There is an old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words.", but I am not so certain that the saying was ever true. While it is true that a picture can be used to send a poignant message, the message itself may be false. The internet is filled with pictures that have been cropped or manipulated to pull on our heart strings, while the full photograph may show something that is repugnant or even the exact opposite of what is being portrayed. Personally, I would rather read a well-reasoned argument, than just look at a picture and assume I know what is really being portrayed. Here is a good personal example. The picture on the left shows the pictures that hang just above my desk. Many people on seeing that picture will make certain assumptions about me that are likely false...all because of a picture of pictures that are shown with no context. So what are the assumptions that someone may make about me that would be false? I'll list some of them below:
If you made any of those assumptions, you would be wrong on all counts. To start, I haven't willingly watched a professional baseball game since the 1990's. When I did watch baseball, I usually rooted for the Mets and Yankees...not the Indians. Although I know who the man in the photo is, I never met him or watched him play. In fact, he died in 2010. I also do not collect autographs, although I do have a number of them from when I was a kid. The only thing I actively collect is a paycheck. Finally, Bob Feller is not actually one of my heroes.
So you may be wondering why I have those pictures on my wall and how did I come to have them in the first place. Well. I'll tell you. I have them on my wall because I think they look better there than collecting dust on the floor near the side of my recliner...which is where they were just prior to me hanging them up. I had received them as a gift from my late wife, who did enjoy collecting autographs and who thought I might like them (and I do!). I like them because of the thoughtfulness of the gift she gave me! Back in 2004 or 2005 (I don't remember exactly), Sharon and I had a discussion where she asked me why I no longer liked baseball. I told her then that I felt silly rooting for what was in fact a business. Free agency has changed baseball so much so that players no longer seemed to have team loyalty, but instead only wanted to go where they could make the most money. While this has always been true to some extent, it seemed much worse nowadays. I told her about Bob Feller and how he retired after 18 years in Cleveland rather than going to another team to extend his career another year or two. I also told her how he took 4 years off at the height of his career to go fight in World War II and how that likely kept him from being a 300-game winner. I then rambled off a number of other players that I respected because of either their accomplishments or team spirit. That Christmas, I received a number of autographed pictures as a present. The others include: Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan, Rick Barry and Muhammad Ali. The Bob Feller autographs were the largest, and had never made it up onto my wall since moving to New Hampshire. The pictures are up on my wall now not only because it gets them off the ground, but because they remind me of my wife and what a sweet, loving soul she had. I miss her very much, and when I look at the pictures they remind me of her in a way that a photo of her never could. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Yes, sometimes...but not usually for the reasons that you might expect. This article is only 725 words by the way, so I guess the picture I used isn't really worth a thousand words!
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