Category Archives: Writes

August 9, 2010 · 7:24 PM

Ah Kansas, I’m kneeling. Ah Kansas, please.

Rest Day Read (SR-41)
Salina by The Avett Brothers
“Salina, I am as nowhere as I can be.
Could you add some somewhere to me?
Ah Kansas, I’m kneeling. Ah Kansas, please”
I do love this opening line to Salina by The Avett Brothers. Not the most flattering of lines for my home state, but there are days in this state where I kneel with them and beg for mercy. I am a “born and raised in Kansas” Kansan. I love this state, but things can get brutal here, especially on the meteorological front. I can relate to the sentiment of the Avetts. Yesterday, for example we are moving about 25 government, industrial strength picnic tables from Milford Lake State Park in Wakefield, Kansas to the site of an outdoor wedding of one of my favorite former football players, which is to be held this week in Clay Center, Kansas. It was 103 degrees F with a 110 degree heat index. Ah, Kansas, I’m kneeling. Ah, Kansas, please!

My highlight of the day is represented in the conversation below. At one point we had to fix a flat on a borrowed pick-up pulling a borrowed trailer on which we almost lost a wheel when the lug nuts came loose. We had finished the trailer wheels and several ex-high school former football players were waiting for the tire to be put back on the truck. We were sweating and sharing ice water out of a plastic squeeze gatorade bottle someone, who will remain nameless, apparently stolen from their former high school athletics department. Here is a conglomeration of the discussion that occurred, with Editorial G-Rated Word Substitutes [EGRWS] added where appropriate.
“Dude, this sucks!”
“Why does it have to be so durn blasted [EGRWS] hot?”
“It’s August, in Kansas, you idiot.”
“No, I mean it is always either too hot or too cold in this flipping [EGRWS]place!”
“That ain’t no bull-oney[EGRWS]!”
“Dude, this sucks!”
“I just don’t fudge-cicle eating [EGRWS] understand it. Why is it so hot here in the summer but so freaking [EGRWA] cold in the winter?”
“You got that right, winter and summer are real son’s of britches [EGRWS]”
“Look on the bright side, boys. We get about two days of the most perfect weather on the planet in the spring and maybe four or so perfect days in the fall. Maybe these are just the price we have to pay…”
“Hays, kiss my astronomy [EGRWS]”
“Just an idea.”
“Hey, why don’t you guys get off your Assisi’s [EGRWS] and get back to work! Tire’s fixed.”
“Uggghhhhh!”

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Writes

Tagged as , , ,

August 2, 2010 · 8:22 PM

St. John the Baptist Relics Found in Bulgaria

Rest Day Read (SR-40)
St. John the Baptist Relics Found in Bulgaria
from the Focus Information Agency
“The relics found in the reliquary on the St. Ivan Island close to the coastal city of Sozopol over the week belong to St. John the Baptist, Radio FOCUS – Burgas reports.
In the reliquary archaeologists found part of a hand, part of the face and a tooth. An anthropological analysis will be made on the relics. The reliquary is made of alabaster and of marble, as archaeologists initially assumed. It was opened by a commission of experts. The relics were handed to the Bulgarian Patriarchate, which will decide where to place them.
According to historian and minister without portfolio Bozhidar Dimitrov, it will best to place the relics at the St. George church, located close to Sozopol. The reliquary on St. Ivan Island was found on July 28.”
St. John the Baptist. One of the special births, one of the special saints. St. John the Baptist. I can relate to him probably more than any other saint. The madman in the desert preaching “REPENT! For the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand!” Radical message, clearing the road for the coming of the Messiah. What an impression he must have made with his preaching. Probably a little scary.  But, he would have the honor of baptizing Jesus, even though he felt he was not worthy to do it. God knew who He could trust with that job that is for sure.
St. John the Baptist, a man of conviction. Preach the Truth, no matter who he would tick off, no matter how much trouble or how unpopular with the powers that be he would become. He would become such a threat to the establishment, it would cost him his life. I imagine those relics found in Bulgaria brought great strength to the monastery on St. Ivan Island.

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Writes

Tagged as , ,

July 28, 2010 · 5:36 PM

Remember, America IS the Great Melting Pot

Rest Day Read (SR-39)

Immigration Is U.S by Joel Kotkin, Forbes Magazine

“You can sing about sea to shining sea or amber waves of grain, but it’s immigration that provides America’s basic rhythm.  Nothing distinguishes the American experience from that of other nations more than the mass migration of people from elsewhere to here.  We are truly a nation of immigrants.”

“Our 21st-century economy will be shaped in large part by these immigrants and their descendants.”

I am an immigrant, several generations directly removed, but I am still proud of the fact that I am from immigrant blood. I am proud of the fact I am Croatian, Irish, English, French and maybe a few others thrown into the pot.  America is the Great Melting Pot.  Built on it, made of it and grown on it.  That is the fabric of what makes this a great nation.  The greatness of this nation lies in the very fact we are a conglomeration of races, cultures, ideas and religions. We need new immigrants to keep the fire burning bright or even light a fire under a “us” that has become stagnate.  We should be battling illegal immigration by promoting and simplifying legal immigration. We should be opening our door instead of slamming it shut.  Sure it will cause all sorts of problems and issues, but isn’t that why our nation is here?

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed,to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”— Emma Lazarus, 1883.

1 Comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Writes

Tagged as , , , ,

July 22, 2010 · 9:04 PM

Friends, Romans and countrymen…with pea shooters.

Rest Day Read (SR-38)
“Friends, Romans and Countrymen…”
-Marc Antony’s speech fromJulius Caesar by Shakespeare
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest– For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men– Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And, sure, he is an honourable man. I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, But here I am to speak what I do know. You all did love him once, not without cause: What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him? O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason. Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me.”

A little high brow culture for the Rest Day Read? Well…not completely. I am of an age and place where (and I think many of you will relate) my exposure to culture and arts was mainly introduced through the magic of television. And no, I am not talking about PBS here, people. I am talking about UHF. You old folks remember the UHF, don’t you? The channels beyond the normal VHF world of channels 1-13. UHF, original cable TV before there was cable TV. Where the weird and risque’ would appear, where we would get our cartoons, the serials, monster and horror movies, Star Trek, Lost in Space, Ultra Man, Johnny Socko and His Flying Robot, Benny Hill, etc. In the KCK, our window to the world of UHF was Channel 41, possibly the greatest kid-centric station in the history of broadcasting.

I was introduced to classical music and even opera through Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Yosemite Sam and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang. And how about the scores to Tom and Jerry? A virtual Music 101 course. And this video classic from the Little Rascals I posted today to go along with Marc Antony’s famous speech from Julius Caesar was my first introduction to Shakespeare. I honestly admit, if I would have seen Marlon Brando’s performance of the Marc Antony speech before the Spanky version, Brando might as well be speaking Portuguese. I just would not have cared.

But the Little Rascals version opened the door for me. I laughed till I cried when I first saw that. I still laugh my butt off whenever I watch it. It is a classic! It without a doubt made an impression upon my young, pliable mind. I remember years later in high school, reading Julius Caesar and watching the film version in either English or Humanities Class. Not the most interesting stuff for a high school lineman type of a guy, I must admit. But to this day I remember the light bulb of recognition flicker on as we came to the lines “Friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears…” I immediately had the visual of Spanky and the pea shooters! Finally, after reading line after line after line of Portuguese, William Shakespeare became a little clearer, a little brighter and made a little more sense. Give the “Hi Sign”!

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Uncategorized, Writes

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 16, 2010 · 11:04 AM

“Faith, Family and Football…in that order”

Rest Day Read (SR-37)
Gruden High School Camp 2010 ESPN Video Series
“Man, I love football, sincerely. It gives me the chance to give back to the game a little bit. Be around my son. I wasn’t a very good player when I played the game. I want to help these guys get better. I feel an urgency to do that and I am having a blast.” -Coach John Gruden

Part 1

Joy. That is the first thing I see in Coach Gruden’s eyes. Joy. Absolute, unadulterated football joy. Passion for the game. I can relate. I have been there. I have felt that joy. I have lived that passion.
Coach Paul Lane always preached the following on the priorities and perspective of football:

“Faith, Family, Football…in that order.”

Part 2

I no longer coach football. I miss it. It is like that phantom limb feeling you hear amputees describe about their missing arm or leg. It is there, but gone. The drive, passion and commitment hang in the air like a forgotten mist as I wonder where the young warriors have gone.

Part 3

I no longer coach football for a reason. What happened, you ask? The gory details are a rant for another day. But, the heart of the matter boils down to this simple fact: The 3rd F (Football) began to take too much away from the 1st F (Faith) and the 2nd F (Family). I allowed F3 to leap in front the the first two. I got off the track. I learned that F1 and F2 are what is really, really, really good and are what is really, really, really important.

7 Comments

Filed under Rants, Reads, Writes

Tagged as , , , , ,

July 9, 2010 · 8:27 PM

Behavioral Economics Short Course

Rest Day Read (SR-36)
#10 Economist George Loewenstein
on Behavioral Economics
Interview from Discover Magazine’s Top 100 Stories of 2009
“Behavioral economics provides a framework for explaining why people behave in a self-destructive fashion. It’s more realistic about human behavior.”
“Or take what is called the default effect: People tend to be lazy decision makers, taking the path of least resistance. And defaults are often unhealthy: At McDonald’s, for example, if you order a combo meal, the default includes a soda. We did field research at a fast-food restaurant showing that if you make the healthy options just slightly more convenient-for example, with an “express menu” that has healthy options but requires turning the page to see the full menu- you can get people to eat more healthily. You can use laziness to help people.”
Behavioral economics. Interesting stuff. The interview with Dr. Loewenstein is brief and to the point. The interview begins by addressing some of the reasons for the panic behavior with the economic meltdown of the past several years then spider webs out to a myriad of behaviors. It touches a mother-lode of information and explanation on the whys and hows of what happens when things unravel. As a coach, there’s many points in this interview that can be applied to team dynamics and individual performance. There are also points to help me understand and continue to work toward being a better human being. Good stuff!

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Writes

Tagged as , ,

July 4, 2010 · 10:28 AM

WE THE PEOPLE

Preamble to the United States Constitution

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Constitution

I have always felt the most important and most beautiful three word in the entire United States Constitution, maybe even in the history of this great nation, are the first three, WE THE PEOPLE. Everything our country is about is right there in those three words. Everything our country was forged and fought for is right there in those three words. It is ALL about WE THE PEOPLE.

It is not the We the Three Branches of Government (which is the way our elected folk in Washington, DC have grown to think). It is not the We the Corporations of America (or whichever foreign entity own the majority shares.) It is not about one race, one group or one religion. It is not about landowners, homeless, rich, poor, smart, stupid, tall, short, incredibly sexy or incredibly unattractive. It is WE THE PEOPLE!

In the late 1700’s The Founding Fathers said WE THE PEOPLE and they damn well meant WE THE PEOPLE. After fighting and arguing for years to write the Constitution, these men truly understood the power of the collective, the power of WE THE PEOPLE. They knew, even all those years ago, that whatever changes and problems arise in technology, society and policy, WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES can fight through these and wind up a greater nation. They did not say it would be easy (take the Civil War, for example), but if we stand together and work together for the common good, we will emerge tall and proud.

The Founding Fathers were perhaps the greatest collective intellect in the history of modern civilization. They knew what the hell they were talking about. So we, the 2010 (and 2015) version of Americans, should swallow our excessive pride, boot our empty arrogance to the curb, heed the advice of the Founding Fathers and get back to the basics of WE THE PEOPLE.

Happy Independence Day!

1SigningtheConstitution

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Writes

Tagged as , , , ,

June 29, 2010 · 6:44 AM

Dr. Lon Kilgore’s Genetic Potential

Rest Day Read (SR-34)
Genetic Potential by Dr. Lon Kilgore
“Humans are built to be active to survive, but the modern sedentary lifestyles lead to inactivation of the genes related to survival (the fitness and performance genes)”
“What is preferable for most of us is a broad-spectrum adaptation that will make a more functional human animal. To be truly fit to survive, fit to live, fit to work, fit to play, we need to drive across-the-board adaptations, aerobic and anaerobic, metabolic and structural, and we need a system of training that activates every performance gene in its path. Unlike weight training or traditional endurance work alone, Cross-Fit style mixed-mode training capitalizes on an athlete’s complete set of performance-related genes and produces a comprehensive fitness adaptation.”
Dr. Lon Kilgore hits the nail on the head with this article. Genetically, we Homo sapiens are designed and programmed to lead a physical lifestyle, yet we are constantly inventing and choosing ways to avoid or hide from our genetic destiny. Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this complex problem, become physically active and become physically active across the board with a variety of strength, power and endurance activities. There is great wisdom in Dr. Kilgore’s words, but we must implement these ideas and begin to use exercise to trigger the dormant genetics we have neglected. Change will happen. It has to happen, it is written in you genes.
Dr. Kilgore is one of the best in my opinion. Of course, being a Kansas State University A&P graduate doesn’t hurt, but he has a tremendous gift for breaking down the complex principles of kinesiology and anatomy & physiology into digestible pieces. His book, Starting Strength, co-authored by weightlifting legend Mark Rippetoe, is a must read for anyone interested in strength training the correct way and a foundation of my personal library. It is a well of information and technique perfectly suitable for self-teaching the basics of strength training in a safe and correct manner. I highly suggest owning and reading this book.
When I used to be the volunteer summer strength and conditioning coach at Clay Center Community High School, my whole program was based on the genetic potential our athletes. We are population of genetically middle/low weight wrestlers. Athletic, explosive, talented, but not big. We could not do anything about our physical size, so we focused on developing explosive powerful athletes that would play violent, aggressive football. Our credo was to get a little more explosive, get a little more stronger, get a little more faster every day! More on this later…

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Training, Writes

Tagged as , , , , , ,

June 23, 2010 · 11:35 AM

Thrice Blessed: The Rip Van Winkle Story

Rest Day Read (SR-33)
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
“Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the Kaatskill mountains. They are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family, and are seen away to the west of the river, swelling up to a noble height, and lording it over the surrounding country. Every change of season, every change of weather, indeed, every hour of the day, produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains, and they are regarded by all the good wives, far and near, as perfect barometers. When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky, but, sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory.”
Washington Irving not only wrote great stories, but his descriptive narrative virtually takes the reader away to simpler days and transports one right smack into the middle of the Hudson River valley. Look at the passage above and the way Irving described the Kaatskill Mountains. Beautiful stuff.
Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow are foundations of the American short story canon and are two of my all time favorite reads. There are very few characters ever set to paper which are as sympathetic as Rip Van Winkle and his trusty dog, Wolf. I think I would really enjoy sitting around Vedder’s Inn and deliberate the day away. How about you?

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Writes

Tagged as , , ,

June 18, 2010 · 8:49 PM

The Power of Youth

Rest Day Read (SR-32)
excerpt from 1776 by David McCullough
Chapter Two
Rabble in Arms
“His commitment to the Glorious Cause, as it was called, was total. And if his youth was obvious, the Glorious Cause was to a large degree a young man’s cause. The commander in chief of the army, George Washington, was himself only forty-three. John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress, was thirty-nine, John Adams, forty, Thomas Jefferson, thirty-two, younger even than the young Rhode Island general (Nathaniel Greene). In such times many were being cast in roles seemingly beyond their experience or capacities…”
The Power of Youth is endless. The Energy of Youth is boundless. The Potential of Youth is immeasurable. I have worked with young athletes for over a decade and I have seen their potential, energy and power first hand. I believe in these young people, they can do incredible things if and when they set their minds to it. I believe they will be able to rise to the occasion when their time arrives. I believe they will be able to solve the “big” problems. I believe they will pick up the balls we have dropped, clean up the messes we have made and ultimately save our asses from ourselves. Have at it, kids!
P.S. I do find it absolutely amazing that right now, I am two years OLDER than General Washington was at the start of the Revolution. This group of amazing young minds and wills not only liberated a young America from England, then the greatest power on the face of the planet, but they also dreamed, devised and implemented the greatest social-political system in the history of civilization. I guess it is past time for me to get to work.

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Training, Writes

Tagged as , , , , , , ,