Monday, September 22, 2008

Max Kellerman's Monday Musings - Vol XXVII - Of Life Experiences and Today Derek Jeter is a Fountain Pen

Today's Max Kellerman show was a somber one, with proper deference given to the last game having been played at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees looming departure from the post season picture. But before getting to the topics discussed today, a little housekeeping is in order.

To address a number of e-mails that I received, yes the show is now just the Max Kellerman show (again). I am unaware of why Brian Kenny is no longer on the show, but one e-mailer mentioned that the separation was "amicable." Based on their long term friendship, I would hope so. If the change in format was mentioned on the air, then I missed it, but I haven't been able to spend that much time listening to the show over the last week, so its possible that it was discussed.

Another change is that the muzzle has been lifted from Louie and Lundberg. Late last week I began hearing Max asking them (along with the board op) to introduce themselves. I don't know if this was in conjunction with the loss of Brian Kenny, the result of lobbying by listeners or staff, or simply Max thumbing his nose at the empty suits at Disney/ABC.

The timing of letting Louie speak is quite suspect. When Louie Gold was gagged by the network, the Mets went on a winning streak and retook First Place in the NL East. Now that Louie has been permitted to speak again, the Mets are sinking into collapse version 2.0. I don't think that it is a direct result of Louie being permitted to speak, but I'm sure that Max is enjoying having Louie publicly expose his self-loathing for being a Met fan.

I guess that I should discuss the show's topics as well, so here goes. During the limited time that I listened today, I heard Max express his displeasure for R. Cano and M. Cabrera. It was interesting to hear Max say that he did not want to see Cano get game winning hits now and celebrate his accomplishments since (in Max's words) had Melky and Cano produced at a Major League level, the Yankees would not be out if it, despite the injuries that they suffered this year.

Max's take on the farewell ceremonies at the Stadium was overly cynical even for Max. His first though (that I heard) was that the Yankees' elimination from post season play made the ceremony ring hollow. Strong words! Max then said that Derek Jeter's speech after the game was "like a secular bar-mitzva speech" because it was all about tradition.

Max also utilized more of his idol's (Howard Stern) teachings, by incorporating his personal life in to the show. Max talked about how he was working with his wife on building their daughter's crib and changing table. He expressed frustration (well known to those who have tried to do these things, but new to Max) as to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. I can remember building the crib with Sarah and almost being done, before realizing that it was upside down. Max said on the show that he had remarked to Erin - does Jay-Z build his own changing table/crib? But then Max let out his human side by saying that by spending the time with his wife building the baby's furniture, he realized that "it turns out that Erin is OK."

Max's last thought on the issue was that he realized that this was something that his mother would have told him - that you miss out on something if you don't do it yourself.

Well, mother Kellerman's views are certainly rooted in Torah thought. Indeed, many Torah concepts teach the value of actually performing the task at hand. By example, in last week's parsha, the Torah teaches about bikurim, the first fruits of the year that are brought by the farmer up to the Temple in Jerusalem in an elaborate ceremony. The Ramban teaches that the minimum amount of fruit that can be brought up for the ceremony is one fig. Why? Because if we personally take the one fruit up to the temple, we show that we appreciate all that hashem does for us. This is valued by Hashem who appeciates our actions in taking the time to bring the bikurim personally and we are ensured a reward for our personal efforts.

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