thoughts on the news of the day: monarchy

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            Girls Rule.  You see that a lot written on notebooks and backpacks of Junior High girls.  Girls are more visible in the roles of class leaders and are beginning to dominate academics in the classroom as well.  More and more women are taking the lead in government, business, ministry and education.  There is not equality in pay or position yet; but it is soon to happen. 

            A milestone shift has happened in London this week.  In the British Monarchy, it is the first born, whether a girl or a boy who will be allowed to inherit the role of King or Queen.  This a significant move forward because up until now, a woman could ascend to the throne only if there were no male heirs.  Men came first, but now all of that is history.

What this means is that if Prince William and his bride have a girl first, she will someday inherit the throne. 

            Women have waited a long time for equality.  Oh, sure, we can vote and hold office and become ministers, but the reality is that in almost every type of profession, women are held back because of gender.  If you don’t agree with me, just look at the statistics. 

            Now I for one, am delighted that Britain has changed their policy.  All girls want to be princesses; but let’s face it; it is good to be Queen.

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thoughts on the news of the day: home run

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            OK, I admit it, I am a Texas Rangers baseball fan.  I REALLY want them to win the World Series.  So naturally I was pretty mad at David Freese when he hit the game winning home run in the bottom of the 11^th (yes, I said 11^th) inning of Game 6.  The Cardinal fans went wild and the Rangers were left to play one more game which will hopefully lead to victory.

            That’s one story from last night.  But there is another story about Freese that occurred yesterday evening.  As Freese rounded the bases, some fans in center field managed to catch the ball.  One in particular hid the ball in his clothes to allay the risk of having the ball snatched from him.  After safely retaining the ball, the fan agreed to go to the Cardinals Clubhouse and return the ball to Freese.  Now that’s generosity.  There’s no telling how much the ball was worth; but he must have felt that Freese had a right to it.  In return, the fan received an autographed bat and a ball with all the Cardinals’ signatures on it; which is admittedly is a cache in itself.  The fan said he made a good living and didn’t need any money but asked to meet the players.  So he and his friend were shuffled into the Cardinals clubhouse.

            Maybe that’s not the best example of generosity.  We want generosity to be all about helping the poor, the needy, the helpless.  None of the players in this scenario fit in that category.  But nevertheless, if you were in the same situation, would you have returned the ball, knowing that it meant the world to Freese, but meant bunches of money for you?

            We all have opportunities to do the right thing every day.  We can respond to those opportunities or ignore them.  So I imagine that Freese was grateful for someone who responded to his higher self and didn’t ignore the chance to make the right decision.  Whether Cardinal or Rangers fans, we can all hit a home run when we learn from the generosity of this fan.

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thoughts on the news of the day: birthdays

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            I noticed on facebook that today 3 of my “friends” have birthdays.  One is actually a relative, but all are special to me in different ways.  Birthdays are cakes and candles and cards and occasionally gifts.  They are a time to say, “You are special”. 

            We only have one birthday.  Well, I take that back, I think most recovering  alcoholics celebrate the birthday of their sobriety, too  – but they are a special breed.  Then again, didn’t I say everyone is special on their birthday?

            I suppose we can’t remember back that far to our birth date.  But there is probably someone in our life who can.  And they usually have a good story to tell about that special day.  The story of my daughter’s birthday is bittersweet. She was born after a long ambulance ride to a hospital in a neighboring town.  As a newborn, she was beautiful and perfect and I was ecstatic but the day was also very sad because the afternoon of her birth, her Dad came into to the hospital room and said that he wanted to divorce us.  It took me a long time to get over that, but I did and can now say that the day of the birth of my only daughter was joyous indeed.  We celebrate her birthday every year and even though I can’t be there because of work, we still do it up in a big way.

            Happy Birthday, dear friends!  Celebrate today and rejoice that God has given you life and love and happiness!

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thoughts on the news of the day: hindsight

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            It’s always hard to look back on a situation and wish that it had been done differently.  Tony La Russa, the St. Louis Cardinals manager had that experience after the Cardinals loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday night.  Pitchers were mistakenly called in when others were not ready and that set up the winning runs for the Rangers.  Now, La Russa is bemoaning the fact that the error occurred, in fact he is even saying it was embarrassing. 

            We always seem to know what to do after the fact.  “If only I had done this or that …”  we complain when we realize our mistake.  Easy to say.  Sure, we can blame ourselves or others in hindsight.  We can look back on a situation and wish it had turned out differently.

            I am reading a book right now called “Blink”.  Its premise is that we make snap decisions every day that turn out right.  Our intuition is sometimes, well, almost usually, right.  The author gives examples of instances where intuition (“just knowing”)  trumps scientific investigation.  The author is not saying that we should disregard logic and statistical information, I think he means that we should just not always put complete value on it and ignore the signals that are all around us.

            I don’t know whether Mr. La Russa trusted his gut or his brain on Monday.  But a great solution to the dilemma of whether to trust statistics or intuition is to pray.  It’s always helpful to have some divine inspiration on hand to help us through the day.  I like having that option.  It usually works out.  Besides, it never hurts to have a second opinion.

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thoughts on the news of the day: SRO

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            Watching the World Series this year has been fascinating to me.  I am fascinated by pitchers who can hurl a ball at speeds of almost 100 miles per hour.  I am fascinated by catchers who can catch that same ball.  Then there are the batters who hit a ball sailing through the air at those speeds.  That is as fascinating as watching a fast moving ball pushed  through the air, over the fence and into the stands.

            Signals are another fascinating thing about baseball.  How do they keep it all straight?  Does the catcher control the game by his signals to the pitcher?  Does the pitcher control the game because he has the power of veto?  And what about the manager?  Does he really mastermind the whole event by moving his hands in the dugout?

            Yes, that is all fascinating.  But the most fascinating thing about this World Series to me is the person who pays $200 - $300 for a ticket to stand at the top of center field for four hours and watch the game.  Why would you do that?  Unless you are a dedicated and almost rabid fan, that action is practically unthinkable.  But nevertheless, there are fans who are willing to do just that.

            But I wonder, what if there were folks who were willing to stand up for four hours and pay $300 for a cure for breast cancer?  What if there was a stadium full of people who were so committed to the elimination of poverty that they stood up for hours and donated that sum of money?  How about education?  Fair housing? Clean air? 

            What if?

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thoughts on the news of the day: Na Na

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            If you have ever been to a sports event, you know the song:  “Na Na Hey Hey (Goodbye).  It’s usually sung by the opposing crowd when a baseball player strikes out or a basketball player fouls out or a soccer player gets replaced.  Not very good sportsman like behavior, but nevertheless effective.  The boys who came to cheer the girls on my daughter’s high school basketball team loved to chant it as one by one their competition fouled out.  Like I say, not very good sportsmanship – but lots of fun.

            Today in the news, there was an article about Paul Leka, the composer of the song who passed away a few days ago.  Actually the writing of the song was somewhat of a fluke.  Leka and a fellow songwriter needed a song to fill the “B” side of a tune they wanted to be a hit.  They scattered the lyrics and the record with “Na Na’s” and “Hey, Hey’s’ which should have been the death of it.  But instead, it became a No. 1 hit.  In 1977 the organist for the Chicago White Sox began using it to shuffle players off the field after striking out and the tune caught on.  It is still around … all these years later.

            I guess that just goes to show you, be careful what you create, it may become the monster that haunts you, even after you have gone!   I am sure that Mr. Leka’s friends and family will remember him for lots more than a silly song that taunts athletes but for the rest of us, the tune has caught on and will long be remembered.

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thoughts on the news of the day: news

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            There’s lots of news to choose from today.  In football, Texas Tech upset Oklahoma and in baseball, the Cardinals beat the Rangers in the third game of the World Series.  In world news, the death of Gadhafi is still a headline and the economy in Europe is teetering.  On the home front, Republican Presidential Nominee hopefuls Perry, Romney and now Cain are after each other and President Obama still can’t seem to get the economy under control.  In the midst of all that, Occupy Wall Street continues.

            So, what do I think about that?  I think the Rangers should win the championship.  Although this is Cardinal Country, I lived in Dallas for ten years and in Texas forever, so my allegiance lies there.  Even though I think it’s a shame that Texas Tech beat top ranked Oklahoma, it’s always nice to see the underdog win. 

            The death of Gadhafi has the same impact on me as the death of Ben Laden: murder is murder, but sometimes in some instances, it is almost OK.  And as far as the election?  It’s just too early to tell who will be nominated.  Now about Occupy Wall Street, I think that people have the right to protest things that seem wrong to them. 

            But what do you think about the events of today’s news?  Maybe you choose to ignore it; after all we don’t have much control over it anyway.  Maybe you love to debate and will take the other side, no matter how you really feel.  Maybe your feelings are somewhere in between: you care, but you don’t care to let your feelings be known.    

            As human beings we can think and feel deeply.  And how we express those thoughts and feelings is our choice.  I thank you for stopping by to hear mine and I hope you will drop by to let me know yours. 

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