Last Monday, I experienced hockey at its best: a playoff game six. Yes, the Wild, in only their third season of existence, made it to the playoffs. Not only that, but they held off the heavily favored Colorado Avalanche long enough to bring Game Six of the seven-game series home to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

I was able to buy tickets to the game via Ticketbastard last Friday. At the time, the very existence of Game Six was in question — for it to occur, the Wild needed to win Game Five on the road in Colorado. Fortunately, they broke a three-game losing streak, and in the face of elimination, triumphed, sending the series back to Minnesota.

When Vince and I arrived at the Xcel, spirits and excitement were sky-high. Everybody in the arena was energized. Later in the game, whenever the Wild scored, the stands erupted with cheers, shouts of delight that lasted until the next stoppage of play. Despite blowing a 2-0 lead in the third, the Wild came back to win in overtime. Against all odds, the underdogs from Minnesota forced Game Seven.

More shocking still, the Wild just won Game Seven in overtime, utterly stunning Colorado and adding yet another upset to the 2003 NHL playoffs. Go Wild!

Three weeks from yesterday. My how the years fly by…

I was saddened yesterday to learn that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley unilaterally demolished Meigs Field. For those unfamiliar with Meigs, it was a general aviation airport on a man-made island next to Chicago on Lake Michigan. It was located adjacent to the Adler planetarium.

Back in November, I had the opportunity to fly to Meigs with my friend Eric. Meigs was a neat airport, one of the oldest, most famous, general aviation airports in the country. In many (all?) versions of Microsoft Flight simulator, Meigs is the default airport. Now it lies in ruins.

This is a photo looking out the back of a Cessna 182 at Meigs just after taking off. Compare that photo with the ones in an this article. Note the large swaths of runway that were pulverized by bulldozers.

How could this happen? It is well-known that Mayor Daley has wanted to shutter Meigs for some time now. However, public opinion, and indeed logic itself, was strongly opposed to any such closure. Not getting his way, Daley decided to take matters into his own hands. At 1:30 a.m. on March 30, he ordered bulldozers escorted by police to enter Meigs and demolish the runway. When asked later why he did the act in the wee hours of the morning, his answer alluded to the fact that a covert destruction would sidestep any possible court challenge. He didn’t notify the FAA (thus violating FAR part 157), nor did he give the planes parked at Meigs a chance to leave. Truly a shameful, cowardly act. But it gets worse.

How did he justify his actions? Daley claimed that the airport was closed for “homeland security reasons.” Bullshit. The mere thought Meigs is in any way a threat to national security is audacious. First of all, there was a lot of security at Meigs. Second, small planes can take off from anywhere in the region and reach the Chicago area. Third, why would anybody even use a small plane from Meigs as a weapon — a skyscraper wouldn’t even feel a Cessna. Fourth, even if Meigs were somehow a security concern, why tear up the runway? Why not simply place concrete barriers on the runway?

Advancing personal and political agendas in the name of “homeland security” is a slippery slope. Now, more than ever, I think we might be on our way towards an Orwellian state: The rationalization of the irrational in the name of security, the deep invasion of personal privacy — even the naming of food. Anybody notice a similarity between 1984’s Victory Gin and the US Congress’ Freedom Fries?

In closing, I quote Benjamin Franklin: