Categories
Sports

A brush with George Steinbrenner in 1996

steinbrenner.jpg

Note: explicit language used below…

George Steinbrenner, the longtime New York Yankees owner, died yesterday at the age of 80.

I had a brush with Steinbrenner back in July, 1996. It was during the Atlanta summer Olympics, and I was in college, working as a bellman at an Atlanta hotel.

Steinbrenner checked in at the front desk, and I took his luggage. We walked to the elevator, and the two of us got in. I punched in the number for his floor, and the doors closed.

I looked over at him. There was complete silence.

To make conversation, I asked him about the recent Centennial Olympic Park bombing, in which two people were killed and 111 were injured.

“What do you think about it all, Mr. Steinbrenner?” I said.

He turned and looked at me.

“I hope they catch that son of a bitch and hang him by his balls.”

And that was that.

To be fair, though he was known for his ruthless managerial ways, I will say this: He was a generous tipper. And, later in the visit, after he’d stayed for a few days and I’d helped arranged to have a few of his signature blazers dry cleaned, he gave me a special reward: a box of a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts.

Categories
Bangkok Thailand

New fines for feeding elephants in Thailand

AP ran this interesting story yesterday:

BANGKOK — You can still feed elephants in Thailand’s bustling capital — but it could cost you.

Bangkok authorities said Monday anyone caught handing bunches of bananas or sugar cane to the hulking beasts — proffered by their handlers to make money — faces a $320 (10,000 baht) fine.

Thailand has about 2,400 domestic elephants. There is little demand these days for the animals’ traditional skills in logging and other labor, so owners sometimes loan them out for begging from tourists and locals in major cities.

Will the ordinance be enforced? We shall see.

Categories
Thailand

More Thailand news

Categories
Bangkok Thai politics Thailand

Thai government extends state of emergency

Here are stories from the AP, VOA, and AFP about the news today.

And here are related pieces from the BBC (“Stark warnings over Thai emergency laws”) and Reuters (“No Thai protests for now”).

More on this soon, I’m sure.

Categories
Thailand

Recent Thailand stories

Some recent Thailand stories of note: