George Mitchell should have been president. He was a U.S. Senator, the Senate majority leader, a Federal District Court judge, the lead negotiator in the Northern Ireland peace accord, the special envoy for negotiations for peace in the Middle East and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He also headed the Mitchell Report to Major League Baseball regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
That only scratches the surface.
George is a fellow Mainiac who has been a friend all of my adult life. I use the word "hero" rarely. George Mitchell is one of my few heroes. If a life of decency, integrity, service and compassion is to be emulated, and thus define a hero, that is George Mitchell.
When I was a limited partner and broadcaster for a Triple-A team in Maine, then-U.S. Sen. Mitchell was a loyal supporter. He has a long history connected to Maine sports as set forth in "The Negotiator, A Memoir."
He came to visit me in the booth more than once, and once I got the senator on the air to be my analyst. He loved it, and I cherish it.
This memoir traces his life from the hard working immigrant family life to following in the steps of his mentor, U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie, to his Senate days to his days of international negotiations.
The lessons here are soulful, internal and deep. While this is his memoir, this is our life lesson book.
Read this book. Be a better person because of the lessons found there. George Mitchell has enhanced the lives of all who have come to know him. This book is a chance for the many to understand why.
"Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly." ― Franz Kafka
The staff of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library has been so generous and insightful in their reading offerings for this site. We are deeply appreciative.
This week, fiction librarian Shaileen Beyer offers "The Anthologist" by Nicholson Baker.
"Paul Chowder, a funny, down-to-earth, middle-aged poet, has two tasks as narrator of 'The Anthologist.' First, he aims to tell us 'everything' he knows about poetry - its history, its psychology, its music--in a series of casual, highly entertaining talks," Beyer says. "In between, his own story spills out: the story of a man climbing slowly out of writer's block and the sadness of being abandoned by his beloved girlfriend, Roz. Paul's faith in the endless exchange between life and poetry unites the two halves of his narrative, making them illuminations of each other, in this witty, big-hearted novel."
Thanks, Shaileen. This is on my list for checkout at the Pratt Library.
Gary Thorne is the play-by-play voice of the Orioles on MASN, and the 2015 season is his ninth with the club and 30th covering Major League Baseball. His blog will appear regularly throughout the season. Tickle your funny bone during "Slapstick Saturday" at the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Roland Park Branch, 5108 Roland Ave., at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 13. A Three Stooges short will be followed by "A Night at the Opera" starring the Marx Brothers.
* Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne. © Copyright 2015 Gary F. Thorne. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Gary F. Thorne and MASNsports.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.