 1984, under the cloak of darkness, Irsay packed the team’s supplies into fifteen Mayflower vans and moved to Indianapolis in the wee hours of the morning. Many of the Colts were surprised to hear they no longer had a team.

Tough and honest Mayor Don Schaefer called in the mark on Irsay and spoke of the team's betrayal of the Baltimore pro football legacy. Schaefer's view of Irsay can best be described as the "south end of a horse going north".

There is another potential great journey for the successor team to the Colts: the Baltimore RAVENS!

50 Years Later in Maryland, The Ravens are on the brink of the Super Bowl.

RAVENS 13! TITANS 10
This score is a good way to transition into a new year for Baltimore, providing proof that the spirit of the ole Baltimore Colts prevails. Fifty years after the "greatest game ever played", the Ravens’ Matt Stover's 43 yard field goal with 53 seconds left sends the Ravens
to the AFC title game. The next round will be the Ravens v. the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday, January 18th. Then on to the Super Bowl?

Another 50th Anniversary
The only priority over the Colts’ win in 1958 for this writer was the hope to secure a "yes" to my marriage proposal to one Suzanne Hansen when she graduated the following year from our shared Alma Mater, Penn State.

Fifty years later as we enter 2009, Suzanne and I will celebrate our 50th anniversary together on December 5th with two sons, one daughter, and four grandkids to prove it!  3:42 PM •  0 Comments •