Stuff That Irks Me - Continued

Yesterday I shared with you my disgust over a limo that was parked over three handicapped spaces in the parking lot at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. After I posted that entry I went to the website for Luxury Limousine of Harrisburg and sent them a message through their contact section to politely inform them of what I had seen and why it was upsetting, as well as directing them to my post about the vehicle.

I even gave Luxury Limousine of HGB an opportunity to apologize publicly for the incident. Perhaps I was on the harsh side of my initial contact with the company, but I do not think I went too far over the line. You be the judge. Below is the message I sent Luxury Limousine of HGB;

I wanted to alert you that I saw one of your vehicles parked over not one, not two but THREE handicapped spots Tuesday evening in the parking lot for the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. I made sure to publicize this illegal act at the following web address; http://kevinmcguire.blogspot.com/2009/04/stuff-that-irks-me-parking-in.html Feel free to leave a public apology there if you wish.

I left the above message with them in the morning, briefly after posting my rant. Yesterday afternoon I received a response from the limo company and I was left wondering if somebody had actually taken the time to visit the URL I sent them. The link would have provided them with photo documentation of the vehicle in question. Below is what I received from Luxury Limousine of Harrisburg;

In the future, You should make sure that you send your e-mail to the right people. We are luxury limousine of HGB. and we didn't have a vehicle anywhere near PHILADELPHIA on Tuesday evening 4/29/09. You should try Luxury Limousine Co. in the Philly AREA-First. CHECK the vehicles out better before you accuse people the next time. You feel free to leave a public apology to LUXURY LIMOUSINE of HARRISBURG if you wish!!

Alright, I'll be fair and balanced. Let me go through this e-mail line by line and see if I have been mistaken based on what I saw...

"We are luxury limousine of HGB. and we didn't have a vehicle anywhere near PHILADELPHIA on Tuesday evening 4/29/09."

Ok, so this vehicle, labeled with "Luxury Limousine of HGB" on the side with the Wachovia Spectrum in the background, is NOT yours? I remain somewhat skeptical, but let me keep going. Never mind the fact that this picture was taken on Charlie Manuel bobble head night at the Phillies game, which according to the promotional calendar on Phillies.com was Tuesday April 28, 2009 (I'll just assume that the claim about the 29th was a typo).


"CHECK the vehicles out better before you accuse people the next time."

Uh...I did.


Last but not least I wanted to confirm that I had the correct web address. I will not share with you the actual e-mail address that I received this response from, but I will tell you that the domain of the e-mail address was "@luxurylimoofhbg.com." Do I mean the same "luxurylimoofhbg.com" that was printed on the back window of the vehicle...


...why yes I certainly do!

By all accounts I seem to have done my research on the vehicle and personally I feel that the response that I received yesterday was in poor judgement from the individual who sent it. I am not really out to fight a war against a limousine company, although if I somehow get a free or discounted limo out of the deal I would not be upset. Instead I state that I am fighting a battle against rudeness and disregard for those in need and showing no respect for the rules of the road.

What if a police officer had seen what I had seen. Would Luxury Limousine of Harrisburg try to convince the officer that they did not have a vehicle "anywhere near PHILADELPHIA"? Probably not. I realize that I may have gotten the response I did because I am a "blogger" and businesses should not bother with such little quibbles. Is that fair? No, but that is not the issue at hand.

Is it fair to force up to three cars of handicapped drivers or passengers to park farther away from their destination and travel between rows of cars in a full parking lot at a sports arena complex so one limo company can show off their large vehicle. No. Handicapped parking spaces are for drivers and passengers in special need. It's just that simple. Don't park in them!

That my friends, is the issue I am concerned with.

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Stuff That Irks Me

I am normally pretty easy going but there are some things that irritate me beyond belief. People who decide to smoke in a huge crowd walking out of a baseball stadium is among the top of my list, although people who smoke at all usually find themselves in this mix anyway. People with no regard for polite cell phone usage is another. A third is people who park in handicapped spots when they are not handicapped.

But what about when a limo parks over not one, not two but THREE handicapped spots? Well that's where I go over the top. As I left the Phillies game last night (photos up) I walked by a limo that did just that in front of the Wachovia Center. I feel that it was wrong to do this, so with my camera handy I decided to catch the illegal act on film (metaphorically speaking as I used a digital camera) for the world to witness.


You will notice that this limo spans three clearly marked handicapped spots. I was curious so I checked the licence plate for a handicapped plate. Nothing. What about a handicapped sticker hanging from the rear view mirror. Nada.

This, in my opinion is the job of a limo driver that should be held accountable. Do you agree? Below is the vital information for the vehicle...

By the way, the limo is the property of Luxury Limousine of Harrisburg. I only assume that the passengers in this vehicle were attending the Bruce Springstein concert at the Spectrum on Tuesday night, as the parking lot I was in was mostly for that event instead of the Phillies game.

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Photos: Harry Kalas Tribute Night

I have been sharing some snapshots from the Phillies game on Harry Kalas Tribute Night over the course of the week. Below is the slide show of the entire collection of photos online. I have some more that were not uploaded but they are mostly blurry shots or repeat photos.

Enjoy.

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Photos: Harry Kalas Tribute Night

The Phillies had already blown a 7-1 lead and were now fighting to rally from behind. It was a tense situation, as my determined look may suggest.

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Photos: Harry Kalas Tribute Night

A panoramic shot of Citizens Bank Park. Would have better had a couple fans been sitting down, but oh well!

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Photos: Harry Kalas Tribute Night

A shot of Citizens Bank Park (in sepia mode on the camera). What a beautiful stadium. Even in Sepia!

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Photos: Harry Kalas Tribute Night

The Phillie Phanatic pauses to watch a video tribute to the late Harry Kalas.

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Photos: Harry Kalas Tribute Night

As the week goes by I'll share with you some photos from last Friday's Phillies game. The entire night was in honor of Harry Kalas, who passed away earlier in the week.

Below is the Mike Schmidt statue outside the third base entrance to Citizens Bank Park. This location become the impromptu site for Phillies fans to honor Kalas, who called each of Schmidt's 548 career home runs.

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My Small Tribute to Harry Kalas

I'm heading down to the ball park tonight to pay my respects to Harry Kalas. It's not much but I am bringing a commemorative can of Coca-Cola with some small messages on it in his honor.

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I'll post the photos from the game tomorrow at some point. Video will be taken too and shared in the next few days.

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Flyers Playoff Coverage

Man do I love that photo! I don't plan on covering the Flyers as much as I did last season during the playoffs, but I'll make sure to leave my thoughts when I feel like it.

The Flyers are in Pittsburgh tonight for game one of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It is a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Finals and because the Flyers blew a lead and failed to reach overtime against the Rangers in the season finale the home ice goes to the Penguins.

I saw this video on Broad Street Hockey and felt it was appropriate to share with my Flyers friends who may see this.

Let's go Flyers!

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Harry Kalas' Last First Pitch

This video was shot before last week's World Series ring ceremony at Citizens Bank Park. I was planning on sharing the entire ceremony on the site this week but now it does not seem to be the appropriate time for the rest of the festivities. Perhaps next week when the proper mourning period has passed.

I apologize for the video quality. The transfer to the computer did not go as I had planned. If I get a better copy of it I will replace it as needed.

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In Memory of Harry Kalas

The news broke just hours before the legendary voice of the Phillies was about to enter my television set, doing what he has always done for as long as I have watched the Phillies. Harry Kalas was just hours away from bringing me the play by play of the Phillies game against the Nationals. Sadly, it was not to be as Kalas has passed away, at the age of 73.

Kalas was found passed out in the press box about an hour and a half before the Nationals' home opener. He was rushed to George Washington University hospital and not long after David Montgomery held a brief press conference with beat reporters to announce that Kalas was no longer with us.

This is a sad day for Phillies fans, and baseball fans all over. Nobody defined the Phillies the way Kalas did. Kalas is an icon of the franchise in the same group as Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, and of course, Richie Ashburn. It was with Ashburn that Kalas formed the terrific duo of Phillies broadcasters for the better part of two decades.

Feel free to share your Harry Kalas memories in the comments section, as we will continue to pay tribute to Harry the K all week long and I am sure for a long time after that. I'll add some more thoughts later on.

Harold Norbert "Harry" Kalas
March 26, 1936 - April 13, 2009

We will miss you.

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Phillies World Series Ring Ceremony

Yesterday Stef and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend the World Series Ring Ceremony before the Phillies played a memorable game against the Atlanta Braves. Thanks to Kelly for getting the tickets!

I took the video camera into the stadium to record the ceremony from the right field stands in the windy upper deck. Video coming soon. We also took a bunch of pictures, which you can browse below in the slide show. Many of the photos are a little blurry but hopefully you get a good sense of what is going on.

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Phillies 2009 Prediction

Well tonight marks the start of the 2009 Phillies campaign to repeat as World Series champions or, as it has been frequently referred to as on many of the Phillies blogs, as WFC. Brett Myers gets the opening job for the third straight year, the first Phillies pitcher since Curt Schilling to open three straight seasons.

I feel that this year's team has potential to be better than the 2008 squad. Replacing 16 starts from Adam Eaton with a full year of Joe Blanton, possibly having a refocused Myers for an entire year and getting a full season out of Chan Ho Park as opposed to Kyle Kendrick only seems to give the Phillies a much better starting rotation with a steady Jamie Moyer and the ace in Cole Hamels.

I expect Jimmy Rollins to have a season that falls between his 2007 MVP season and last year (which seemed worse than it was because of his spectacular 2007 season). Ryan Howard will push for 50 home runs and Chase Utley will play at an MVP level.

Really, is there any reason not to expect a better season from the Phillies this year? I honestly don't see it. Of course winning the World Series will be tough again but the Phillies have what it takes to get back there.

I'll go on record and predict a 94 win season from the Phillies, culminating with a third straight NL East division title. But repeating is tough so I'll play the odds and say they lose to the Yankees in the World Series. Call me a sucker, but I buy into the hype that the Yankees may have just bought their way back to the Fall Classic.

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What a sports year it has been...

Penn State, 2009 NIT Champions

Last night Penn State's men's basketball team won the NIT championship by knocking off an inspired Baylor team, 69-63. It may be "just the NIT" but this is a big achievement for this program.

The success of the "should have been in the NCAA tournament" Penn State team got me thinking about how great of a sports year it has been since baseball's opening day in 2008. To recap...

• The Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals in seven games and the Montreal Canadians in five games to set up a fun ride to the Eastern Conference Finals.
• The Sixers played some uplifting basketball against the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
• The Philadelphia Soul won the Arena Bowl.
• The Phillies won the World Series after a dominant post season.
• Penn State's football team won the Big Ten title and went to the Rose Bowl.
• Penn State's women's volleyball team won the national championship.
  
• The Eagles snuck into the NFC Championship game.
• Penn State's fencing team won the national championship
  
• Penn State's basketball team won the NIT
  
• Villanova will be playing in the Final Four this weekend.

Most of these fun rides ended in futile efforts, but I would rather have the ability to watch my teams deep into a season with a chance for a championship rather than have no playoff action to look forward too.

Maybe Villanova can keep this fun streak alive and hold us over until the NHL and NBA playoffs start up again?

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