Circle Get's the 5 Squares

Many people are always interested in historical cities througout the world. For instance Rome, Athens, London, etc all come to mind when I think about historical cities, but many people do not realize the history in there own hometown. This topic came to me during a recent family day trip to Independence Hall in Old City. The City of Philadelphia, even though not nearly as old as the aforementioned, has it's own historical significance to world history. It is my intention to write many and varied historical examples in the blogs to follow, but for this particular one I would like to start with the 5 public parks/squares inside the downtown city limits.

Upon brainstorming you probably came up with Rittenhouse, Logan, Franklin, and Washington Squares. The fifth and final one you probably left out is or should I say was called Center Square. Each and every square has its on historical significance, which most people don't know or even care about. I will elaborate briefly based on research I have completed while my wife was watching the conclusion of Bravo's Project Runway (Kenley's a bi**h).


In 1681, William Penn acquired the land, which later became Pennsylvania, in a charter from the King of England Charles II. During the planning stages of laying out his city he decided a grid plan, which is when streets meet at rights angles, would be the most advantageous design. When the city was laid out on paper he created 5 public parks/squares into the design, which would be meeting places for the townspeople. The 5 parks/squares thus came to fruition, but did not hold the current names obviously. They were named by the location within the city limits such as Center Square (center of city), Northeast Square (Franklin), Northwest Square (Logan), Southwest Square (Rittenhouse), and Southeast Square (Washington).

These squares have been a historical part of Philadelphia since its inception by William Penn. Today they still function as meeting places, a place to walk your dogs, and even a desitnation for children to urinate in the fountains during the warm summer months (Logan Square). What the average person does not know for example is that Logan Square was once a place where guilty convicts were executed by lynching. Also by popular belief Franklin Square was supposely where Ben first discovered electricity while flying a kite. Washington Square was and currently is a a permanent graveyard for some Revolutionary War Soldiers. Lastly, City Hall now resides on a once popular Square named Center Square.

It is amazing to me to walk around these areas and to realize what once took place there. The appreciation I have for the City of Philadelphia grows each time I see one of those historical signs and appreciate all the significant happenings Philadelphia was a host to. I mean how much more prouder can you be of a city whose inhabitants and guests told the English to go f**k themselves. So the next time you are in Old City or the surrounding areas please stop to understand the historical relevance of what's in front of you. And please forget about Rome, Athens, Barcelona, etc. the exchange rate makes it much easier to tour the city in which you reside.

Phillies Ball Girls Get in the Way!

When the time comes for Phillies season tickets to go on sale, most corporations or individuals shell out thousands of dollars for the best seats in the house. The most sought after seats I would think are the Diamond Club seats, which are directly behind home plate rising up about 25 rows as well as the 1st row down the base lines are another favorable option. The reason for people choosing these seats are probably because the are the closest to the action, the liklihood of retrieving a foul ball, and the possibility of getting autographs before the game (there are other reasons I am sure). We are all familiar with the hot foul ball girls which sit down each of the baselines where the stands jut out nearest the field. They usually are wearing a Phillies like jersey with slutty shorts (which are awesome) as well as sporting there glove.

Throughout the course of a game foul balls are dribbled off the early or late swinging bats, which run down the base paths foul giving these front row people a chance at a souvenir as well as a lifelong story. My problem lies with the ball girls who prematurely jump out of there chair and snatch up the ball before it has a chance to reach the stands. It should be the responsbility of MLB to make sure the ball girls don't get there asses in the way of people taking a stab at a souvenir. If for some reason people miss and then it goes back onto the field, then it should be the ball girls responsibility to retrieve the ball and hopefully disperse it to a young fan.

Any thoughts?

Soccer, A Metaphor for Life?

Labor Day Weekend, a weekend in which the American working individual takes time to relax, enjoy a barbeque with friends, or if you are from Warminster attend the Al Perlini Memorial Soccer Tournament. The tournament has taken place for I would say about 20 years and has become a staple in many local families Labor Day plans. The format has the boys teams playing on Saturday and then the girls teams playing the next day. This year I was fortunate enough to attend the Sunday event in which my neices team participated. It was during the few hours on the soccer field spectating which I had many problematic instances occur (or at least I thought so).

Being from an avid soccer family it leaves no guess that a majority of the Lynch clan were situated on the same sideline as the Warminster team we were supporting. The sidelines were crowded with anxious spectators, (including myself) many folding chairs, loud children, and referees saying "stand back from the line" which are all staples of competitive soccer tournaments. It wasn't till about 25 minutes into the first half when I had a revelation of my future. It had nothing to do with the fact I was sweating through my shorts or that I forgot to apply sunblock. It had everything to do with me wanting to strangle the outside half back from the opposing team who insisted on getting beat by the same oppossing player with the same move again and again (she is probably 9 years old). At that instance I thought to myself what kind of father would I be in competitive in sports? Would I be the father who didn't care and say to himself it is just for fun? Or would I basically yell at my child for being stupid enough to fall for the same move over and over again? I would like to say I would be the kind and understanding father, but I don't know for sure. To be continued becasue only time will tell on that one.

Just then, I broke out of deep thought about my parental guidance issues to watch this girl get beat again, this time for a goal. Shortly after halftime came and the players disperse to the sidelines for orange slices and grapes, which looked awesome. Then the girl who consistantly got beat came and sat on her father's lap right in front of me. Luckily I kept my mouth shut about the girl, because a fight might have broken out. The father gave her a hug and said to her "you played great, good job". At that moment in time I was infuriated in objective opinion and pictured myself kicking this guy in the nuts. I understand I might have problems, but I hope to God these aren't the expectations this father has for his daughter, not only on the field but in life. Here is a girl, who I understand is only 9 years old, but is believing she is doing a good job when in reality she is not good what so ever. If only in the work place you could screw up time and time again, and still keep your job. The two ends of the spectrum I mentioned earlier surely can be made into a gray area. I would probably not complement her for her poor performance, but maybe mention what has been happening and give some advice as to change the misfortune.

As you didn't think I was crazy enough there is still one more instance on the fun filled day. After the game was completed an award trophy ceremony took place in which the 1st place team received shiny gold trophies. Yep, and as you guessed the second place team received silver trophies slightly smaller than the previous. My third reality check took place when the 3 teams who did not place in the event received miniature trophies. At what point did every team get trophies in tournaments? I can remember be upset after losing tournaments cause of a poor performance or getting beat by an opposing team. At no point did anyone lower than the third place team get an award. I have to ask the question what is going on in our society? Remember as a kid when you tried out for a team and got cut, it hurt alot, but made you a better person (am I right). Now they create B, C, and even D teams just so everyone has a chance to play. Also they give trophies out to teams underserving. The lesson they are learning is you can suck, but here is a reward so you don't feel bad about yourself (then they go home and show everyone there trophy and have a shelf made to put it on). It hurts me to see the soft, entitled, and spoiled children this society is grooming. In job interviews not everyone gets the job it is usually just the best person. Children need to be prepared for disappointment in there lives, it is better they learn it competitive sports than elsewhere. These are real life issues which we are teaching the children and they are misguiding, in my opinion.