Room With A View! (Who Am I)?

After the final whistle blows this Sunday and the chips and salsa are consumed and the din of people leaving the homes of friends and taverns begins to die down, there is comfort in knowing that spring training will be one week away from starting the annual pilgrimage in Arizona and Florida before teams start the regular season in early April.

The Master now makes a confession: 2004 was a bittersweet year for the simple reason that turning 40 was an added distraction to the mind. Back in my drinking and drugging days I never thought I'd see 40 (All my idols died between 27 and 33. What's one to do when you outlive your idols?).

Despite the fact that I will always feel young at heart and as hyper as drug testing will allow, I am a goofy middle ager. Baseball has always been a proper tonic whenever I needed to just 'chill' as my hip homey friends might intone.

March 1st I begin a new setting in close proximity to Ameriquest Field. The reasons are varied. Sis resides in Mansfield. I will be more centrally located to all locales where we call sporting events, being close to the Rangers and, come 2009, the Dallas Cowboys.

I also like the fact I will be between Dallas and Ft. Worth. Once the NHL settles their differences the Master will be real easy to find between face-offs, first pitches, and high school events.

For the better part of four years, I have been fortunate to work in the great city of Addison. Now this carnival act moves south to the Las Colinas locale for a period of time to be determined. To my coworkers and regulars, I say 'Thanks' for the well-wishing. Come February 16th, this act goes to a new location. Here's hoping the natives are ready.

It always amazes me what you might come across when doing a word search. If you punch up Willie Martin, man what a list! Let me assure you that I AM NOT: 

1.A radical right winger spewing lies and hate. 

2.A country singer with the nickname of 'Boxcar' 

3.An English Soccer Player 

4.Professor of English from the Yorkshire district. 

5.A Black orator well known in the Southeastern part of the U.S. 

6.An ordained minister in the church 

7.A real estate agent 

8.Related to the Spunkmonkees or in need of a benefit. 

9.A survivor or relative to the Confederate war of the 19th Century. 

10.That lucky guy who owns the hot-rod shop in Riverside and rides dragsters on the side, although I like his sense of humor. 

I am none of those. This Willie Martin is the one who tries to impart a little bit of life insight with a Southern perspective without the need for drugs or alcohol.

This Willie Martin is a sports addict who prefers the nuance of photographing, scorekeeping, even attending events personally in the name of learning the lessons from victory and defeat.

This Willie Martin is far from perfect, and I admit to being a recovering Catholic, yet the one belief this Willie Martin adheres to is a fervent belief in being true to yourself. In life you may find that the harder you work, the luckier you shall be...Can't wait to get to Arlington.

Over and out in Big D

Mr Will