Dirt and Dollars This holiday Season

           Seems like there’s at least two ways to generate revenue using nothing but dirt; serve it up as a collectible for the filthy rich, and hold  it out as a last desperate hope for the dirt poor. Coming soon under a Christmas tree near you if you are nice and not naughty, and if someone wants to shell out $249, either out of  genuine kindness(I can’t see how),  some subtly suggestive ill-will on the part of someone who can waste $twofiddy,( more likely; take your  pick on dirt metaphors and symbols)   or  a  spirited   episode of bipolar Christmas madness(is there any other kind?), there just might be, courtesy of the world's gold standard of journalistic integrity,  a box, but not just any ordinary box. No, this “handsome wood box, exclusive to the NY Times, includes capsules of game used dirt(that is not a misprint) from every major league  baseball stadium. That’s right, hallowed ground from all 16 National(soon to be fifteen; the Houston Astros are moving to the American League West  in 2013. I couldn’t help myself} and 14(soon to be 15) American League ballparks. Including baseball shrines like Yankee Stadium (with its storied three year history), Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium and Fenway Park. A must have for any baseball fan, especially those who attend games around the country.  It even comes with a card with fun facts and checkboxes to mark off ballparks you have visited. The exquisite, handcrafted box features a drawer to store old tickets and other memorabilia. The box’s inside lid is burnished with a U.S. map showing locations of stadiums.   Each capsule has a team logo and stands in a foam cutout. Comes with a Steiner Sports certificate of authenticity.   8.5” x .8   x 4 – brass hinges, clasp and drawer pull,  capsules 1 5/8 in diameter and a quarter inch thick. (Memorabilia shown in drawer photo do not come with the box) (Darn! That Rod Carew card they oh-so-casually tossed in there had me thinking….) made in Brooklyn(where, presumably, they know a thing or two about game-used dirt.) Starts shipping December 9^th. (Better hurry).

Dirt and Dollars This Holiday Season, part deux

         Right around the same time The Times, journalistic paragon of the world, ran its baseball dirt for sale add,  RockCenter, the MSNBC  TV program hosted by Brian Williams, aired a  show called “A Poisonous Mix: Child Labor, Mercury and Artisanal Gold Mining in Mali,”   on the topic  of child artisanal gold mine workers  in Mali.   There are, according to this show, 20,000 kids working the mines of Africa’s third largest gold producer.  The conditions are horridly dangerous for children of all ages who strike at rock with pickaxes, lug around big bags of ore, and are exposed to harmful levels of mercury.   Needless to say, this kind of work is not for the kiddies.  They are at much higher risk for long term spinal injury, and so on and so forth. And some of them die on the job.  Some children are not paid at all, some are paid a few dollars, and some are paid in dirt. Yes, that’s right. Bags of dirt.  But oh, there could be gold in this dirt. Ah, now it makes sense.   So in this holiday season, boys and girls of all ages there are at least two roads that lead to dirt and if you are not fortunate enough to receive the $249 box of baseball dirt courtesy of the NY Times, there’s always Mali.