Benoit... Makes ya think...

I'm having a real tough time with this. I don't know why anymore than any other high profile murder-suicide case.



I've been a fan of pro wrestling since I was old enough to watch TV. When I was 7, a lady wrestler by the name of Betty Niccoli took me backstage to meet some of the biggest stars of the time. To this day, I've wanted to pass on my gratitude to her.



On Monday, the day of this tragic occurrence, WWE was scheduled to hold their flagship show, RAW, in Corpus. I had to deliver a suitcase to one of the "divas" that was at the arena. To my surprise, security let me in the backstage area. I delivered the bag and got to hang around for a few minutes and chat with some of the wrestlers. This brought back some real fond childhood memories. This was about 2:30pm, our time.



I think it was a little after five when I'd heard on the radio that the show had been postponed. At first, the word was that Benoit had been found dead. It was an hour later when I heard that his wife and son were also dead.



I don't think I've ever went from euphoria to depression so quick in all my life. I was just in that arena, talking with these guys. Not a one of them had any clue that one of their "brothers" was gone. I couldn't help but shed a tear for them.



A whole different situation...



When I first started watching wrestling in the late 60's the majority of the guys were little more than six-one or two and weighed not much more than 250 pounds. A guy over 275 was considered huge. Very few had the chiseled physiques that are commonplace nowadays.



Most of the action was "mat wrestling." You didn't see the high flying maneuvers other than a well placed dropkick now and then. Guys could easily have a 25 year plus career, just because injuries were few.



I don't think the average person understands the wear and tear on these "sports-entertainers'" bodies from a nightly of routine sick "bumps" they endure in just a regular match. Now throw in tables, chairs, ladders, metal trash cans and steel steps, and it's a wonder any of these guys survive a week.



Add to that the continuous pressure put on these guys to just look good. Guys with average at best wrestling talent are given a "push" solely on their physiques or charisma. Chris Benoit was a good example of this. Despite his incredible wrestling talent, his "mic skills" and, until recently, his build kept him mostly at upper mid-card status.



It's not uncommon for most of the guys on the WWE roster to be performing while in some form of chronic pain. The company has several doctors on staff capable of prescribing any number of pain pills and anti-inflammatories, including steroids. Benoit was only one of many that surely had (and have) a steady diet of these medications, just in order to keep performing.



So who's to blame here? Nobody other than Chris Benoit himself. May he burn in hell for his actions. Every one of these guys that performs in a WWE ring has endured the same pain as Benoit. Not a one of them have gone off the deep end like that. And while there is a long list of wrestlers who have died at an early age from complications of drug use or by committing suicide, to my knowledge, only two (Pillman and Guerrero) were under contract with WWE at the time of their death.



I miss the good old days of rasslin'. The action was in (or at least around) the ring. Not in some back lot with an exploding limousine. But that's not what sells tickets and pay-per-views. We push these guys to fly around the ring into immovable objects or each other. And when we go home, they hobble off to the next city and put their bodies on the line once again for our enjoyment.



Meanwhile, pundants and high brow intellectuals will dissect this senseless tragedy and blame the elements of an industry they know little to nothing about. One, that by their own admission is, beneath them.



And the bottom line is that this is no more or less horrific had it happened to a plumber's family. Let's try to pray for the Benoit family, and worry less about things we can only speculate on.

Is the honeymoon over?

So, I’m listening to Savage yesterday. Man, he is just steamed about Trent Lott’s statement about Conservative talk radio. Apparently, he feels this medium needs to be “dealt with.”
I don’t think Savage could have more dismayed if his old lady had walked out on him. It was actually kind of funny to listen to.

I’ve come to feel that guys like Savage, Limbaguh, Hannity and even the cute little Ms. Ingram are just a bunch of blowhards. That said, what are they doing that is so bad? Lott says Conservative talk radio is “running America.” I’d like to know what America he’s talking about.

The aforementioned talking heads have the lions share of listeners in the talk radio market. Yet, I’ll bet of the 60% that were opposed to the current model of the immigration bill, not very many of them felt that way because Rush told them so.

I personally don’t think there cannot be any form of immigration reform that does not seal the borders, both north and south , round up and deport as many illeagals as possible, before any easing of current regulations can occur. This is my opinion. It is the same opinion I’ve held long before I’d ever heard of some of these radio personalities.

Still, it seems that Senator Lott thinks that we the people can’t function without our marching orders from our favorite talk show host.

God, I hope mine doesn’t tell us to jump off the Harbor Bridge on Monday. It could get messy.

Now all we need is Elvira

So... I got to spend 4 hours last night with local celebrity, Phil Dixon in my back seat. His show, "Chill with Phil," which features macabre movies along with with local flavored intermissions, has worked out a deal with Green-n-Go Cab to do it's taped segments from the back seat of the taxis. Phil did a couple of interviews, and we picked up a couple of fares who would get a free or discounted ride for answering a few trivia questions.

The show airs every Saturday at 11pm on channel 21 (channel 15 cable) here in Corpus. When I get a chance, I'll put a couple of clips from this week's show on this site.

Doing the show was enjoyable for me. I've long since had my 15 minutes of fame, so being on camera was no big deal. The passengers we picked up seemed to have the jitters about the whole thing, but they got through it.

This has the potential to be a win-win for the show and the cab company. I hope they can keep it going.

I will gladly pay this fine...

Before I stamp this and send it off, I wanted you to see just what the Muni court will get from me in a couple of days. I think it's worth it to let them know how I feel.

You may need to click the image.

I wrote my Congressman

The following is a message I composed to US Representative, Soloman Ortiz from Texas.

Dear Sir,

For a long time now, I have been strongly against the seat belt law. While I know that it is a state law, I'm pretty sure there is some Federal highway money attached to it. This is why I'm contacting you, as opposed to someone at the state or county level.

You see, I think wearing seat belts is a good idea, one that could save a person from serious injury or death. However, there are many things a person can do to protect themselves, none of which are law.

It is my opinion that laws were supposed to be made to protect people from each other, not from themselves. Sorry for sounding morbid, but while there is a law against murder or attempting murder, there is no law against attempting suicide to my knowledge.

Car seats for children are another story. Kids at that age are not old enough to make a decision like that for themselves.

I understand the insurance lobby is one of the most powerful in Washington. I share a common belief that they are the ones that have pushed this law and are the driving force behind this whole "Click it or Ticket" crap we have to listen to during every holiday. I would be more inclined to buckle up if Geico just sent me a letter saying they would not pay for my personal injuries if it was determined that I was not buckled up at the time of my accident.

So instead of patrolling the streets these last two weeks, trying to get a handle on our increasing drug and gang problems, or just watching out for these lunatics that drive 100 mph down SPID (I guess most of them are buckled up, so they're ok) our local law enforcement lurks in the underpasses, with one cop that looks like a homeless guy with a home made sign telling us to "Click it or Ticket," while his buddies are shooting fish in a barrel handing out tickets.

Yes, I was one they caught. I am driving on these local streets for as many as 75 hours a week. The odds of getting stopped just caught up with me. Although this is my first seat belt ticket in 26 years of professional driving.

Sir, I am generally a law abiding citizen. I'm not some whacko that flies off the handle at every stupid little thing. This is the first time I've ever "written my congressman."

I don't think there's a chance in heck of repealing the seat belt law. Most folks think it's a good idea and buckle up out of habit. I just think it's a matter of priorities, and no taxpayer money should be used to fund "stepped up enforcement" campaigns when there are many other more serious problems in our communities.

All I'm asking for is that law enforcement protect me from the bad guys, not from myself.

Respectfully submitted,
John Shannon

Problem is, his website is not working and the "send" button wont let me send the message.

HMMMMMM......

You had to know it was coming

Yes... I got nabbed by the seat belt Nazis in Corpus. They actually had cops waiting in areas known as "Texas u-turns" waiting to nab violators. I'm thinking of taking it to court just to vent, but I know it would be a waste of time.

I shouldn't be so hard on our local boys. I know they're only following orders. Just a way to guarantee federal highway funding. I can't help but be pissed. It's a great idea, but a stupid law. It's just going to take someone with a lot more money and time than I have to get in repealed.