Genius!!

If only I had been such a genius !! Loved this story -
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Dodgers Fuming Over Fan's Scheme to Catch Bonds' 700th Home Run

Thursday, September 16, 2004

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers are fuming over a man's scheme to try to catch Barry Bonds' 700th home run ball. Investment banker Michael Mahan spent nearly $25,000 buying tickets for two games against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium next month. He figured it was a worthwhile investment, because Bonds' 700th home run ball will fetch a much higher price. But the Giants' slugger has already hit his 699th home run and is likely to reach the milestone any day now. So Mahan is reselling the tickets -- at a considerable profit.

Mahan, 28, originally bought the right-field tickets six months ago at the group-discount rate of $3.50 -- but now he's selling them for $15 each. He has also required every ticket buyer to sign an eight-page contract compelling them to hand over to him any Bonds home run ball they might catch. He would then sell the ball and split the money evenly with the fan who caught it, according to the contract. The only people in the right-field pavilion free of legal constraints at the two games will be Mahan's parents, two sisters and 8-year-old brother. "If one of them gets it, I'm just as happy," Mahan said. "I'm sure they'll want to give it to me."
Mahan said he sold tickets through his Web site at $15 each and said he sold 3,000 tickets to a broker for less than $15 each but declined to disclose the exact price. He donated 400 tickets to charity and said he gave about 300 to family and friends. "I haven't done the numbers. I'm not going to lose money," he said.
The Dodgers have threatened to let fans into the right-field pavilion for free if 20 percent or more of Mahan's seats are unoccupied on the game days. "An individual found a way to manipulate the system, and it won't happen again," Gary Miereanu, the Dodgers' vice president of communications, told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.

Where do I start?

I've been back on American soil for 5 days now and I've yet to publish anything on my blog about our wonderful experience in Africa. The problem I've run into is - where do I start? I thought of doing daily reports (my original intention) on the different things we experienced but I decided that might get old to me and you so let me do a quick summary of thoughts I've had now that we're a few days removed:

1. Yesterday I got ticked off because I heard about some employees at our company having to pay $10 a month for a benefit they formerly got for free. $10!!! This time last week, I was driving through Ouidah (wee-dah) Benin West Africa which is one of the poorest towns you'll ever encounter. What many of them would give for $10 a month and all we can do is complain.
2. I heard today about an employee who is waiting to sign her annual review until her attorney reviews it !! What ??!!! She is a lower-level employee who is spending way too much time on what was a good review anyway. If she'd been in the village of Dandihoue (donny-way) where I was back a week ago Friday, she'd be thankful she has a job and a roof over her head. Sadly, the poor people in Dandihoue weren't complaining to their attorneys about their pitiful accommodations.
3. I had lunch today at IHOP. My meal was an meat-lover's omelet that was huge. I was remembering back to my lunch with Ega in his house that was no larger than most of our children's bedrooms and the meal he served. The meal he served did not taste as good as what I had today (hey, I'm just being truthful!) but I bet the guy who prepared did not sacrifice a large portion of his month wages to make it like Ega did. What a blessing it was to sit at Ega's table and enjoy the blessing of being served. And he didn't expect a tip either.

Are you getting the point? I'm 5 days into my life back here and I'm having to deal with issues that I didn't think about before. Pray that God will continue to reveal himself to me and to others around me. I've loved being able to share my story and experiences in Africa with my friends and co-workers. Pray that seeds will be planted!

God bless you all and kaffu, kaffu, no ma owe (Praise the Lord in Aja!!)

SJ