Monday Morning In A City Of Murals

Posted Oct 27, 2008 by Rod Challenger

Updated Oct 27, 2008 at 08:53 AM

We are driving out of Philadelphia this morning, and traffic is moving freely on the interstate. Inbound traffic is bumper to bumper, even though we are past the peak of rush hour.

We are driving along the river, and the banks are lined with trees in their fall colors. This is rowing country, and a number of people are out rowing their sculls. We are heading for the Lehigh Valley town of Bangor, Pa. It is 62 miles from our hotel, according to our GPS. It’s about 75 miles from New York City.  We are going there to do a story about how they make the uniforms for major league players. There’s a company there, Majestic Sports, that still uses seamstresses to hand-sew the uniforms.  It’s an industry that has been in the small town for more than 100 years. The town has a population of 5,000 people.

Leaving Philadelphia, we noticed a lot of murals painted on the walls of buildings.

This is a city of murals. Through a mural art program, artists have painted 2,500 of them, and they are adding more each day.

Despite all these thoughts, I can’t keep my mind from wandering and wondering about the Rays.  All the things that got them to the World Series have failed: pitching, fielding and timely hitting. They certainly have a tough road ahead if they are to win the Series, down three games to one. They have Scott Kazmir pitching tonight, but the Phillies counter with Cole Hamels, who won Game 1. He’s their best pitcher and is 4-0 in the postseason.

If Philadelphia wins tonight, there will be a lot of wild partying in the streets. The Rays need a win to bring the Series back to St. Petersburg on Wednesday night.