Monday, November 28, 2011

Old Friends

This is my friend Carl. He's the guy on the right! We have been friends since the first week of class during our freshman year at Butler University! Yes, 32+ years!

Carl was in our wedding and I was in his. We have watched our children grow up, walked together through career changes, health concerns as well as challenging and joyful family times. As they say in Jersey, "We know where the bodies are buried." LOL!

Carl surprised me on my 50th birthday. We were at the beach and he flew in for business in Charlotte and then drove to the beach to surprise me! I was blown away and his unexpected presence at the front door that night at 10 p.m. reminded me just how special and valuable the bond can be between old friends. I was humbled by his presence and lengths to which he had gone just to be with me. I will never forget it. I only hope I can be as creative for his 50th next spring. We played golf, ate out and told lots of stories that get bigger and better every time we tell them. It was a very special birthday surrounded by family and my old friend. Thanks be to God for the small gifts of friendship and family that we often take for granted. Every day is a gift and these were indeed some good days.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

William Shatner's "Deep Fryer Love"

Who doesn't love the original Captain Kirk and Priceline's "Negotiator"? Enjoy Shatner on Deep Frying Turkey safety! Happy Thanksgiving!

This blogger does not endorse, approve, or recommend videos You Tube may promote after you view this one!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Turning 50

Next week, Thanksgiving week, I will turn 50 years old! Hard to believe that my life is more than half over. Yeah, I'm not expecting to live to be 100 and that's okay. At near 50 I've discovered some technical challenges of my age. BTW I like my age. Since "I" am the one turning 50 most of these thoughts begin with that personal pronoun "I" try to avoid using too much. Here's my age-technology challenges:

  1. My children can text faster than I can type on a keyboard or talk.
  2. I am not nearly as multi-task oriented as I think I am. Most 12-year olds have me beat.
  3. Video posts to this blog from You Tube can be risky cause I don't know how to keep it from going to You Tube's home page after the video, which at times has questionable content. Oh yeah, I asked a late 20-something how to change the setting to restrict that content and she had no idea so I don't feel so old. If you do let me know!
  4. Why would anyone think their daily life is worth Tweeting? Really, it's that important?
  5. Why would anyone think someone else's Tweets are worth reading? Lady Gaga has over 15 million Twitter followers per Google. Are you kidding me?
  6. I have never been on Face Book and have no idea how to do it, but I sure got a lot of invites to be somebody's friend. It's nothing personal, but all my invites to FB go into my SPAM folder.
  7. I had a "Linked In" account years ago, before it was cool, now I'm ready to take mine down cause I can't keep up with all the solicitations to be someone's contact, or add them to my list. Plus, just because you know, or are linked to someone on my list doesn't mean I want to be to linked to you. Nothing personal BTW.
  8. I am grateful to God that my kids are adults cause I'm not sure I could handle the technical wave of the next generation and 6-year old's with working cell phones.
  9. I have actually mastered hands-free calling and the BlueTooth system in both of our cars! Yes, it's much safer than holding a cell phone in your hand while driving.
  10. I long for the days before cell phones. Oh how I miss the days when the person being right in front of you was the most important at the moment and not a beep, ringtone, etc., of an email, text, or voice-mail message to interrupt. I'm really debating going back to a beeper!
Okay there's a ton more of these, but my aged MacBook is dying out and I don't have a slick Iphone 4, or Ipad 2 to finish this post. Have a great week. Live strong!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Doing the Right Thing!

One of the basic underpinnings of human morality is that we all have an obligation to protect those who cannot protect themselves. If I leave a restaurant and see a woman being assaulted in the parking lot, I have a moral duty to intervene on her behalf. If I wait to call the police, or go back inside and call someone else, I have forsaken a basic tenet of human morality and character. And before you say, “ What if they have a gun?” think about the victim. It could be my wife, daughter, sister, etc., and God forbid that would ever happen, but I would hope that someone in that situation would intervene on their behalf. In many states it's called the Good Samaritan law.

I knew of this moral obligation well before I was the age of the graduate assistant who stated in grand jury testimony that he witnessed the alleged crime at Penn State. He is now an assistant coach. I knew this basic principle as a 16-year old kid. If I knew it then, how could a graduate assistant in his early 20’s not know what is the right thing to do in regard to an innocent child and felonious behavior?

The tragedy at Penn State University surrounding the allegations of sexual abuse by a former assistant coach against innocent boys is depraved at best. As a result of one man’s purported repeated sickening actions, a legendary football coach, an athletic director, another administrator and a university president have lost their jobs. And given what little we now know, I believe this was the right call, albeit too late in my personal opinion.

Most disturbing is the grand jury testimony cited by Mike and Mike where Paterno acknowledged, in his words, that “fondling and sexual activity” had taken place per the then graduate assistant who reported it to the head coach. This is in a legal binding document, not hearsay. Hello!!!! What part of that in regard to an adult and a minor is not illegal? What part of that doesn’t make you want to physically grab your friend and former coaching colleague and haul his butt before authorities? What part of that would allow you to let that person return not once, but several times to your practice facility and have further access to young people?

The victims and their families can take small consolation in the fact that someone has finally taken a step to do the right thing regardless of media spin, public opinion and the reputation of a storied athletic program. This goes way beyond trying to protect the reputation of a university or athletic program. It goes to the heart of institutional oversight and organizational culture. It is about character.

Ga. State Head Coach and former ESPN analyst Bill Curry is a friend of Joe Paterno and had these comments on ESPN’s Mike and Mike show this morning:

Our sacred trust as mentors, coaches, and parents is the children and anything that causes such horror where they are concerned has always been more than I can bear. And to think of the betrayal that is involved in this case…I do know and love Joe Paterno, we’re not like brothers, but we are good friends, I know this, whatever he perceived the right thing to do whenever he learned what he knew, he thought it was the right thing….In the coaching profession you approach greatness by always taking responsibility. Joe has taken responsibility for his actions when he said, “I should’ve done more.” That doesn’t make it okay and help the victims but it means he is being a man about it.

Somewhere, somehow, something very basic broke down. This is not purported poor behavior. This is a felony! A felony! You are entitled to your opinion, but I cannot believe that simply informing your superior satisfies your moral duty. The bar is even higher for those of us who profess to be Christ-followers. James offers this counsel to all believers in this regard: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Today, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. They need to be the priority at every turn in this situation now. Their health, welfare, well-being and future IS the single most important issue. And the current players who have nothing to do with this entire mess are second. They came to PSU to play football.

Let us pray for healing and lest any of us think too highly of ourselves, or too lightly of our own imperfections we must keep in mind that there but for the grace of God go any of us, or our favorite school, churches, coaches, etc. And we must remember, God did not fail in this mess, man did! May God have mercy on us all and may the victims and their families be drenched in His comfort.

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Grateful for Our Vets!

Friday, November 11th is Veteran's Day. Take time to thank a Veteran you know for his/her service. Our World War II vets are vanishing the way of age, but your gratitude toward those who remain will not go unappreciated. Vets of Vietnam, Korea, Desert Storm, Iraq, Afghanistan, The Gulf War, and beyond deserve our heartfelt appreciation for their faithful and selfless service.

"Fair Winds and Following Seas," to all of our Veterans!