Monday, April 15, 2013

Friendly Encounters: Jim Forsell Meets Sam Sianis

This is a regular feature about friends who have met celebrities.

I have written about Jim Forsell several times.  Jim is a great guy, with a good sense of humor and he is a loyal fan of the Cubs.
Jim is also a fan of Charles Dickens.  He read Dickens’s novel David Copperfield when he was 12 years old and was hooked.  He is a member of the International Dickens Fellowship and has been a member of the Philadelphia Fellowship for the last seven years.
Jim has taken his passion for Dickens and formed it into Charles Dickens Superstar.  He uses his vast knowledge, unique insight and humor to lead the audience through a multi-media performance presentation, which includes stories, pictures, videos and music.  It is an entertaining and educating romp through all things Dickens.
I am highly intrigued by one particular part of the presentation.  Jim assembled his "All Dickens" baseball team.  I am guessing Oliver Twist at second base is because of his nimbleness, but I could be wrong.  I have no idea why Nicholas Nickleby is at third base, but I am not up on Charles Dickens (which is why I need to see this work).  I wonder who else is on this team.
For more information on Jim and his work of love, check out CharlesDickensSuperstar.com.  Even the website is entertaining!
As I wrote earlier, Jim is a big fan of the Cubs.  He recently met Billy Goat owner Sam Sianis.  Will this historic meeting help put the Cubs back on the road to "Great Expectations" (sorry Jim)?
Jim Forsell and Sam Sianis in Chicago, IL-March 2013.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Johngy,
Thanks for the article. You're right on Oliver Twist. I was thinking he needs to twist, while throwing the ball to first, in order to complete the double play Nicholas is at third for the scoreekeepers. As you know, third is 5 when scoring, and a nickel is five. On the mound, is the nifty knuckleballer, Agnes Wickfield (a character from David Copperfield). Yes. I hope my meeting with Sam does mean 'Great Expectations' materialize for the Cubs this year. I ate a lot of cheezeborgers/double cheese at the Billy Goat, while at the Sun-Times. Sam and I chatted a bit about Mike Royko, who frequented The Goat, during his years at the Sun-Times, and who was good friends with Sam. Slats Grobnik too, probably.

pkscott said...

Hopefully it won't put them on the road to Hard Times...

--Polly, daughter of Jim