Opening Day means a lot of things. To some, it’s a day to skip work or school and start popping the caps on Pabst at 10 a.m. For others, it’s a day to cheer the home team at the exciting start of another new season.
I’m excited because it means spring is here. So, am I the only one that finds it a little frustrating that when Mother Nature dishes up one nice day bookended by rainy and cool ones, the Miller Park roof guy can’t flick the damned switch and let some light in?
When Miller Park was built, we heard all about the Toronto effect; with each passing year the retractable roof on Toronto’s ballpark stays closed more and more as the fans and presumably the players start to lose their tolerance for even the slightest chill.
It’s about 60 degrees in Milwaukee at the moment and that bright yellow ball is high in the sky. Yet here we sit – watching the Brewers lead the Dodgers, 2-1, at the moment – under a roof with tens of thousands of watts of energy being wasted to fuel lights that recreate the sun.
Sure, the home team is playing great, the crowd is roaring, the brats are smoking and I’m at a ballgame instead of in the office on an April Monday, so it’s hard to complain. But, come on Brew Crew, let the sunshine in!
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
