Better Know A Citizen - CarterHayes
Posted by Andrew on Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Name: Wyl, aka CarterHayes
Hometown: born in Winona, MN; grew up splitting time in a joint-custody arrangement between Winona and Trempealeau, WI
Town I Currently Live In: Madison, WI (since late January)
Profession: Currently an undergraduate student majoring in English and Russian. Recently (honorably) discharged from the Marine Corps. Prior to that I worked the pastry station at a notable downtown Minneapolis restaurant.
Bats: S
Throws: R
Positions: C, CF
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball: When I played I was a similar to pre-2000 Jason Kendall. That may sound funny in light of Kendall's recent "accomplishments," but he was the kind of player I was more than happy to be back then. I loved to run the bases, and I did it pretty well (which led me to eventually go from baseball to Track and Cross Country).
Hobbies: I'd like to be able to claim "I don't have hobbies; hobbies cost money. Interests are quite free." Unfortunately, my interests seem rather expensive. Reading. My musical interests span classical, opera, early soul, early rock, blues, jazz, and early country. Cooking. Reading about cooking/food. Enjoying new beers. Feeding my unhealthy addiction to office supplies. Some day I'll have a classic car I won't be able to afford working on.
What are you known for around the WGOM?: If I'm known for something I'd like to be clued in on what that would be.
Sports Allegiances: Minnesota Twins, Winona Winhawks and G-E-T Redmen (I have a younger brother on the baseball team at each school), nominally the Wisconsin Badgers (I go to UW-Madison).
Favorite Books: Far From the Madding Crowd (which I've read at least once a year since 1998), The Long Goodbye, South of the Border, West of the Sun, The Things They Carried
Favorite Baseball Movie: Maybe Brewster's Millions? Or For Love of the Game.
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Either Barry Levinson's Avalon or The Searchers.
Favorite Food & Drink: Split-pea and ham soup and either a cold Alaskan Amber or an Arnold Palmer.
Favorite TV Show(s): House, M.D., Fawlty Towers, The Honeymooners , Hill Street Blues
Favorite Twins Player, historically: These days I'd say Brian Harper. Back when I was really young it was between Mickey Hatcher and Kirby.
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Good question. I don't have the emotional connection to any of the players like I did once; these days I'm more interested in the sum of the whole than the individual parts.
Best Twins Memory: Apart from 1991, I'd say coming home on post-Iraq combat leave to attend the last game of the 2004 season (plus the last couple of innings of the game that was "delayed" because of the Gophers' need to use the Dome the previous night), then getting some great tickets from my aunt's company to Game 4 of the 2004 ALDS. Watching that meltdown was tough, but being home safe and watching Twins post-season baseball still made it a vivid experience.
Favorite Sport to Play: Baseball (if I still played it) or racquetball (which I'm "learning").
Favorite Sport to Watch: Definitely baseball.
If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live in: Alaska. I think my hypothalamus was destroyed by spending a summer in Iraq; I have a hard time keeping cool enough these days. I'd need somewhere colder than, yet reminiscent of, Minnesota. The Future Mrs. Hayes (who is from RichBeckerville and gets cold in Winona during the summer) wouldn't want to live there, though.
If I was commissioner for a day, I'd: Move the Commissioner's Office out of Milwaukee. Do something about Tiger Stadium. Get rid of the unbalanced schedule. Contract the Devil Rays and Marlins (which would necessitate a realignment of some kind), get rid of interleague play, and give each league autonomy. Look into starting the season in early May and reverting to a 154-game schedule.
If I had Terry Ryan's job for a day, I'd: Make sure that day was in the off-season and sign a free agent worth a darn. I'd also start tending bar and saving my tips for Santana's contract since I'd know exactly how much Carl would be willing to dish out.
SBG - great on-line magazine, or greatest on-line magazine?: Excellent on-line magazine, and getting better all the time. Quite likely one of my two most favorite sites on the Web.
Favorite Ballpark: The Dome. Honestly, I have tons of fond memories of the place. My second favorite is probably the Padres' spacious digs in San Diego. I wish the new ballpark would have been designed with that playing environment in mind.
First MLB Game: I'm not sure when my first Twins game was; my dad figures it was in 1986. The first MLB game I have a solid memory of is heading with my dad to Milwaukee in the mid-Eighties to watch the Brewers play the Royals.
Favorite blog: I couldn't point to one overall favorite, but my Friends page on my virtual community of choice comes closest.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why?: I really don't like these questions; I find them to be rather pointless. But if I had to answer it I'd bring the Future Mrs. Hayes out to dinner with Nigella Lawson and Mal Waldron.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party, who and why?: I don't party at all. I'm very uncomfortable in throngs of sweaty people and noisy club "music." I'd rather have a quiet evening in with a few close friends and some good food and drink.
What was the last movie you saw at the theater?: Sadly, it was Pirates III.
What is, in your mind, the greatest beat-down ever handed out in sports history?: I haven't cared about the Vikings since the early 1990s, but the 41-0 loss to the Giants in 2000 made me embarrassed to be a Minnesotan (I grew up on the MN/WI border and have numerous Green Bay-affiliated relatives). The Vikes and the T'wolves haven't done much to make me feel proud about my home state in the last decade-plus, which is why I don't pay either much attention anymore.
On baseball uni's - socks up or down?: Up, and preferably with stirrups. Though I'm a traditionalist in many ways, I have a very soft place in my heart for the old double-knit powder blue road unis. Or maybe those are old enough now to fall into the traditionalist category?
Who is Carter Hayes?: Carter Hayes is a character played by Michael Keaton Pacific Heights, one of my favorite movies. I'm not going to give away the plot, but the details of the Hayes character lent itself well to an online moniker.
What are some of the best things about your service in the Marines?: I probably couldn't have been a contestant on The Price is Right any other way. My 5 minutes on national TV aside, far and away the biggest blessing that came from my service were the friends I made. I have three very close friends I never would have made otherwise, and I'm still in touch with commanding officers and other bosses who helped me develop many of the personal qualities I'm most proud of. I learned quite a bit about myself through my service and developed traits that have been key to my post-military success. Truth be told, I seldom enjoyed serving in the military, but I won't get into the reasons because that isn't the question at hand. My ultimate answer: the bonds I made with some of the men I was lucky enough to serve with, three of whom will hopefully be standing up with me at my wedding next year. I couldn't have completed my service without their support and friendship.
And now, let's update the map...
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When I think about the Marines, I think "Gung-Ho". My uncle was a Marine in Viet Nam, though (he enlisted), and I'm not sure that he was necessarily gung-ho, but he has said that he made the decision to give his life for his country, and that when he left the US, he was prepared to die (this is what he said in a paper he wrote for my generation of our family, but at the age of 20, I wonder how much of that was true). Thankfully, he made it back alive and unharmed and is still going strong. What were your thoughts and motivations about enlisting in a time of war (or at least uncertainty, depending on when you went in)?
I wrote an email to friends and family when I joined along similar lines to your uncle's, though it was more focused on "protecting my family" and "preserving America" than dying for my country. I think at the time I would have been ok with dying for my country if it came to that (obviously there is no small risk involved in enlisting), but I don't remember that as my real motivation. It was more along the lines of feeling a need to get things done, to bring Osama to justice. I've got that email saved somewhere, but I don't go back and read it because I've changed so much in the years since then I'd probably become quite disgusted with myself.
Operation Enduring Freedom was already underway when I enlisted, but the war in Iraq didn't begin until I was in infantry training. I'm of the opinion that the war in Afghanistan is just if fought on the principle that we're trying to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, but I believe the war in Iraq is a completely unjust war. I certainly saw the mismanagement of it firsthand while I was over there.
Mixed marriage (Minnesota and 'sconnie)??
If we're talking about my parents, they're actually both from Winona. My dad has been living in Wisconsin for about twenty years now, though.
As for my impending marriage, that one will be mix of Minnesota and Illinois.
What prompted your interest in Russian? Are you becoming fluent? What do you hope to do with that degree?
I'll take the third part last - I'm planning on going straight on to grad school after I finish my BA. The GI Bill is active for only ten years, so I've got to use it or lose it.
My interest in Russian comes from two directions. Part of my family came from Poland, so I have a natural interest in Slavic languages. I'd like to learn Polish eventually, but since Russian is more difficult it made more sense to learn it first and then carry over the phonetics to Polish.
One of guys I became closest to while I was in the Marines grew up in the USSR and moved here with his family in the early 1990s. Stan and I were roommates for quite a while and chose the same regiment as a duty station. There's an excellent Russian deli in San Diego we'd frequent, and the more I came to learn about his experiences and the culture, the more I wanted to study it when I got out.
I don't speak any Russian right now, actually. I'll be starting this coming semester, but I've already taken a few Russian history classes to get a better handle on the culture.
Did you win anything on TPIR? A NEW CAR!!!!?
What game did you play? I always wanted to play "Any Number" but that's just because I'm more of a strategy sort-of guy.
Is that the one with the clock and Bob says "Higher" or "Lower"? Because I could win at that one. But for pure fun, it'd either want to play Hole in One or Plinko.
No that's the one where there is a car, a random prize and a piggy bank. They gave you the first number in the price of the car and then every number from 0 through 9 appears once. Whichever price you fill first is the prize you win.
By the way Andrew, what a bertin' rocket from Feilhaber. I didn't know much about Bradley (don't follow the MLS at all), but it's so nice to see a coach who is incorporating fresh blood (Bert you, Claudio Reyna - and yes, I know it's not Bradley's decision that he's not playing) and working some offense. That Gold Cup final could have easily been 4-3. Probably one of the most entertaining, highly-contested soccer games I have ever seen.
I played Dice Game for the car. I rolled the first three numbers correctly (the odds of which I don't want to calculate), but rolled a 4 (I think) on the last number. Of course, I had the choice to guess if the last number was higher or lower, and I went with probability and said lower.
Of course, probability was wrong and I lost.
I won a really nice set of luggage, but lost the car I was playing for. I didn't advance beyond the Big Wheel (which is actually pretty heavy).
I've always wondered how heavy the Big Wheel is.
Has anyone else see the episode of How I Met Your Mother where Barney goes on TPIR?
Yes. I love Barney. (And I don't mean the purple dinosaur.)
That is a good call on going to dinner with Nigella Lawson. Except if it were me I probably wouldn't bring my fiancee.
And make sure Nigella leaves her husband at home.
(Often thought that guy may be the luckiest man on earth.)
Actually, I think I'd have a greater domestic crisis on my hands if I didn't bring my fiancée along. She's as much in awe of Nigella as I am.
CH: I must have blipped over the "Who is Carter Hayes?" response before. Pacific Heights is awesome. In a creepy way. This is the same actor who played Batman????
apropos of nothing, I was reminded of another film favorite: Barfly. For years afterwards, I would creep Mrs. S out by doing my Mickey Rourke/Barfly voice.
Micheal Keaton is a pretty underrated actor, I think. He gets a lot of grief for some of the roles he's chosen, but he's much better than most people will allow. He's a great foil to Henry Winkler in Night Shift.
"That Barney Rubble...what an actor!"
I'm an idea man, Chuck. I get ideas...sometimes I get so many ideas that I can't even fight them off!
I , too, am a big fan of old automobiles--Detroit Steel from '54-'67, in particular. If you could own any classic car, what would you own? What the heck, pick 3.
Have you had your pets spayed/neutered?
Both of our cats are spayed/neutered (one girl, one boy), and my dog was spayed as well. Bob knows his stuff - breeding is best left to breeders. There are enough unfortunate little critters out there without homes.
This is a very good question, particularly since I just attended Back to the 50's this weekend in St. Paul for the first time since I enlisted.
My list changes from time to time (even while writing this comment!), and the third choice is always the hardest. My tastes include more than just Detroit iron; I've got a Volvo obsession and a healthy interest in sports cars in general. If I had to choose three classics, I'd probably go something like this:
1955 Buick Century (the sharp California Highway Patrol model from "Highway Patrol")
1967 Volvo 123 GT with a transplanted Volvo turbo or Buick GNX engine
1958 Ford Ranchero customized and stuffed with contemporaneous T-bird parts
Where's your Edsel? Lew Ford will not be amused.
My dad was taking pictures of Edsels this weekend, though I have no idea why (he has a 1960 Buick). Maybe he's putting together a collage to mail Lew.
Edsels did have those cool rolling speedometers. I'd be tempted to put those in the Ranchero.
Mr. Hayes, I thank you for your service, and I admire you for it. You have done something that I would never have had the courage to do.
I always feel a little uncomfortable saying "you're welcome" because I don't want to have a big head about it. I do appreciate your esteem, and am thankful for it.