Guest Post: Of Yogi Berra, John Burton, Wind and Whitman

Yogi Berra was born in St. Louis in 1925, John Burton in Cincinnati in 1932.  One would think the similarity between these two men would end there, other than Burton’s fanaticism for baseball.

Not so.

Berra became known for turning a phrase that even Norm Crosby had trouble understanding.  Like being asked at a pizza joint if he wanted his pizza cut in six or eight slices.

“Better make it six, I’m not hungry enough to eat eight,” Berra said

Or, when returning from a day game, he asked his wife what she did that day.  Saw “Dr. Zhivago,” she replied.

“What’s wrong with you now?” Berra asked.

Burton was quoted July 1 in the Sacramento Bee following a visit to the Sacramento Press Club.

On political winds blowing in the GOP’s favor, Burton said:

“Changes of winds and winds of change, who the hell knows where the wind goes. It tends to change.  Do you ever watch the weather report?  The wind’s coming here, but they go there.”

On the handling of Meg Whitman:

“Jerry Brown is out jogging somewhere. Meg Whitman, I don’t know if she’s alone when she goes to the bathroom.”

Maybe its got something to do with the time of year since Jerry Brown also chimed in with this gem explaining his opposition to Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana:

“We got to compete with China. And if everybody’s stoned, how the hell are we going to make it?”

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