Top Ten, traveling man edition

Summer vacations are a long way away at this point, but they sure sound good at the end of February. It led me to think about the top 10 historical sites I've ever visited, places that really made me stop and think.

I'm not counting such locations as National Parks, or historic sites like the Washington Monument or Lincoln Memorial. I want to think about places where signs could hung reading "History Happened Here." So here's a quick list:

1. The Oval Office, the White House, Washington -- I was covering the Buffalo Sabres when we (the team's traveling party, that is) were let in for a quick look around. Everyone was afraid to touch the phone. The amount of history to take place, and continues to take place, in that room is staggering, and it really is oval. Nice carpet with the U.S. seal on it, too. I was given some Presidential lifesavers from Mr. Clinton's desk; I've still got them.

2. Independence Hall, Philadelphia -- Where it all began. I dare you to stand in that room and not think about the guts that the people who ratified the Declaration had. Got problems with England? We'll just start our own country, and make it a democratic one. Yeah, right, happens all the time. Oh, and the signers all thought they were going to die by going public when they signed that piece of paper.

3. Appomattox Court House, Virginia -- Tourists can get in the very room where Lee surrendered to Grant. Pictures show the scene as it was, so it's easy to picture how it was done.

4. Jamestown, Virginia -- Where it all began. Considering all that the settlers went through, it's tough to believe we made it to 1608, let alone 2008. The NPS does a very good job of describing life there for the first visitors.

5. The House Speaker's Chair, U.S. Capitol, Washington -- This perhaps should be higher because it's not exactly on the tourist route. A friend of mine worked in the Capitol building. I visited him, and we went through a couple of doors and suddenly we were on the floor of the House. From there it was up the steps to sit in the Speaker's very chair. The old drawers around the desk have all sorts of modern communications equipment, but from the outside it really looks like Henry Clay would fit right in.

6. Texas Book Depository, Dallas -- You can't get in the actual room where Oswald shot (or should I say allegedly shot) Kennedy, but you can go next to it. Therefore, you can look right down on to Dealey Plaza and picture the whole scene, which has been shown countless times to old-timers like me and their elders. You can even see the X that's been painted on the road where the impact took place. The building turned the top floor into a museum, which does a nice job of explaining the events before and after.

7. Kennedy Space Center, Florida -- You can't go right on to Launch Complex 39 and see where Apollo 11 took off for the moon, because it is still in use. You can get a few miles away, though, and it still looks big. You also can walk under an unused Saturn V rocket in one of the museums, which is an amazing feeling. Someday this site might be remember more than most of the others.

8. Vice President's Office, Executive Office Building, Washington -- This was on another Sabres' tour. The Vice President does have a formal office; some use it more than others. (No word on if Dick Cheney has the office in an undisclosed location.) The best part of the office is the big desk. All of the Vice Presidents since Truman, I think, have signed the drawer directly in front of them. It's an instant course in that part of the executive branch. There's glass over the signatures, by the way, so they don't fade.

9. Fort Sumter, South Carolina -- I never knew it was on a small island in the middle of the bay off Charleston until I went there. You need to know the backstory about what happened there. The fort was attacked, and Union forces eventually surrender. Simple, but it changed out history forever. Nice boat ride out there, too.

10. Monticello, Virginia -- Thomas Jefferson was as brilliant as any figure in American history. His active mind is fully on display on the grounds of his home. Walking in the same building as Jefferson once did certainly gives one food for proverbial thought.

Honorable mention: The ones that come to mind are Rosa Parks' bus seat (kept in the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.), Ellis Island in New York, the U.S.S. Constitution in Boston, the Old North Church in Boston. Washington is filled with interesting places -- you can stand under the Spirit of St. Louis, or see the original Declaration of Independence, or visit Ford's Theater (although Lincoln's box is blocked off).

And in Canada: Founders Hall in Charlottetown is pretty nice, and it's always fun to walk around the halls of Parliament in Ottawa.

Any others? I'm willing to revise.

History lesson

Gather around, kids. Time to tell a story about what life was like in the fall of 1969, when I was in what we called "junior high school."

I was sitting in my usual spot in home room one morning. For those who have been through the school system, did anything interesting ever happen in home room? Probably not. But this day turned out to be an exception.

As usual, we got up for the pledge of allegiance, which may or may not have been read over the loudspeaker. On this particular day, an African-American girl -- we'll call her Jill -- sitting to my right and in front of me stayed right in her seat.

Chaos, at least by junior high standards, followed.

Jill was quickly hustled off to the principal's office for a conversation. The rest of us sat there rather dumbfounded. Public schools tend to stress conformity, of course, and it was more true then than now. At this particular school at this particular time, jeans weren't even allowed.

As I recall, most of us either didn't see the gesture or wondered what the big deal was. From my vantage point, I remembered the "black power" protest of John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Protests were on the news almost every night back then, although it was unusual to see it in home room. But the grown-ups sure seemed rattled.

Jill was back in home room the next day. When it was time for the pledge, she stood up with the rest of us ... and instead of putting her hand over her heart and reciting, she simply stayed silent and looked down.

I moved the following summer, and never heard the second half of this story until 2003, when I was talking to a teacher at a high school reunion of my old school system. Jill was a year or two older but still on the defiant side upon reaching high school, apparently. She was talking with one of the music teachers when she became angry about something or other. Jill said, "Bleep you," more or less, and the teacher was so stunned she slapped the pupil in response. Jill shouted back, "You're in trouble now! My mother's on the school board, and she'll have your job for this!"

As you might expect, the teacher was called down to the principal's office over this one. He said, "Of all of the people to slap, why did you pick this one?" She replied, "I just reacted emotionally. I wasn't expecting to hear that." I'm sure Jill got a lecture too.

This stuff probably goes on all the time in today's schools. But for us geezers, it was pretty exciting.

Deal or no deal

It's trading deadline time in the National Hockey League, and the drama is building here in Buffalo. Most of it centers around a talented young defenseman named Brian Campbell, who has played in the NHL All-Star Game for the last couple of years and has moves on the ice not seen in these parts since Phil Housley.

Campbell is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and he is probably going to be a rich man when he signs that next contract. Campbell probably will earn close to $6 million per year over the course of a multiyear contract. Not bad.

But the usual dance goes on in the meantime, and that's where things get interesting.

There are two usual options in this situation. The Sabres could try to deal Campbell in the next two days, trying to extract a high draft choice and a good prospect for him from a Stanley Cup contender. The idea is that if Buffalo is convinced it can't sign Campbell, it's better to get something for him if he isn't going to be re-signed by July. A great many players have left the Sabres in the past two years this way, including Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, Jay McKee and Mike Grier. Those losses have turned a top team into one in the middle of the pack, and they have caused problems with the fan base.

The other option is to hold on to Campbell. That would give the team four extra months to sign him, and they would get to keep him for the stretch run and possibly for the playoffs. Campbell has said he wouldn't mind staying a Sabre. Of course, everyone has said that, and they more or less all walked away.

This is a tough enough decision under most circumstances. This isn't a veteran who might have one last hurrah left in him for a contender (Mats Sundin of Toronto comes to mind). This is someone who could be a top defenseman for years.

Meanwhile, the Sabres' on-ice performance hasn't done team management any favors in terms of decision-making. It is lingering around the dividing line between the playoff teams and the non-playoff teams. And that brings us to the point that needs to come up right now.

The Sabres are clearly a better team with Campbell in the lineup than with Campbell in San Jose's lineup after a trade. It looks like it is possible that the Sabres are a playoff team with Campbell, and not a playoff team without him. Which brings us to, naturally money.

If the Sabres do make the playoffs, they are guaranteed at least two playoff games and might get three even if they lose in the first round. The going rate for income at playoff time is said to be around $1 million per game, although that may be a little high for Buffalo as compared to, say, Philadelphia or New York. Still, that's $2-3 million sitting on the table.

And the Sabres could be matched against the Southeast Division winner with a sixth-place Eastern Conference finish, a matchup that looks like it could be won right now. A trip to the second round could be worth another $2-3 million, bringing the total to $4-6 million. That could pay Campbell's contract for a year.

Summing up, then, the Sabres could do nothing for now, thus improving their chances of earning millions of dollars in the postseason and buying some more time to talk contract with Campbell. They also increase their chances of having him walk away for nothing, which would be another public relations disaster.

But what if Campbell isn't the difference? What if the team isn't a Stanley Cup playoff team with him on the roster? Conversely, what if it is a playoff team even without him?

The Sabres front office has to make the best possible guess about those questions, and it has fewer than two days to do it. General manager Darcy Regier and company will earn their salaries during that time.

Odd twists

One of the techniques I've been using to build up the family tree to ridiculous proportions is the use of search engines. I plug in the two names of some married couple from my distant past, and see what comes up. In that way, I can piggy-back on the work of others. Once you get back a few generations, you'd be surprised what you can find ... provided that the people live in this country. In other words, it's not much help, or at least less help, for those who came over less than, say, 120 years ago.

So let's meet John Locke and Elizabeth Berry. John lived from 1627 to 1696, while Liz was around from 1635 to 1708. There's a connection to them through my father's mother, although it's not direct. John, by the way, was killed by Indians in Rye, New Hampshire (near Portsmouth).

Having plugged in those names to Google, it was suggested on one of those sites that there was a connection of John Locke to John Locke, the famous philosopher -- one of those guys who bored me in my college philosophy class. ("I'm bored, therefore I am.") I sent this information to my good friend Glenn Locke, author of "The Tall Thin Guy," which you should be visiting regularly if you aren't already. He said he was indeed distantly related to the philosopher too, which makes us technically related.

He said it was a good idea that we didn't get married; I couldn't agree more.

But that wasn't the surprise of the day. Another few Web sites down on the list of search results came another family tree. The page was called "The Ancestry of Halle Berry." John and Liz were her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents. It's only a coincidence that Elizabeth and Halle are both Berrys; Halle picked up the family name from a grandfather.

Related to Halle Berry? Now we're talking. When is that family reunion?

Checking in with a sage

Av Westin, one of the legends of the television news business, spoke in Buffalo on Feb. 20. Westin started as Edward R. Murrow's copy boy at CBS, worked for that network for a while and then jumped to ABC. It might be an overstatement to say Westin helped give ABC News credibility and legitimacy, but not a big one. He worked on the evening newscast and helped establish 20/20. Westin is still pretty sharp as he approaches 80.

The newsman gave a speech that lasted 30-35 minutes or so. The topic was the news business from Murrow to MSNBC. As you'd expect from that generation, he's not too happy with the state of the news business. When he started, news was something of a loss leader for the network, designed to give some prestige. Then, Westin said that it was discovered that news could deliver ratings and money -- not just to the news show itself, but the whole prime-time lineup.

It was a slippery slope from there, according to Westin. Costs were cut, standards were lowered, etc. That applies to the network and the local level. Let's face it, it's difficult to argue with him.

From there, Westin took questions for about 20 minutes. I posed the question, "If Katie Couric had called to ask if she should jump from NBC to CBS, what would you have told her?" The subject was on my mind after reading Howard Kurtz's book, "Reality Show" (see review here). I wondered if he thought that she needed to take the job for prestige, or if the power center had shifted to the morning programs from the nightly news.

His answer was none of the above, but no less interesting. After telling a story about how much Barbara Walters and Harry Reasoner hated each other when they did the evening news together, he said he would have told Couric to stay put. One reason is that she's better in a more open format, in which she can free-wheel during interviews. If something needed to go an extra minute or two, it's easier in the morning. The nightly shows are rigidly structured -- in part because of tradition -- and it's hard to get away from it.

Then Westin added that she didn't think Couric was particularly good at delivering the news. She thought her interviewing skills weren't that good in that format. He personally watches ABC out of loyalty and NBC because he likes Brian Williams.

Always good to hear from those who have been around the block once or twice.

Prime time

When a discussion comes up about prime-time television, I'm about as lost as I am when someone brings up cooking techniques. Which is saying something.

There's just not much on of interest to me. I've only made it through "Survivor" once, and have no interest in seeing the updated version of the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, better known as "American Idol." There are good shows out there, I'm sure, but I've never seen them.

But there is one exception. I'm a devoted viewer of "American Experience" on PBS.

Monday nights starting in January, the show cranks out generally interesting documentaries about American history. I always learn things. I also always wonder about the people behind the scenes who take the time to put these films together.

In other words, someone had to sit down a while ago and say, "Boy, I think America is interested in the history of the lobotomy."

Oddly enough, that person was right, at least as far as this very small section of America is concerned. Usually, the shows are done well enough so that almost any topic is worthwhile.

This year's programs already have covered the usual wide range of subjects. "Grand Central" covered the rail terminal in New York City and its history. Can't say I knew that the construction of the building was responsible for the concept of "air rights" in real estate. New York Central pushed its tracks under ground and sold the real estate above it in order to finance the project.

Then there's Mary Pickford. I knew she was a movie star, I knew she was "America's sweetheart," whatever that means. I didn't know that she basically was our first has-been. Pickford played young roles in silent pictures starting around World War I, and became a huge star. But then she grew older, and audiences weren't interested in seeing her grow up. Her personal story didn't have an happy ending.

Tonight's story was on Kit Carson. Now I've heard of him, but I can't say I know the reason why. So while I'm not sure if I need to see 90 minutes on Carson, I'll learn a few things if I merely start the tape up. Next week is a show on Buffalo Bill Cody. Having been to his grave, I learned that Cody was essentially the 19th century version of Don King in terms of promotion. He would have fit right in with the boxing crowd.

The program runs into spring, and reruns are often aired during the course of the year.

Take Five, Steroids Edition

Five reasons to wonder about Congress, and not about a pitcher and his personal trainer:

1. After watching the Roger Clemens Congressional hearing the other day, on and off, for almost five hours, the same question struck me as everyone else: Why was Congress bothering with this one? Shouldn't this have been in a courtroom somewhere?
There may be better things for our nation's legislature to do that worry about how an ex-pitcher reacts to a shot.

2. And who knew that the status of Clemens' drug use was a partisan issue? The Republicans grilled Brian McNamee, the Democrats grilled Clemens. Guess the Republicans were the ones who got autographed baseballs from the Rocket the week before.

3. If Barry Bonds and his fans were watching the Congressional hearing, they might now be convinced that the steroid "witch hunts" (or, more accurately, attempts to find out the truth) can be conducted without regard to race, creed, color or national origin. Then again, if the fans weren't convinced after reading "Game of Shadows," they probably won't be now either.

4. Representative Dan Burton seemed shocked, "SHOCKED!" (thank you, "Casablanca"), that a personal trainer might lie to the media about his employer's steroid use. Somehow, he apparently didn't figure out that a guy who breaks the law to obtain illegal substances might feel that he has less than a moral obligation to tell the truth to Newsday.

5. Someone may have asked why the two sides came up with opposite conclusions about Clemens' steroid use, but I didn't see it. Were there conversations between the two men before the shots were taken? Did Clemens say something like, "Give me something to make me feel better, but don't tell me what it is, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what I mean, know what I mean"? Did Clemens ever ask what he was taking, and where the substance came from? Did the steroid culture in major league baseball at the time ever come up in conversation between them?

It's still impossible to come up with a definitive answer to what really happened here between Clemens and McNamee, but McNamee seems to have pulled ahead a bit thanks to the testimony of Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch. It will be interesting to see if the issue is pursued in the future, and who pursues it.