Another Dinner With Child A and Child B

I had the special pleasure of dining with Child A and Child B this past Sunday night.  These dinners with my children are always pleasant, with the subjects of conversation most interesting and varied.  The dinner would have been even more interesting if my lovely bride had attended, but she was under the weather, as they say.  The site chosen for this dinner was Rosa's, the new one out near Midland International Airport.  I was really hungry, too, as I had not eaten since breakfast time.

At the appointed hour, I picked up Child A, who lives near us.  He and I drove to the eastern edge of Odessa.  Child B, who resides in Odessa, was nearly there.  Just before we arrived at Rosa's, Child A and I saw ahead of us several police and fire vehicles at what proved to be a major car accident.  The terrible thought struck Child A and I at the same time:  What if Child B is involved in that mess!  I called Child B immediately on my cell phone.  In a moment almost out of Final Destination, the ringing of Child B's phone distracted her just as she realized there was a major car accident ahead of her.  Luckily, Child B answered the phone while keeping her eyes on the road and thus arrived safely at Rosa's.

As if the events prior to our evening meal were not omen enough, the service (or lack thereof) should have tipped us off that tonight's supper was going to be something other than typical.  But really, ALL of our dinner nights end up being "other than typical."  For example, the first topic of conversation was regarding the fact that my lovely bride had "wimped out" in the words of Child B.  She is always "wimps out," adds Child A.  In fact, my lovely bride is a fighter and does not wimp out of these things lightly.  I just smiled and told the children that their mother was tired and was also battling a severely upset stomach.  The children both lamented that these dinners were more fun when their mother attended, and I had to agree.

Then on to the next topic of conversation: Whether Child A and Child B had a father who was abducted by aliens as a child.  I kid you not! It seems that the father of Child A and B exhibits symptoms of having been abducted by extraterrestrials as a child, and er...um...was "studied."  This studying possibly went on for several years, with the alien "scientists" periodically re-abducting the subject.  It was at this point in the conversation that I revealed to both Child A and Child B that I had in fact taken a test I found on the Internet, the point of said test being to show the likelihood of one having been "abducted."  Follow this link (if you dare!) http://www.stealthskater.com/Documents/Abduction_1.pdf

I took and passed this test several months ago, so there is actually a great possibility that I am a former abductee and study subject for some unknown race from the great beyond. 
(Disclaimer: I am probably NOT an abductee...and even if I were, I am OK, really!  So boss, and future bosses - please do not give any credence to this alien abduction stuff.  Unless you TOO were abducted.)

The alien conversation somehow led to a discussion of Anime and what are some of the better shows that Child A and B enjoy on television these days.  The Anime talk led to a discussion of movies and TV in general.  It was during this conversation we overheard a man at a table all the way across the restaurant.  His laugh was loud and had a booming quality, but also, it seemed to be fake laughter.  We then noticed that the man was wearing a lot of "bling" and talking in Spanish.  With this information and also due to the fact that the other people at this man's table seemed to laugh in unison, but only after waiting a respectable length of time after the first man laughed, Child A and B decided the man must be a drug lord, the head of a local cartel.  I added my two cents about all the things that made this man appear to be a crime kingpin. 

Just about this time the man let out a loud, and obviously fake, laugh.  I mentioned that the man laughed just like Ed McMahon.  MISTAKE!  Child A and Child B said in unison, "Who's Ed McMan?!"  Oops.  Awkward, for me!  So I said, "Oh, he was the straight man for Johnny Carson!"  Child A and Child B looked at each other in a puzzled manner, then looked at me.  Yes, you guessed it.  "Who is Johnny Carson?"  The sad thing is that they were serious.  Neither Child A nor Child B had any idea who were Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon!!!  It was at this point that I realized, once again, I AM GETTING OLD!  So I had to explain it all to them.  How humiliating!

But we all recovered from the awkward situation.  Child A and Child B are such great dinner guests.  It was about this time that a deaf man selling writing pens appeared at our table.  His sales method is to place two pens on one's table along with a small note explaining that he is deaf and supports himself by selling pens.  Two pens equal four dollars.  Other than my debit card, I was dead broke, as was Child A.  Child B, however, came up with enough money to by one pen.  We left the other for the deaf man to collect as he passed by again later on.  Shortly after purchasing the pen, we put it to the test, which it failed miserably!

Child A, Child B, and I were discussing different and unconventional ways we could make money.  I revealed to them that I often fantasized that the actor Robert Duvall somehow discovered BAILEY BLACK and decided on the spot that this story would be the source of a great movie!  I would then live off the royalties for the remainder of my life, probably in the Bahamas.  Child B then said something (unfortunately I cannot remember what she said) that was so funny I wanted to use it as a line in an upcoming (and so far unthought of) book.  I said "Give me that pen.  I need to write this down!"  I took the pen and began to write on a piece of paper.  Nothing!   The pen Child B had just bought WOULD NOT WRITE! 

Child B took the pen and said, "I'll MAKE it work!"  She began drawing feverishly on my napkin.  Nothing happened!  The pen simply would not write.  Child B took the pen apart.  Lo and behold, there was no ink in the cartridge!  "Snaps!" said Child B.  I told her not to worry, we could simply get a refund.  But in fact, the deaf salesman was nowhere to be found.  "Haw Haw Haw Haw Haw" said the drug kingpin.  "Ed McMahon," said I.  "Who's ED McMAHON," shouted Child A and Child B in unison.  I could not bear to go through the explanation again.  "Never mind," I said.  "That's okay," said Child A, "The man sounds like Jabba the Hut."  We all laughed.  By now it was 10:30 PM.  "I am sorry, kids, but your father has missed his bedtime."  We said our goodbyes, gave our hugs, and parted ways.  Child A and I returned to Midland, while Child B made her way back to Odessa.

I really love these family dinners.  I really love the way that Child A and Child B BOTH think their father is still tolerably cool and fun to dine with.  I love the way our conversations touch on any subject except the expected ones.  Most of all, I love the way they still think of me as some sort of hero.  Many children similar to the age of my own have long since concluded THEIR parents were no longer "cool."  That makes it so much more of a treat to have dinner with them.  I hope you, if you are old like I am, still have the pleasure of an occasional visit or meal with your grown children.  I hope they think you are still cool.  I hope that...er, never mind.  It is late, past my bed time.  I think I hear those aliens approaching.  Hmmm, maybe it is time for another...er...exam!

Sweet Surrender

One of my favorite songs of all time is a song written by John Denver and sang so very well by him.  It is a song called Sweet Surrender.  My favorite version of that song is on John Denver's most popular album, Back Home Again, an album that has sold over 3,000,000 copies to date.  If you are old enough to remember way back then (the late 1970's) you probably know that Back Home Again featured a famous picture of John Denver posed with his first wife, Annie Martell.  John was very much in love with Annie, and in fact wrote at least two songs devoted to her.  One was of course Annie's Song, which started with the words "You fill up my senses...."  John also wrote a song, Annie's Other Song, which included this course:

I'm bringing me home to you
It's all that I have to give...
My Life, My Love, My Everything...
It's you I choose to be with.

I love both of Annie's songs, but as I said, my favorite song on that entire album was (and IS) "Sweet Surrender."  As a teenager, I used to sing this song over and over (of course well out of earshot of any living human being!) and related so well to the words:

Lost and alone on some forgotten highway, travelled by many remembered by few
Looking for something that I can believe in...
Looking for something that I'd like to do with my life.
There's nothing behind me and nothing that ties me to something that might have been true yesterday,
Tomorrow is open and right now it seems to be more than enough to just be here today

And I don't what the future is holding in store
I don't know where I'm going, I'm not sure where I've been
But there's a Spirit that guides me
A Light that shines for me
My life is worth the living I don't need to see the end.....

I like the words to this song, but what I loved most was the chorus toward the end of the song where a beautiful alto singer's voice becomes very prominent during the singing.  If you listen to the end of the song you will know what I am talking about.  I loved that song, but I was only about sixteen at the time it came out.  Certainly I did not have much behind me.  It was not hard to figure out where I had been because I had not been anywhere, really. 

Fast forward in my life to over thirty years later.  I still love this song, Sweet Surrender, but a lot has happened over the intervening years.  For one thing, John Denver, for all the love he had for Annie, eventually left her.  His song of long ago was most prophetic for him, as he seemed to forget where he had been, and had no idea where he was going.  He continued singing but his songs were no longer quite so heartfelt.  He performed around the world, yet floundered in his personal life and seemed in the end to have totally lost his direction.  He was desperately trying to get the world to follow his messages in song, yet he himself was adrift in life.  John's audience, perhaps sensing his confusion, had begun to fall away by the time of his tragic death in a plane crash in 1997.

I myself have come to empathize with John Denver, with that feeling of "lost and alone on some forgotten highway..."  I have certainly made some mistakes along the way, and I have come to realize that in many ways "I don't know where I'm going, I'm not sure where I've been..."  Life, as I have known it for many years, has changed.  I find myself listening to this song quite often once again, contemplating those haunting words, and remembering the many times I have driven along so many beautiful country roads in Central Texas, roads once travelled by many, now remembered by few.  Many of the ties were broken (mostly by me) yet there are others still intact.  Most of all, I find that while there are some uncertainties and some hard times ahead, "my life is worth the living, I don't need to see the end."  I listen to John's rich, full voice sing the words, and to that haunting female alto voice that joins the group in the final choruses, and I am full of wonder, eagerness, and at the same time fear, regret, and uncertainty.  Most of all, I am full of the desire to continue on.

A person's life is what he makes it, but no one lives in a vacuum.  A person's actions effect others immediately, as well as cause ripples in the life scape that continue in ever growing circles, touching who knows who and who knows where.  Sometimes the reflections of those ripples come back as blessings, sometimes as troubles to others and troubles to one's self.  I find myself now in the awkward position of reaping what I have sown over the years, yet some of what I am reaping is certainly good.  Instead of running from it all or trying to hide, I find that I am in the Sweet Surrender mode.  I am not living totally without care, but I am living with the knowledge that even someone so lost as I feel at times can still find the old ties and can create new ties.  I find that life is still truly worth the living, right up to the very end.  And I find that I am wiser in only one way: I am wise enough to know that I can advise no one on how to go, and can judge no one because of the way he or she has been.  I still feel lost, but I feel too the Sweet Surrender that John sang about, that releases one from his past ways and points to an unknown, but eagerly anticipated journey full of hope and excitement that still awaits its completion.

Outlaw Guns Now...Oh, But Protect The Obama Children WITH Guns

Since the Sandy Hook murders, I have heard all kinds of rhetoric, both pro and con, regarding "gun control." There was a lot of truth on both sides, AND a lot of emotional raving on both sides.  I must say that one bit of wisdom that came out of all the debate really struck home with me.  That is the TRUTH that President Obama, and just as well, his children, are protected by an army of people that carry...what, Mace?  No! They always have and always will carry guns.  All of the President's Secret Service agents carry guns, and a few of them keep fully automatic machine guns on hand.  And the hypocrisy of it all struck me like a ton of bricks. 

The President, as well as many politicians, want US, you and me, to give up our protection, that is, our right to bear arms, BUT...the President would never dream of letting the Secret Service protect his children WITHOUT GUNS.  He would never dream of allowing Ms. Obama to walk the streets of this nation without her own entourage of armed agents.  And again, the agents are armed with GUNS.  Yet, as I said, you and I are being asked (for the moment, maybe forced later) to give up our guns, and more importantly our INALIENABLE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS, a right our Forefathers specifically stated should "not be infringed."  Mr. Obama, you disarm your Secret Service agents if you want...I mean if you truly believe that you would be safer in a land of gun control.  I, however, will as always stand with the Constitution and with my right to bear arms, which shall not be infringed.  And really, would you, Mr. Obama, actually disarm you protection? To quote you, sir, "Let me be perfectly clear about this..." no, of course you would not disarm your protection squad.  How dare you call on anyone else to forgo this same protection!

Yes, my friends, the President would never dream of NOT being protected by a bunch of armed officers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And the hysterical screams of a thousand other gun "controllers" voice a thousand other reasons for gun control.  The Sandy Hook murders were so tragic and so horrifying.  Indeed, this particular incident was enough to sway some people to cede their right to bear arms (self-protection) to "the Government."  I too was appalled by the Sandy Hook murders, but I did some research of my own in light of this latest tragedy.  What I found was that over two million people die in the United States each year, of ALL CAUSES, including murder.  Of those two million deaths, thirty thousand people were killed by guns, of all causes including suicide and accidental shootings.   Of those thirty thousand deaths, some twelve thousand were murders.  That number is very high, yet is only .44 of one percent of all the deaths in the United States.  I also found that at LEAST one hundred thousand people died in US hospitals because of MEDICAL ERRORS.  This means that you are more than twice as likely to die of medical malpractice as murder by gun.  This does not justify the use of guns to commit murders, and I know these numbers do not comfort the loved ones of those murdered by guns.  What these numbers DO is put a little order in the chaos of gun control hysteria.

If I wanted to really help people be safer, I would start a petition to ban all doctors in the United States.  I would further lead the drive to get all automobiles banned from the highways, as auto accident fatalities cause more deaths than guns, and have done so for the past seventy five years or so.  I would also lead a movement to ban prescription drugs and fatty foods, as these continue to kill more people each year than do guns.  What I am saying is that gun violence is more prevalent than it once was, but so are many other ways to die. The Centers for Disease Control are trying to classify gun violence as a health issue.  Such a classification would allow the federal government to bring to bear many different means of controlling guns, which ultimately means taking guns away from those who want to exercise their Second Amendment rights.  At this moment, the majority of our national leaders are still supportive of the Second Amendment.  I also found that some supporters of gun control in the US Congress are not so anti-guns that they have not sought their own gun permits.  Interesting, yes?

But back to my original point.  President Obama, as he has many times over the past four years, continues to ask (and to try to FORCE) the American people to do something, to give up a right, which he is not willing to do himself.  Obama is the equal of most senators and congressmen in this regard.  He wants the American people to make do with less, in this case, protection, than he himself is willing to use.  I realize that not everyone wants to own a gun, and certainly not everyone SHOULD own a gun.  But no one, and I mean NO ONE, Mr. Obama, has the right to tell me, an (undisputed) American citizen, that I cannot own a gun.  And you, of all people, Mr. President, have no right to ask anyone to deny himself the means to protect his loved ones when you yourself are in no way willing to deny that means to yourself.

God Bless America and the Constitution of the United States.


 

State Trooper Survives Ambush Near Colorado City

I have taken upon myself over the past three years a sad duty, but one that I am honored to do; in fact, I believe it is a sort of ministry.  That ministry is the honoring of Texas heroes, mostly police and firefighters, who are called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of their respective duties.  On occasion, however, I have strayed from that specific mission by honoring men and women, our Texas public servants who performed heroically but did not lose their lives in the process.

Today I would like to honor one such hero, but I find that this hero is in an unusual situation...he has not been identified, at least not in any sources I have located to date.  This hero is a Texas State Trooper who stopped a speeding vehicle on Interstate 20 between Colorado City and Big Spring.  Both of these locations are West Texas metroplexes, so I understand if you may not know these locations without looking at a map...I mean, Googling them on Maps.

The trooper clocked a vehicle travelling at a rate of over one hundred miles per hour.  When the officer pursued and overtook the vehicle, the driver of the speeding SUV pulled off the highway and stopped as any otherwise lay-abiding citizen might do.  But as the trooper approached the vehicle, one or more of the occupants opened fire.  The officer was fortunately not struck by any of the bullets, and even rejoined the pursuit when the vehicle fled.  Several hours later, after a standoff in Colorado City, the two adult and one juvenile suspects were taken into custody, as were two other persons who harbored the would-be cop killers.

As I said, I have not learned the trooper's name, so I will have to honor this anonymous officer who took action to protect the drivers using Interstate 20 and almost paid for that action with his life.  He further had the presence of mind and personal fortitude to continue the pursuit while the suspects continued to fire as they fled the officer.  This trooper's actions allowed for the criminals to be pinned down and arrested in Colorado City before they had a chance to make good their escape, then possibly kill or attempt to kill other police officers as they made their way to who knows where.  As with many "brave outlaws," once they were confronted by armed officers who stood face to face with them, their braveness melted away, and as we have read so many times in newspapers, they "meekly surrendered without incident." (Pardon me, I thought a ten-hour standoff WAS an incident.  Silly me.)

By the way, this year is sort of a banner year for US law enforcement officers, as only one officer has died by felonious causes in the line of duty so far during the month of January, 2013.  By this time last year, several officers across the nation were dead at the hands of criminals.  So, I end this blog today by saying a prayer for the safety of all police officers everywhere in this nation, as well as all other public servants who work to protect us in one way or another.  God bless you all.

Happy Birthday, and oh, yeah... A Presidential Inauguration

Today was the big day.  No...not the inauguration of the president.  It was my brother's birthday and my nephew's birthday.  Both of these events far overshadowed Inauguration Day.  President Obama won the 2012 Election by a little over two percentage points of the popular vote.  Hardly a landslide.  Of the electoral college, the President did win the decisive victory there.  I reserve my comments on the Elector College for another post.

Today I wished my brother and my nephew a happy birthday each, and I wished that Obama would get off the television.  One reason that these events overshadowed Mr. Obama's celebration is that I am a member of the millions of disenfranchised voters who must suffer through yet another four years of the presidency of the most unpatriotic, most despotic, most tyrannic person ever to hold the office.  President Obama, like his predecessor, flaunted the Constitution and consolidated his power through the injudicious use of executive orders (which I do not believe to be constitutional, but that too is another story).  But Obama took his excesses to heights only imagined by Dubbya.

President Obama, for instance, let it be known in no uncertain terms that it was his right, as President, to decide whom to kill and when, through the deployment of drone aircraft, both in nations with whom we are "at war," and in nations whose sovereign territory the President has simply taken it upon himself to violate.  Mr. Bush II would have never gotten away with this in his administration.  With President Obama assuming such power, I cannot believe that more Americans were not outraged to the point of voting this tyrrant out of office.  I cannot believe that these Obama idolizers refuse to see that such a President as this could easily "executive order" a dronicide on any person, including ANY AMERICAN, that he so chose at any whim.  The drone wars will continue...and I suspect they will escalate to the point of occurring within our very national borders.  Paranoid?  I hope so.  I hope I am wrong.  But all I can do is HOPE.  Neither I, nor ANYONE IN AMERICA, could defend against such a drone attack.

President Obama TURNED HIS BACK ON OUR FLAG at every opportunity!!!! Did his idolizers MISS THIS???  There are only TWO conclusions to be drawn.  One, the people that re-elected this man to office are ignorant, or, two, they simply DO NOT CARE.  Meaning that they do not find it offensive to the point of odious that the President of the United States does not hold the symbols of this nation, the prize bought for us by those who lost their lives - and those who survived as well - the battles of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the War Between the States, World Wars I and II, and the countless "police actions" our soldiers have fought, and still fight today, as sacred.  Obama PROMISED to end the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq...remember?  But four years later our troops still fight.  They still fight at the behest of the man who all but spits on their graves, the man who thumbs his nose at our Constitution and turns his back on Old Glory.  Happy Inauguration to those who want this man for their Leader.

President Obama deserved no such office.  Those who re-elected him do, however, deserve all he does for them (and to them).  Unfortunately, the irrational action of only 53 percent of voters (8.5 percent known illegal aliens, by the way) does not just effect THOSE voters.  ALL of US are at this man's mercy, of which he seems to have precious little.  The election is over.  I understand that.  Mr. Obama is our President now, and life goes on.  But his inauguration was certainly not a point of celebration for me.  I will not allow this man to ruin the next four years for me.  But I will also do what I can personally to influence my politicians to stand against most of Obama's policies. 

By the way, those of you who know me also know that I was not a fan of President Bush II.  Mr. Bush signed into law the USA PATRIOT Act, the most unconstitutional law ever.  If you look back into the political archives, you will find that one Senator Obama was against USA PATRIOT.  But four years later, the same Senator Obama voted for the extension of that act.  And now, as President, Obama continues to champion USA PATRIOT.  But he has gone further.  Through the use of his executive orders and his "power as President" he has become the Tyrant In Chief and the greatest usurper of the United States Constitution ever.  And now, in 2013, Mr. Obama (as he has let us know in no uncertain terms) is intent on turning over this nation and its people to the rule of the United Nations.  If you think I am exaggerating, please simply research for yourself Obama's statements made during the past four years.

I am disenfranchised, as are at least forty-nine million others.  But I, like these many other Americans, will continue to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.  We will continue to live as free people in a free nation.  I know there will be unacceptable policies thrust on us during the coming years of the second Obama Administration.  But I, along with millions of Americans across the land, will hold on, will cherish our freedom, and will someday elect a person who once again will be a true defender of our Constitution and a true Patriot of this great nation.

By the way, and WAY MORE IMPORTANTLY that the President's Inauguration....Happy Birthday to my Brother and my little Nephew!!!!
 

Life Changes Are Tough

That seems like such a simplistic title, but it is the truth in a nutshell.  We all want stability and safety, love and security, in our lives.  And for the most part we have it.  But the truth is that life as we know it can change on a dime!  Sometimes the changes are foreshadowed by our deeds or the deeds of others in our lives.  Other times we are totally and completely blindsided by whatever life or Fate has to throw at us on a given day.  Sometimes changes are good.  Sometimes they are bad.  Sometimes life changes are really UGLY!  Sometimes they are tragic almost beyond endurance.

The New Year brought with it a change of jobs for me, and changes for my wife as well.  These changes are taking us in two different directions, and honestly that SCARES me.  But should it?  Change is what we make of it...nothing more.  We as humans fear the unknown, many times choosing to stay in an a zone of "uncomfort" rather than daring to risk the unknown that change might...I mean...WILL bring.  Humans are, after all, amazingly good at adapting to change, whether the change is temporary or permanent.  And the other truth is that Life goes on.  I know that is a trite and so overused cliche, but it is true, nonetheless.

I have spent the last few months in a position at work where I saw someone's life change everyday.  Sometimes the change was sudden and tragic.  Death struck where there was no hint of illness or weakness.  And I saw happy endings every day as well.  Someone who "should have died" due to some serious injury or accident is spared by a weird quirk of Fate.  In my new capacity, I will have less "hands on" contact with these situations.  I have to admit that I will miss the daily emotional roller coaster that I was on as a heath care security officer, but the benefits of the new job made it an "offer I could not refuse."  And I will not be all that far from the action, anyway.

At the same time, my lovely bride is facing some changes of her own that will no doubt have a deep impact on "life as we knew it."  Career advances, teaching opportunities, further collegiate pursuits are all on the horizon.  Yes, she is facing these changes with some apprehension, but, being the strong lady she is, with strength and courage as well.  We are both exiting the zone of our comfort (both the good and the bad aspects of that comfort) facing these changes and challenges head on.  What will be the outcome?   Who can say?  But one of the outcomes at that we will both grow as people.  Neither one of us will stagnate, but we will continue to live and embrace life, and the changes it brings.

All I can offer to others are these words of encouragement, which I offer to myself as well.  Embrace changes in your life, do not fear them.  At least, do not let that fear paralyze you.  Move forward and accept the good...and the bad.  I know from life, as do we all, that many times what at first appears to be a tragic and "bad" change has actually worked out for the better in the long run.  I think I heard that idea before, come to think of it.  Words from an ancient time that are true today.  The Good Shepherd said that all things work together for the good.  We humans sometimes fail to see the good because we see things in the short term.  Does it benefit me now?  No...then it is bad.  Yes...then it is good.  Right?  The truth is that only in the light of time and experience will we really know if a change that seems to utterly traumatic, for whatever reason, is really a springboard to unforeseen fortune or blessings.  So, changes are coming for you and for me.  How we choose to cope with these changes is what really matters.


 

Spoiling the Orange Bowl

As I was sitting back with my bowl of popcorn and a fizzy non-alcoholic beverage, and taking in the beginning of the Orange Bowl, I noticed two things even before the kick-off opened the game.  First, I noticed that the underdogs, the Northern Illinois University Huskies team, were on the field and were concentrating on their pre-game workout.  I noticed that the young men were polite to their counterparts on the Florida State Seminole team; however, the Seminole players were not working out nearly as hard, and they were directing what appeared to be derisive words and looks toward the Huskies.

This impression was confirmed on the opening play of the game, when I observed members of my beloved Seminole team making unnecessary (and unnecessarily rough) contact with the Huskies.  The tackles were much harder than necessary, Huskies on the ground were "accidentally" stepped on or shoved by several of the Seminole players.  This conduct went on throughout the Orange Bowl game, marring what should have an entertaining post-season contest.

The Florida State Seminoles went on to win the Orange Bowl, scoring 31 points while limiting the Huskies to only 10.  But I have to say that when it comes to desire to play, and to an intangible quality of character that we call "heart," the victory clearly went to the Huskies of Northern Illinois University.  These young men went into this game the acknowledged underdogs.  There was little doubt after the first quarter of play that the Huskies probably would lose the game, being outplayed by the Seminoles in almost every category.  But the Huskies played ALL THE WAY through the Orange Bowl game, and were gentlemen and sportsmen throughout.

The same cannot be said for the Seminoles.  As mentioned, many of the Seminole players went out of their way to snub the Huskies, went of their way to sneak in illegal punches and kicks, and make unnecessarily rough contact.  And yes, the Seminoles, one of my favorite college football teams, went on to win the Orange Bowl.  By that I mean Florida State OUTSCORED the Huskies.  But I have to say that I lost a lot of respect for the 2012 edition of the Seminoles, and I gained a lot of respect for this underdog team from Illinois that came to Florida to play football...by the letter of the rules of football...and in the spirit of good sportsmanship.  Contrary to the score, the Huskies won the Orange Bowl, and Seminoles spoiled it by adding bullying and pettiness to what should have been one of the better bowl games of the post season.

I wish the best of luck to the Huskies of Northern Illinois, and I wish them ANOTHER bowl in 2013.  And for the Seminoles, I wish that they become the team they were in years past, WINNERS, in both the score AND in SPORTSMANSHIP.  This year however, the Seminoles bruised the Orange Bowl.

Happy New Year

I wish everyone of my readers a Happy New Year with all the blessings and trimmings!  I know there are some folks that operate under a different calendar, so if it is not your New Year yet, this is just an advance wish that you have a good and prosperous one. 

The fascinating thing about "New Year's Day" seems to be that we, you and I, are starting out the new year with a "clean slate."  It is the idea that somehow tearing off the old calendar page, or throwing away the expended calendar, symbolizes that all a person's old and lingering problems are cast aside, and that person is free to push on into the new year with no "excess baggage" from the year just gone by.

One aspect of the "new beginning" is that a person who has failed at his or her New Year's Resolutions for 2012 can now start fresh with those same resolutions, or with new ones, and have at least a slim chance of fulfilling those resolutions in 2013.  Of course I eliminated this aspect of New Year's Day years ago when I quit making New Year's resolutions.  I know, I know...that is an old one. Sort of like, "Hey Dad! I only have ONE cavity!"  Dad says, "That's great, Son, since you only have ONE TOOTH!"  (Budda Bing!!)

Okay, enough with the dumb jokes.  I wish all of us a Happy New Year.  I wish all of us the strength to fulfill our resolutions, especially the positive and transforming resolutions, the changes we might really need to make. But above that, I wish for all of us the ability to see the good things and the blessings as the new year marches forward.  To me, one of the things that makes this such a Happy New Year is that there WAS a new year, Mayan Calendar not withstanding.  Come on, you can tell me.  Weren't you just a little...just a little...nervous about the approach of 12/21/12?  Wasn't there just a pinch of curiosity or anxiety as you waited for sunrise that morning?  That's okay, class, you don't have to raise your hand.  We know...

So 2013 arrived as it was supposed to, and you are reading this blog post.  I am happy for the New Year, and happy to have you.  If I were to make a resolution (which I did not) it would be that I add a new post every day.  So many things are going on in the world today that there is no shortage of blogger fodder.  For instance, the unlikely defeat of the LSU Tigers by those other Tigers is serving as a major jumping off point for many sports bloggers.  Others may be blogging about new recipes for those New Year's day feast leftovers.  In any case, even though the year is only two days old now, there is plenty to blog about.  So my unmade (therefore unofficial) resolution is that I will write at least one blog post per day.  Don't worry, my friends, I do not expect (though I would definitely like) you to resolve to read my blogs everyday.  But it would be nice of you!

Have a Happy New Year, and may God bless us, every one.