Tomorrow will mark the first day back in NYC for me since 12.20. It has been a long sickness and sloth filled couple of weeks spent reflecting, laughing and otherwise counting my blessings for all that is good in my life.
Is my house sold? No, it is temporarily off the market. But that does not mean my home is not solid. Home is where a 10 year old can calmly play Legos in a heated bedroom when the thermostat reads single digits outside. Home is the wife and dog on the couch ecstatic over the new season of The Biggest Loser. Ok, the dog could care less. But he always digs couch time. Can you blame him? Clearly that show cannot hold my attention either. Lucky for you I find some blogging time when it is on.
Food is in the fridge. Produce from far away lands a mere room away. Fresh, organic meats are at our beckon call.
Homework is done. Hell, the little one even finished off the first draft of the original play she wrote for a young playwrights program she participates in. This after taking a brutal, one point overtime loss on the basketball court today. You learn a lot watching 5th grade girls hoops. I happen to coach her parochial team and take a back seat for her town team. Today was a town event. Today I was witness to the biggest douche bag coach I have ever seen. He growled at the refs. He wished our girls ill will and took particular glee when we made mistakes. One girl was a special target. She had a few travels in a row and he yelled, repeatedly, "Every time!" "Every time!" He clapped and gloated when the whistles were blown. These girls are freaking 10 years old. It is bad enough she was down on herself for making the errors. Does she need the opposing coach calling it to her attention. What teaching moment is that exactly? He was piling on for the sake of piling on. A bully by every account.
The parents on the sidelines were no better. Screaming for calls to be made. Gasping when things went against them. Cheering on dirty play and for the most part acting like monsters. Did I mention this town was one of the more affluent in the state? Did I have to? It really doesn't matter where the games are. The a-holes are taking over. These skirmishes and flare ups have not happened in the parochial league (yet.) At least they have the decency to do all the trash talking behind every else's back like good Christians. It is becoming more and more difficult to condone youth sports these days. Should the fun be over by 5th grade? Winning and losing are valuable lessons worth learning. But those things can be taught dissecting a frog in the classroom. Wait, are kids allowed to do that anymore? Camaraderie is valuable too. But if that means you have to tolerate the verbal abuse of coaches and parents more interested in the score board than overall health and well being of our children then we have big problems. There are several more months in both leagues. It will be interesting to see if the town team gets any better, or parochial league any worse. The small sample thus far is troubling and makes it harder for us to consider public schools in the future. Am I alone on this? Is it regional? Does it just pertain to sports?
Anyway, we even packed up some clothes and toys for those less fortunate after the Holiday rush. Sure, the house sale was a colossal f**k show. But we will get off the canvas soon and sell this thing. Bad breaks are the thread that holds us all together. Dealing with the bad breaks is what gives us character. It is our perseverance when everything looks bleak that define us. Resolve to be happier I say. Eliminate negative forces from your path. Cliche? You bet. But if we keep doing the same thing and expect different results we are downright crazy. In fact, it is the definition of craziness.
Which brings me to the debacle we call our House and Senate. Why do we act surprised when they act for themselves, or special interests over the good of the entire land? Fiscal cliffs, Sandy relief, gun control, et al... are all minor pieces in a sinister, selfish plan that does not include the "average American." Gun control stop ANOTHER shooting in Aurora yesterday? How many more mass shootings should we expect before real change occurs?
How is your first pay check going to look this year? Missing the deadline by a day to avert the Cliff was no accident. Most of us will be hit, and hit hard. Coincidence?
Then the good folks in DC put off a vote to provide Sandy aid that irked the likes of NJ governor Chris Christie and NY rep. Peter King. They lambasted speaker Boehner until a vote was taken. They quickly backed off their statements when things went their way. The needless pork stayed on the bill and somehow we all lose some more, even by winning. NASA still gets money??? For what? Can't we privatize the space program already? Don't give me the towns losing jobs nonsense either. So what if Cape Canaveral is a boarded up disaster? Think the folks in Dayton, OH or Flint, MI, or the countless other cities that have seen hard times care? Then nor should we.
But mainly, unless we think to do away with the 2 party system and the empty suits that pretend to represent us, we should ignore the whole sordid mess.
I resolve to do the best I can do. I cannot rely on others. The faster we all understand that the better.
We act poorly at sporting events. We fail to say hello when we walk by one another. We look for excuses to not work. The more things stay the same, the more we expect change.
No more.
This year is the year of expecting NOTHING from my fellow man.
If they continue to fail, so be it. But, in the off chance we all find some humanity, then great.
2013, the year of low expectations.
It should be very easy to have a great year. Shouldn't it?
Special Thanks to Doc S for carrying the load over the past few weeks. Please check out his Left Wing Conservative pieces that tackle, with far greater panache and substance, the very ideas I touch upon above.
Doc S on Horse Trading as metaphor
Doc S on the Fiscal Cliff
Doc S on Gun Control 1
Doc S on Gun Control 2
Doc S the Left Wing Conservative
* Sorry for the radio silence over the Holidays. Illness, hoops, and the rigors of the season were overwhelming this season. I intend to push out some more posts in the weeks ahead. Look for more music, culture, humor and overall giddiness all year long. Thanks again for the continued support. Later this month we should hit 50,000 unique page views which I do not take lightly. Spread the word. Keep smiling. And let's make 2013 the best year ever. Go Seahawks!!!
H
Is my house sold? No, it is temporarily off the market. But that does not mean my home is not solid. Home is where a 10 year old can calmly play Legos in a heated bedroom when the thermostat reads single digits outside. Home is the wife and dog on the couch ecstatic over the new season of The Biggest Loser. Ok, the dog could care less. But he always digs couch time. Can you blame him? Clearly that show cannot hold my attention either. Lucky for you I find some blogging time when it is on.
Food is in the fridge. Produce from far away lands a mere room away. Fresh, organic meats are at our beckon call.
Homework is done. Hell, the little one even finished off the first draft of the original play she wrote for a young playwrights program she participates in. This after taking a brutal, one point overtime loss on the basketball court today. You learn a lot watching 5th grade girls hoops. I happen to coach her parochial team and take a back seat for her town team. Today was a town event. Today I was witness to the biggest douche bag coach I have ever seen. He growled at the refs. He wished our girls ill will and took particular glee when we made mistakes. One girl was a special target. She had a few travels in a row and he yelled, repeatedly, "Every time!" "Every time!" He clapped and gloated when the whistles were blown. These girls are freaking 10 years old. It is bad enough she was down on herself for making the errors. Does she need the opposing coach calling it to her attention. What teaching moment is that exactly? He was piling on for the sake of piling on. A bully by every account.
The parents on the sidelines were no better. Screaming for calls to be made. Gasping when things went against them. Cheering on dirty play and for the most part acting like monsters. Did I mention this town was one of the more affluent in the state? Did I have to? It really doesn't matter where the games are. The a-holes are taking over. These skirmishes and flare ups have not happened in the parochial league (yet.) At least they have the decency to do all the trash talking behind every else's back like good Christians. It is becoming more and more difficult to condone youth sports these days. Should the fun be over by 5th grade? Winning and losing are valuable lessons worth learning. But those things can be taught dissecting a frog in the classroom. Wait, are kids allowed to do that anymore? Camaraderie is valuable too. But if that means you have to tolerate the verbal abuse of coaches and parents more interested in the score board than overall health and well being of our children then we have big problems. There are several more months in both leagues. It will be interesting to see if the town team gets any better, or parochial league any worse. The small sample thus far is troubling and makes it harder for us to consider public schools in the future. Am I alone on this? Is it regional? Does it just pertain to sports?
Anyway, we even packed up some clothes and toys for those less fortunate after the Holiday rush. Sure, the house sale was a colossal f**k show. But we will get off the canvas soon and sell this thing. Bad breaks are the thread that holds us all together. Dealing with the bad breaks is what gives us character. It is our perseverance when everything looks bleak that define us. Resolve to be happier I say. Eliminate negative forces from your path. Cliche? You bet. But if we keep doing the same thing and expect different results we are downright crazy. In fact, it is the definition of craziness.
Which brings me to the debacle we call our House and Senate. Why do we act surprised when they act for themselves, or special interests over the good of the entire land? Fiscal cliffs, Sandy relief, gun control, et al... are all minor pieces in a sinister, selfish plan that does not include the "average American." Gun control stop ANOTHER shooting in Aurora yesterday? How many more mass shootings should we expect before real change occurs?
How is your first pay check going to look this year? Missing the deadline by a day to avert the Cliff was no accident. Most of us will be hit, and hit hard. Coincidence?
Then the good folks in DC put off a vote to provide Sandy aid that irked the likes of NJ governor Chris Christie and NY rep. Peter King. They lambasted speaker Boehner until a vote was taken. They quickly backed off their statements when things went their way. The needless pork stayed on the bill and somehow we all lose some more, even by winning. NASA still gets money??? For what? Can't we privatize the space program already? Don't give me the towns losing jobs nonsense either. So what if Cape Canaveral is a boarded up disaster? Think the folks in Dayton, OH or Flint, MI, or the countless other cities that have seen hard times care? Then nor should we.
But mainly, unless we think to do away with the 2 party system and the empty suits that pretend to represent us, we should ignore the whole sordid mess.
I resolve to do the best I can do. I cannot rely on others. The faster we all understand that the better.
We act poorly at sporting events. We fail to say hello when we walk by one another. We look for excuses to not work. The more things stay the same, the more we expect change.
No more.
This year is the year of expecting NOTHING from my fellow man.
If they continue to fail, so be it. But, in the off chance we all find some humanity, then great.
2013, the year of low expectations.
It should be very easy to have a great year. Shouldn't it?
Special Thanks to Doc S for carrying the load over the past few weeks. Please check out his Left Wing Conservative pieces that tackle, with far greater panache and substance, the very ideas I touch upon above.
Doc S on Horse Trading as metaphor
Doc S on the Fiscal Cliff
Doc S on Gun Control 1
Doc S on Gun Control 2
Doc S the Left Wing Conservative
* Sorry for the radio silence over the Holidays. Illness, hoops, and the rigors of the season were overwhelming this season. I intend to push out some more posts in the weeks ahead. Look for more music, culture, humor and overall giddiness all year long. Thanks again for the continued support. Later this month we should hit 50,000 unique page views which I do not take lightly. Spread the word. Keep smiling. And let's make 2013 the best year ever. Go Seahawks!!!
H
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