Never share a cab with someone more important than you

Apparently, there are Google rules that frown upon loading up a post with most-used search words. Since I want to be a good responsible blogger citizen...and more importantly, the experiment itself didn't seem to work at all (I got one extra hit for Molly Sims. Big whoop.) I thought I'd move off that topic and on to the next. This reminds me of an old kids' show host in the 50's (maybe it was Soupy Sales) who said, "Now kids, go to daddy's wallet, take out a dollar, and send it to me."

Anyway, onwards and sidewards.

Tony Gwynn’s recent selection to the Hall of Fame brought to mind a story about me and Tony and just where I fit in in the world.

I was broadcasting for the San Diego Padres. We were in New York to play the Mets. Tony and I shared a cab out to Shea Stadium. At one point in Queens the driver hit an oil slick, lost control of the car and we spun into a 360 degree turn. He was finally able to bring the cab to a stop, no one was hurt, but we were all quite shaken up. (Tony was so rattled that he only went 3-5 that night).

As we resumed our commute I said to Tony, “You realize if we had crashed there would have been news bulletins breaking into every network, huge front page headlines the next day and they all would say, ‘Baseball star, Tony Gwynn and a passenger were killed in a auto accident’.

My entire life would be reduced to “passenger”.

Tony felt bad. And mind you, this was not a ploy to get him to pay the fare (although it worked). He felt it was wrong that one person should be valued over another just because they’re famous. It was sweet of him to say but I was still feeling bummed out. You can’t change the way the world operates, yes it’s unfair, but some people are special and others are just considered nothing. And I fell into the latter category.

We arrived at the stadium. Tony paid the fare and the driver said there was an additional charge. Why? Because he had a passenger. Yes! It turns out my life is not without value! It’s worth $3.50!

I was soooo relieved.