Hounding Michael Vick
FLUSHING, N.Y. -- My Sunday conversation with Vince Spadea Sr. began with Dolphins and moved, not surprisingly, to Michael Vick.
Vince Sr., who, unlike his kid, doesn't wear funny clothes or rap during the most mundane conversations, desperately wants his Dolphins to climb out of the morass, and he seemed pretty optimistic about Cam Cameron's coaching skills.
But then we turned abruptly to Vick, as Vince wondered -- sympathetically, I thought -- how long I thought the recalcitrant former employe of the Atlanta Falcons would have to spend in jail.
Jail, I replied? I'd rather see him in a kennel for 12 to 18 months. And, no, I didn't think he wold be back in the NFL, either.
I have two German shepherds and, though there have been times I'd like to pull Murphy's ears for barking at every dog that walks by the house, I was as disgusted as most everyone else at Vick's complete lack of respect for man's best friend.
Wait a minute, said Vince. In China, they eat dogs. Good point, I thought. OK, so different cultures, different appetites, you might say. Vince then pointed out that the United States is importing billions of dollars worth of goods from China, including lead-laced toys and, who knows, maybe even ground dog in the kibble they send over here.
This conversation was getting a bit tiresome, so I thought I'd end it with a simple question which would make my point. "Vince," I asked. "You've been to China. Have you ever eaten dog?"
"I don't know," he said.
CHARLES BRICKER
