A Word On Physical Fitness

Over the weekend someone asked me what I do for fitness.

Most important, I think, is to step on the scale every day at about the same time (for me, first thing in the morning). Sometimes, multiple times. I'm currently in a phase of trying to add some muscle. A pound every month or so is enough. Weight fluctuates daily, but if I'm more than 2 pounds or so from where I want to be, it convinces me (helps trick my stomach, I suppose) into eating a little more or less that day.

These foods make me feel more full than others:

- Water. I drink two 20-oz tumblers of it within 15 minutes of getting out of bed. It replenishes what was lost overnight; kick-start fuels the systems for my foggy brain and stiff muscles. Since I sing, I also find that I need to do this about 2 hours prior to performance. Throughout the course of the day I drink at least 80 oz of water, sometimes as many as 120 oz. It depends how much I exercise; I lose as many as 5 pounds of sheer water after a half hour cardio workout. I can say with almost absolute certainty that my mid-day slumps are usually due to being under-hydrated. Sodas, coffee, soda, juices are much less effective than water. Am I sufficiently hydrated? Check for nearly-clear urine (sorry).

- Whole-grain wheat bread. I do eat my fair share of sugar in the form of peanut-butter sandwiches. Whenever I shop, I grab the less floury whole-grain style of bread. The fiber content is high, which fills the tummy. The peanut butter helps hit my protein goal.

- Apples or other fruit. Mostly apples though, just because I'm picky. But the fiber content here is also tremendous, the skin is rich with nutrients, and it's loaded with water too like many fruits and veggies. I rarely eat veggies, but they're valuable for similar reasons.

- Almonds. Recent teeth-cracking issues have slowed this down, but they're a fabulous source of nutrients that I'd recommend to anyone (the salted kind, anyway, the plain kind is blecch).

- Whole-grain cereal. Grains again. Honey Nut Cheerios is my go-to brand. Just enough sweet to be tolerable. If I'm in a must-pig-out mood, this is the food I allow myself to chow down until I'm reeling. Again, fibrous stuff passes through the body quickly.

- Milk, skim. Protein! And of course it washes down peanut butter wonderfully.

- Tyson pre-grilled chicken strips. Microwavable for the disinterested cook, I prep half a bag after every weight workout (and many of my cardio days) to pack on the protein without a disgusting amount of fat. This year I learned to consume within an hour of the workout to help muscles recover. It's worked.

My exercise is weekly. I aim for three weight workout days and three cardio days. They're almost all a half hour long. This allows me one day off a week, or two or three as long as I do a weight-cardio double session on another day (Note: I prefer to do weights before cardio on these days; research led me to this against my intuition that cardio is better for "warm-up.").

Weight workouts: 4 exercises in a set, 4 sets in a workout. The breakdown of a set: 2 "pulling" exercises (chin-ups, bicep curls, lat pull-downs, etc.) and 1 "push" exercise (bench press, tricep dips, etc.), and then 1 for the legs (recently, calf raises, to offset the quad-heavy exercises I do on cardio days). About 8-10 reps per exercise. I vary the type of exercise every workout, so that my mood can set the intensity and I don't get bored.

Cardio: Sometimes it's a 3-mile run outdoors or on a treadmill. Sometimes it's 30 minutes on a stationary bike. Lately, it's been making 100 baskets from all over the court to warm up for hoops season (I figure if I want to coach it, I'd better learn how to do it right!).

Memories And Medicine: The Week In Thanks

It's been a week of pain and healing. Fortunately, I'd say, it's of the physical nature rather than emotional. The "kidney stone" kidney from back in May has been flaring up for six days. During a run this week I rolled an ankle and had some pounding knees. A thumb's had a sore ligament. A crown has been achy. Not only have most of those pains been easing (some gone completely), but I can trust that this body God's given me has near-miraculous tradition of fixing itself. With an assist from aspirin, cold compress, sensitivity toothpaste, blood test and CT scan, natch.

Of course, the gift of time and rest helps a body recover too. Retirement's afforded the luxury of an afternoon on the couch with my feet up, watching a marathon of "The League." This week I had one student cancel at the last minute, and another new prospect didn't show at all. In those moments I can be thankful that our ability to eat is not burdened by depending on others like this. It's also allowed me to fully enjoy the art of a good mid-afternoon nap; by the time my evening schedule kicks off my energy's peaking and mind is sharp, which is extremely helpful in teaching.

I should also celebrate the maladies I did not contract this week. I spent 90 minutes around a coach so sick he'd been on 3 hours of sleep for five nights. Today I sang between two ladies a-sneezin'. Yet I sit here completely clear-nosed and with a tickle-free throat.

I got a new student referral from a former co-worker at State Farm, yet another piece of fruit from my time there. It gives me a chance to try out my newest tool for customer relations - the thank-you note with business card and small gift enclosed.

When one of your students gets 100% on his first statistics test, it's a rush for a tutor!

I'm thankful for the GRE (grad school entrance exam). It's a required test that can be greatly improved by mastering some test-taking strategies. Perfect for a tutor; I start with a new student on Monday.

Tonight begins a small group study with Eastview Church, to talk about what it means to be a "witness" for Christianity. Actually to be what they're calling a "dangerous witness." Outlets to meet people are exciting, especially when it seems to dangle the possibility that I might be stealth-attacked by ninjas when I enter. Or better yet, that I will be trained to use pointy objects in dazzling ways.

From this "Open" study I did have a favorite concept, that the most powerful witness of our beliefs comes through the way we live our lives. Whether they be religious or secular, we don't need to push our principles onto others through talk. If we live them, and others admire them, then in time behaviors will change.

Sadly, the technician who's done pedicures for me for the last few years is moving on to different work. How many in the salon business enjoy talking about sports more than just about anything else? How many have a near-photographic memory of the things you talked about a weeks ago? She's amazingly qualified at what she does, and I can only be grateful for the time and service I was able to have from her.
 Today and this whole week has been another parade of sunny, pleasant days for outdoor reading. Some rain moved in last night, but the timing was ideal - just as we were sitting in the hot tub at Brett Cottone and Wendy Baugh's house at 11 p.m. during last night's Spelling Bee reunion party. So lucky to have been chosen for that cast and that play. Watching the video cracked us all up almost as if we were seeing it for the first time. Just a caring, creative, hard-working group of people and a remarkably witty script.

This week was Lori Short's birthday, which reminded us of three hijinks-filled months as roomies fresh out of college. Surrounded by junky cars, keg-pumping, music-blasting frenzy, it gave us a real taste of the kind of home we did not want to have. Not to mention innovative interior design like the random-pillowed "comfort corner" for guests to crash in. I would absolutely do it over again.

Alabama shut out Mississippi to move to 4-0 and keep their #1 ranking. My fantasy baseball team is rolling toward victory in the third-place match. I'm YouTubing a bunch of clips on basketball post moves so that, you know, I can teach them.

It's been a record-breaking month for Hidden Blog. Not only did it power past 6,000 page views this month for the first time ever but nearly broke 7,000. So in final thanks, to all of you readers and robots who somehow linked here, and as ever, may your time here keep feedin' what you're needin'.

Cool World

"The world belongs to the enthusiast who can keep cool."

We know about the stereotypical used car salesman with flashy charm and overbearing presence. Many people are trying to sell you something, whether it's their professional product, their beliefs, their worth as a person. How do they do it? Firestorms will quickly flame out; pressure wears down and breeds resistance. An easy, smiling manner can last, all the while the actions do the talking.

Throwing Away Bad Thoughts

From Readers' Digest:

"Treat negative thoughts like old newspaper at the bottom of the birdcage. When students were asked to write bad thoughts about their body and then toss the paper in a garbage can, they were later more positive about their body image than those who hadn't discarded them. When they tucked positive thoughts about a healthy diet into their pocket, they were more likely to want to follow that diet later than those who threw such thoughts away. How you treat your thoughts affects behavior."

Exit Sandman: Baseball Bids Adieu To Mariano Rivera

By Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated:

One of the most iconic careers in major league history is ending: Mariano Rivera, two months from turning 44, 23 years removed from his start in professional baseball, will throw his last pitch.

Goodbye to the alltime leader in regular-season and postseason saves. Goodbye to his cut fastball, which belongs with Carl Hubbell's screwball, Sandy Koufax's curveball and Nolan Ryan's fastball on the Mount Rushmore of greatest pitches. And goodbye to that trim, tailored figure who could work the noisiest room the way Astaire or Sinatra could, with a preternatural, unhurried cool and a lightness of being that made the difficult look easy. Only the tuxedo was missing.

The son of a Panamanian fisherman became baseball royalty, though it was a hegemony hard-earned, not given. Rivera signed with the Yankees in 1990 at age 20 for just $3,000 and promptly made the first airplane trip of his life to report to spring training in Tampa. He injured his elbow in '92 and had ligament-repair surgery. He was left unprotected by the Yankees in the expansion draft later that year but went unclaimed by the Rockies and the Marlins, nearly was traded to the Tigers in '95 for lefthander David Wells and in '96 to the Mariners for shortstop Felix Fermin, and washed out as a major league starting pitcher with a 5.94 ERA in 10 chances in '95. Only then and in the bullpen, especially in October, did Rivera make his indelible mark.

The end to his career, however, is hardly the end of his imprint. Rivera's personage is so humble, godly even, that his legacy will go on. Few players in any sport have retired with more reverence from his peers. "Probably not since Koufax have we seen anyone leave the game with so much respect," says Joe Torre, Rivera's manager with the Yankees for four of his five World Series championships.

Like Koufax, Rivera has become an enduring ideal, a template of what it means to be a pitcher, a teammate and a friend. But the oral history of Rivera has only begun. This is the story so far, from some of the lives he has touched.
 
Glenn Sherlock, Diamondbacks bullpen coach, Rivera's first pro manager: This is in the Gulf Coast League, 1990. Mariano was a reliever on the Tampa Yankees. He was a very athletic kid. Very competitive. Threw a lot of strikes. Quiet. Although the pitchers didn't hit, Hoyt Wilhelm, our pitching coach, used to play a game with them. Mo was one of our best hitters and outfielders.

Toward the end of the season, Mariano had the lowest ERA in the league but needed a few innings to qualify for the ERA title. We asked [farm director] Mitch Lukevics and [coordinator of minor league instruction] Mark Newman if we could start him on the last weekend of the season to get him his innings. It was a seven-inning game as part of a doubleheader against the GCL Pirates.

He threw a no-hitter. I think he received a nice watch from the Yankees.

Rivera joined the Yankees at one of the organization's historic lows. From 1989 through '92 the Yankees fielded four consecutive losing teams for the first time since 1912 through '15. Yankee Stadium was more than half empty. The future of the franchise, however, was robust. The farm system in '91 included Jorge Posada, 19; Andy Pettitte, 19; Shane Spencer, 19; Carl Everett, 20; Sterling Hitchcock, 20; Rivera, 21; Russ Davis, 21; Bernie Williams, 22; Brad Ausmus, 22; Bob Wickman, 22; and J.T. Snow, 23. (Derek Jeter was drafted in '92.) At the end of that season, the Yankees sent a group of prospects to their Instructional League team in Tampa.
 
Jorge Posada, Yankees catcher from 1997 to 2011: I remember Mo running the 60-yard dash. There were guys like Carl Everett and Jovino Carvajal who could really fly. Mo just had [elbow] surgery, so he wasn't doing a lot of throwing. But there he was running with the outfielders, right there with Everett and Carvajal, the fastest guys in the Instructional League. I thought he was an outfielder the first time I saw him.

I really didn't get to know him until 1994. He was a starter, throwing 91, 92. Mediocre slider, mediocre changeup, but good, live fastball. Then in '95, all of a sudden he was throwing 95, 96. All fastballs. That's when he really took off. You could tell he was healthy, stronger. He was throwing hard with that same smooth delivery. We were in Columbus [in Triple A], and we hung out with the other Latin guys. There were a lot of veterans on the team, and they used to buy us lobster.

Mariano was always very humble, with great family values. He had a lot of energy -- good energy, a positive energy. Just a person you wanted to be around. He was always calling home. He talked about Panama a lot.

In the minors they say you're always just one phone call away from the big leagues, but it seems so hard to get there. Mariano would have none of that kind of talk. He was always very positive.

And he had the perfect body for a baseball player. Still does. He's probably two pounds heavier now than he was then. He was always very tailored -- even in the minors. We would blouse our pants, but he would always look perfect in his uniform. His jeans were perfectly tailored and he was always very well dressed. He would wear these leather sandals from Panama -- I remember because he has ugly feet. Don't tell him I said that. Now he gets manicures and pedicures.
 
Buck Showalter, Yankees manager from 1992 to '95: The year after his surgery, in 1993, he would throw on a back field at spring training, Field Number 3, with Whitey Ford and Ron Guidry. He was only playing catch at the time. I said to Stick [then general manager Gene Michael] one day, "I don't know about this guy."

Guidry chimes in: "I know I don't want to play catch with him anymore. The ball never goes straight."

His hand and fingers were born to pitch. He has really long fingers and the perfect wrist; he can't move his hand much side to side, but it's very flexible up and down.

Walter Iooss Jr./SI

 
Rivera made his major league debut on May 23, 1995, as a starter against the California Angels. He started against Chuck Finley, who had made his debut for the Angels in '86 in relief of Don Sutton, who had made his debut in '66 following Koufax in the Dodgers' rotation.
 
Rivera was knocked out in the fourth inning of a 10--0 New York loss. Six days later Jeter made his big league debut. Rivera made four starts, pitching to a 10.20 ERA, before the Yankees decided he wasn't ready. On June 11, 1995, immediately after he was pulled from a start after giving up five runs while getting only seven outs, the Yankees demoted Rivera and Jeter, who was hitting .234, to Triple A Columbus.
 
Between them Rivera and Jeter would combine for 26 All-Star Games and 10 world championship rings, but on this day they were failed big leaguers sharing a car ride over the George Washington Bridge to a hotel in Fort Lee, N.J., on their way back to the bush leagues.
 
Jeter: We went to eat at a chain restaurant across the street from the hotel. I was miserable. It wasn't like, We'll be back soon one day. We were devastated. You can say depressed. Once you come here, you never want to go back. And we had done all right—at least I thought so.

We got called into the manager's office separately. I got called in to see Buck and Willie [Randolph], who was a coach. We were taking a flight to Detroit after the game. I had a lot of family out there in Detroit waiting for me. They had to pull my luggage off the charter.

Mo was devastated. Absolutely devastated. He thought it was his fault we got sent down. Everybody wants to think, Oh, Mo, he's so calm. . . . Oh, O.K. We were damn near in tears! That was the first time we got demoted. And you never know when you're going to get another chance.

It wasn't exactly current times back then, you know what I'm saying? We had the Boss then. You don't do your job and he'll trade you in a minute. Kids have it easy nowadays. Seriously. It's so different now.
 
Mike Borzello, Yankees bullpen catcher from 1996 to 2007: In 1996 he became the setup guy, and John Wetteland, our closer, started talking to him every day. Wetteland knew Mariano would take over for him the following year. That's something that got lost—how important Wetteland was to him. The closer doesn't usually take the next closer under his wing. Wetteland did, and Mariano did [the same] with every reliever that came through.

Mariano became their mentor. He schooled the relievers one by one. He would sit with each one separately at times and do what Wetteland did for him to make sure they had a better chance at -success. I always marveled at that dynamic. If someone had a tough outing, I saw him talk to them about how to let tough situations go. I always thought that was impressive. Wetteland triggered it, but Mo had the intelligence to absorb it and take it to another level with all the guys through the years.
 
So many guys get distracted about other things, especially off the field: money, their own personal achievements. I never saw that in Mo. He was always focused on the team, on "What do you need me to do?" In 12 years with him I never heard him mention anything about his contract, his number of saves, his ERA or any personal achievement. I'd say, "We've got to get to 40 saves," and he'd go, "How many do I have now?" He really didn't know.  
Joe Girardi, Yankees manager, and Rivera's teammate from 1996 through '99: I'll tell you one of the most amazing things about Mariano. In all the years I caught him, he never threw a ball in the dirt. I don't ever remember having to drop to my knees to block a pitch in the dirt. I know he never threw a wild pitch that bounced. His control is that good.

I had two signs with Mo: one for the fastball, and a wiggle if we wanted the fastball up. I would also give location -- in or out. One day a kid named Mike Figga comes in to catch. I tell him with Mo it's simple: Just one [finger] and wiggle. Well, he thinks wiggle means what it does for other pitchers: a changeup. So he wiggles his fingers, gets ready for the changeup, and instead a high fastball goes flying past him. We were all cracking up.

He was so easy to catch because he always put the ball right there. I don't think there's ever been a pitcher that great who was so easy to catch.
 
Borzello: I don't think he ever threw a ball that bounced in my 12 years of catching him in the bullpen. He would pitch up and down and in and out but never in the ground. It's the most amazing thing. He wasn't trying to strike you out. He was looking to get you out in one or two pitches by shattering your bat.
 
Rivera has pitched in 96 postseason games and lost just once: Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against the Diamondbacks. The game was played just seven weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, under such heightened security and national tension that the manhole covers outside Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix were welded shut.
 
Leading 2-1 entering the ninth, and having already taken care of all three outs in the eighth inning, Rivera was undone by an odd string of calamities. The rally began with a single by Mark Grace with the stadium clock reading 9:11. With the field moist thanks to a freak desert rainstorm, Rivera threw away a bunt for only the second error of his career. And Luis Gonzalez, who in five previous at bats against Rivera had never gotten the ball out of the infield, much less gotten a hit, dumped a broken-bat single over Jeter's head, barely onto the outfield grass, to drive in the winning run.
 
Joe Torre, Yankees manager from 1996 to 2007: I'm not sure how long my tenure with the Yankees would have been if not for Mo pitching the seventh and eighth innings in 1996. He allowed me to manage just six innings of a game.

In 2001, before Game 7 in Arizona, we were struggling to score runs. I was looking for something to elevate the mood. I asked Gene Monahan, our trainer, to speak to the team. Gene is always very stern. Even when he is funny, he does it in a stern manner.

After he was finished, Mariano asked if he could speak. I said, "Go right ahead." He was very spiritual, talking about putting trust in ourselves. It was really all about his spirituality and that we had to go out there and win this ballgame. Just because a guy is very spiritual doesn't mean he's not competitive. One thing about Mo: When he feels something needs to be said, if he thinks a player is in need of some attention, he's not shy. He'll say what needs to be said so that they understand they are a part of a team.
 
Gonzalez: I choked up on the bat after he struck me out earlier in [Game 7]. I never choked up. I was trying anything off that guy. If you've got a good bat you really like, you don't use it against him because there's a good possibility he's going to shatter that bat.

I have so much respect for that guy, not just what he's done but more for his on-field demeanor. You look at guys closing games out now and they're untucking their shirt, shooting a bow and arrow, all kinds of antics. With him it was always Mr. Smooth. There's no show, not any kind of animation.

I was very fortunate to get that hit off one of the best of all time. I think a lot of relievers would have been crushed by that loss. With Mariano, that was just a small bump in the road that didn't slow him down any.

My home is in Tampa, and a few years later [in 2007] I was back home during spring training when I was with the Dodgers. One day I was walking in the International mall, and who do I run into? Mariano at the mall. We both said hi. We never discussed baseball—just out of mutual respect. 2001? We didn't discuss any of that.
 
Jason Zillo, Yankees director of media relations: I remember that night in 2001. He had showered -- he always showers before he talks to the media -- and he had a suit on. He's in front of his locker. He stands up so the first wave of 30 reporters can hear him. Then he does the next wave of 30 reporters, and so on and so on. He just kept toweling off, with the lights on him and still being amped up after the game. He answered every question.

That night we fly back to New York. Everything is still on high alert after 9/11. When we landed the airport was packed with police, state troopers, military . . . these guys had shotguns and weapons drawn. Mo and I are waiting for our luggage. It was hours after the most disheartening loss you ever can have on a baseball field, and we're surrounded by police and the military and the sun is just coming up. Everybody was kind of numb and thinking, What is going on around here? And he just puts his arm around me and says, "Don't worry. It's going to be all right." I never knew what he meant and I didn't ask. But whether he meant the game or the post-9/11 world, I just knew that it would be O.K. I don't write much. But when I got home I wrote that sucker down -- the whole scene with Mo.
 
Borzello: When I was with the Dodgers [in 2010] I asked Mariano to meet Jonathan Broxton. He was our closer and had had a rough postseason the year before. So we're shagging at Dodger Stadium, and Mariano comes running over, and they start talking about Matt Stairs. Broxton had walked Stairs on four straight pitches [in the 2009 NLCS, against the Phillies]. Mariano immediately brings that up. He says, "Last year I was watching the game and there was nobody on and you walked him on four pitches." Broxton wound up giving up a double [three batters later] to Jimmy Rollins that ended the game.

Mo asks him, "How come you walked that guy?" Brox goes, "I don't know." And Mo goes, "No. You know. You walked him because he hit a homer off you the year before to win a game."

Brox goes, "Yeah." And Mariano says, "One thing you have to do as a closer is if a guy beats you the day before, he has to be the guy you want to face the next day. It's, O.K., you got me, but let's go again."

That shows how Mariano is. Mariano really believes that. He's not afraid. He always believes, You got me that time, but I'll get you the next.

No one in baseball history has finished more games than Rivera: 949 through Sunday. Only five of those games ended with Rivera allowing a walk-off home run: to Bill Selby in 2002, Bill Mueller in '04, Vernon Wells (who's now a teammate) in '06, Marco Scutaro in '07 and Ichiro Suzuki in '09.
Rivera has faced 1,007 batters in his career. Only two have completed a career cycle (single, double, triple, homer) off Rivera: Juan Gonzalez and Wells.
 
Wells: It was a tie game [in July 2006, when Wells was with the Blue Jays]. My approach against him was to always to look cutter in and force yourself to swing at it. When he releases it, it looks like it's going to be a ball and it cuts back over the plate.

That at bat, he threw ball one, and the next pitch was a cutter in. I swung and I hit it high. I'm watching the ball and trying to make sure I don't miss first base. The ball goes over the fence and I get goose bumps. I knew I just hit a walk-off home run against the greatest closer of all time. Going around the bases, I'm trying to hold my smile in. It's something I will remember for a lifetime because in my generation, my era, he's the biggest name there is when it comes to pitchers.
 
Larry Rothschild, Yankees pitching coach since 2011: It was my first spring with the team. Mariano had not picked up a baseball all winter. He gets to spring training, throws three times off a mound and tells me, "I'm ready." I go, "Ready? For what?" He says, "To pitch in a game." I couldn't believe it. So I say, "Uh, how about we just have you throw a simulated game first?"

So he throws 10 pitches in the bullpen and goes out to the mound. He threw 20 pitches, and 15 of them were exactly where he wanted them to be. After that he goes, again, "I'm ready." The next time we pitch him is in a game. He strikes out the side on 12 pitches.
 
I don't want to say he doesn't work hard, because he does, but it's amazing how easy he makes it look.  
Roy Halladay, Phillies righthander: During batting practice before the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, in 2008 [when Halladay was a 20-game winner for the Blue Jays], I went up to him in the outfield and asked him, "Man, how do you do it? How is that cutter so consistent?"

He told me he was playing catch one day [in 1997] and it just came to him, he found this grip and started using it and all of a sudden it was something he could throw all the time. I said, "If you don't mind, can you show me how you hold it?"

Well, his fingers are so much longer than mine, so I can't hold it exactly like he holds it. Nobody can. It's like Pedro Martinez. Their fingers and hands are so big they can do stuff with the ball other people just can't do. But the biggest thing was his finger placement and how his thumb was under the ball. I was throwing a cutter, but it was inconsistent. Once he told me about the thumb, it became a big pitch for me. You're so used to playing catch and four-seaming the baseball that your hand wants to go to that natural position. You have to keep reminding yourself, thumb underneath, thumb underneath.

After that meeting I took a baseball and marked it with my finger and thumb placement for the cutter. If the pitch was ever off, I could go back to the baseball and hold it. I still have that ball.

What he did for me was unbelievable. It's something you want to pass down. That to me is what great players do: They leave marks on the game, an impression that is about who they are and not just about their numbers and accomplishments. My favorite players of all time have done that -- left a mark based on their character: Derek Jeter, Chase Utley and Mariano Rivera. I wish more people could talk to Mariano because he's probably one of the best things to ever happen to baseball.

After the All-Star Game that year, I pitched against the Yankees [three times] and beat them each time. I found out later that they fined Mariano in kangaroo court for me beating them with the cutter he taught me.
 
CC Sabathia, Yankees lefthander: I didn't pitch well my first month with the Yankees [in 2009]. There was a game where I gave up six or seven runs against Oakland. I was definitely frustrated. After the game Mariano talked to me for 45 minutes about not trying to live up to anything and just go out and pitch: "We believe in you and you have to believe in yourself." Forty-five minutes! It was exactly what I needed at the time.

This is what I would tell people about Mariano: Believe everything you hear about him, because it's all true. You always hear nobody can be that nice, nobody can be like him, nobody can shrug off wins and losses the way he does. . . . It's unbelievable. I never met or played with a guy like that. If you want to be a better player or a better person, you watch him.
 
Dr. Fran Pirozzolo, psychologist, Yankees mental-skills coach from 1996 to 2002: I have worked with elite performers ranging from Navy SEALs, U.S. Secret Service, NASA astronauts, to athletes. Mariano Rivera may be the single most impressive performer and leader I have ever known. He is the exemplar that I point to when I discuss the mental attributes of champions. If we accept that an operational definition of leadership is the effect you have on others around you, then Mo rates among the most powerful leaders in any domain.

Most of us have deployed all of our attention to ourselves and to our own needs, with little left over for the needs of others. Mo has a presence that creates an atmosphere of teamwork, of an impossibly high regard for the integrity and worth of the people around him.
 
Rivera thought about retiring last season, but when he blew out his knee shagging batting practice fly balls in Kansas City on May 3, 2012, he vowed he would not leave baseball on the back of a cart. Knowing this would be his final season, he approached Zillo with an idea: In each road city he wanted to personally meet "behind-the-scenes" people who had dedicated their lives to baseball or had known illness or tragedy. While baseball wanted to say goodbye to Rivera, with the attendant going-away gifts and photo ops, Rivera wanted to say goodbye to baseball, which for him meant all the people who toil in anonymity.  
On May 11, Rivera met Ryan Bresette, his wife, Heather, and their three sons, Joe, 13, Sam, 9, and Tyler, 6, in the media room at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium. (The Bresettes' daughter, Anna, 14, was unable to attend the pregame gathering because of a soccer game.) Bresette worked as a clubhouse attendant for the Royals from 1982 to '94 and had never met Rivera.

Rivera meeting the Bresette family in Kansas City on May 11.

John Sleezer/Landov

 
On March 22 the Bresettes, while returning home from a vacation in Florida, had been standing next to a mammoth flight-status display board in the -Birmingham, Ala., airport when the board, estimated to weigh more than 300 pounds, fell on the family. Luke Bresette, their 10-year-old son, was killed. Heather suffered two broken legs. Sam suffered a broken leg and head injuries.
 
Ryan Bresette: It was only seven or eight weeks out from the accident. My wife was in a wheelchair. Getting around was difficult. But we decided this would be a huge bright spot. It was an opportunity to put smiles on our kids' faces, which is the Number 1 priority in our lives. It was three or four hours before the game, and there were probably three or four other families there. Mariano came in and just lit up the room. That big smile, the bright eyes. . . .

People started talking and introducing themselves. I said, "We're the family involved in the Birmingham, Alabama, accident and lost our son."

He said, "I know. God bless you." I started to get emotional and couldn't talk anymore. My wife took over and said, "Luke would have loved this. Luke loved baseball. He loved all sports, but baseball was his very favorite sport." And then she started to get choked up.

Then our son Joe blurts out, "But Luke hated the Yankees!" The room erupted with laughter. Mariano just loved it. It broke the ice and the tension in the room.

Mariano addressed each one of our children and said, "Luke will always be with you. There is a plan for everything. We don't always know what it is, but we have to keep putting one step forward at a time. My situation is nowhere near what you are going through. I had an injury right here in Kansas City and overcame it to play again. My only message is you have to keep on trying and keep on giving effort."

I just asked my wife, "What would you want to say about what that day was like?" She said, "Mariano provided hope and inspiration at a time when they needed it the most." The best part, and it never made the papers, was after the meet and greet was over my nine-year-old said, "Mariano, if you pitch tonight, would you give me the ball from the last out?" Mariano looked at him and said, "You got it. It's yours."

Our seats were all the way in rightfield behind the foul pole, to accommodate the wheelchair. Mariano came in to pitch the ninth. By the time we packed up, with three kids and a wheelchair, I said, "We're never going to make it around the concourse [to the Yankees' dugout]. Let's just go home."

I'm literally pulling out of our parking spot when I get a call from the Royals. They ask, "Can you come back in?" I said, "Why?" They said, "As soon as Mariano got into the dugout his first question was, 'Where is the family I promised the ball to?' "

The Royals meet us, and they take us to the clubhouse level. Mariano comes out and says, "Sam, what did you ask me before the game?" Before he answered I said to myself, He remembers Sam's name!

Sam answers, "If you pitched would you give me the ball from the last out?"

Mariano says, "That's right." He opens up a bag and says, "Here it is." You could tell by the sticker on it. It had been authenticated by MLB. I just looked at Mariano and I said, "Thank you very much. You have no idea how much this means."

About six weeks later I got a call from [the Royals]. It had dawned on Mariano that he had not autographed the baseball. They put me in contact with a lady from his charitable foundation. Mariano wanted me to send the ball back to him so he could sign it and send it back.

This is something I haven't told too many people. When Mariano came over to me, I stuck out my hand to shake his hand, and he gave me a hug, pulled me close and whispered in my ear, "You're a stronger and braver man than I ever could be."

Compliment Of The Day

"You are such a dynamic leader. Thank you thank you for making this event so positive and relevant for the LMC!  We are blessed to have you back this year!"

A Key To Success: Grit

The MacArthur Fellows were announced Wednesday, and among the astrophysicists, choreographers and paleobotanists awarded the unrestricted $625,000 so-called “genius grant” was one research psychologist whose work should be of great interest to leaders.

Angela Duckworth, a former McKinsey management consultant, high-school math teacher and current University of Pennsylvania researcher, studies the psychology of achievement. And though she primarily focuses on education, her research on the role of grit and self-control tells us a lot about how persistence may matter more than raw talent in many fields.

In studies of subjects ranging from West Point cadets to salespeople to National Spelling Bee participants, she found that grit predicts success over and above standardized test scores or cognitive intelligence tests.

A recent speech of hers:

http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html

Nelson Mandela On Optimism

"Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward." - Nelson Mandela

When the head is up, so too must the heart be. The sun reminds us of the infinite, energy, warmth. And moving forward keeps us young.

Einstein's Theory Of Miracles

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein

As a Cub fan it takes a mighty leap of faith to embrace everything as a miracle. But I'll go with that over the alternative - mainly because I've got no scientific answer that makes sense to me as to how time began.

From The Fallen: "Appreciate Every Day You Are Given"

From the memorial service for her brother who was killed in Iraq:

"I think that what he would want you all to take away from this tragic end is to appreciate every day you are given. He would want you all to go on and become the best person you can be, to chase your dreams. He would want you to appreciate every sunrise and sunset. Every star lit at night. He would want you to tell the people who are important to you that you love them. He would want you to reach out to those in pain and offer them a hand. We were so blessed to have had him in our lives, as brief as it may have been." - Carey Neesley

Get Ahead, Not Even

"Time spent getting even would be better spent getting ahead."

Few currents are so powerful as that of revenge. It draws from streams of entitlement, fear, ego and pride into a raging river of anger. There are much clearer passageways on shore. Yet time and again, after a bump in the road, I've dived in fully clothed to swim furiously about, flailing in a futile and exhausting froth that goes nowhere.

These days I'm much drier. It's warming to stretch in the sun, take an easy step forward, and enjoy progress.

Spacious Places: The Week In Thanks

America is the land of wide-open spaces, you know? You can hit the Midwestern states and roll through hours of nearly nothing but fields as far as the eye can see. Even in cities there's more than enough room to cruise through huge vehicles in spacious lanes. Paris, Tokyo, New Delhi are all congested by small cars in awkwardly winding lanes. That's our America: land of the free movement.

The Leadership McLean County selection committee chose a high-spirited group of 31 people who made the most of our opening retreat at beautified Timber Pointe (Easter Seals) camp on Thursday and Friday. Not everything went according to plan, and the tap dancing is part of the leadership adventure. And the wisdom of God's experience in similar situations has brought me to appreciate that journey.

Just as it was time to go outdoors for our three-hour team-building course, the rainy skies gave way to mild 75 degree temperatures with expanses of blue high above the cover of ample trees.

Plus, unlike the camp down the lake, we didn't get any cases of West Nile virus. Which is nice.

At this time of year, I think we should also fall on our knees with gratefulness that squirrels aren't carnivorous.

This wouldn't have been possible if Chuck Rowe from Heartland hadn't generously taken my tutoring shift at Heartland. I was able to repay the favor today. Teamwork is a blessing.

It also wouldn't have been possible without the dedication and talents of Becky Ropp and Shari Lauer who assembled the retreat's details.


This week I finished a book on the 1970 New York Knicks, one of the most cohesive teams in NBA history. The legendary return to the court in game 7 by center/MVP Willis Reed despite a torn hip is on YouTube, and I was uplifted to watch the game in its entirety. Just as hoops season inches within two months, these create visions of what can be. And in the case of open gyms, I am ever grateful for Advil and what it prevents coming to be.

Other teams are flourishing. My fantasy baseball team lasted to the final four, and I'm glad that Jack and I got to do it together (and of course, that I vanquished him in the head-to-head playoff matchup). My fantasy football team raced to a 2-0 start, and the surprising Bears to a 3-0 start. Even my ISU Redbirds christened their new stadium with a win. Considering that my high school went bankrupt, new construction is an encouraging sign for the future.

Dena's future's been brighter this week herself, as she's embarked on a quilting class and taken up an oath to train for a spring half-marathon. I'm glad whenever I see her offset her workaday nature with enriching hobbies.

Plenty to sing about - and with the talented Shelby Miller joining the LifeTeen band with us at Epiphany Catholic Church, with as full a sound as ever.

God Will Lift Up Your Head

"Through waves and clouds and storms, he gently clears the way."

Winning Agreement Rather Than Argument

"When you want to change someone's mood, mind, or willingness to act, don't ask yourself, How can I win this argument? Instead, ask, How can I win agreement without anger?"

Many times a question like this may not even cross our mind, we may instinctively jump right into battle mode. My view is right. You're disrespecting me. You're overlooking the facts. You're making a mistake. That belongs to me.

The two of you have some shared goal, though. What is it? Or if nothing, then what's your plan B? If there is no plan B, guess what - it's pretty likely not to be the end of the world. There will be other moments. Meanwhile you're never truly beaten as long as you keep your smile.

To Err Is To Win

"The team that makes the most mistakes usually wins, if those mistakes aren’t careless."
 
Trial and error is a powerful learning process. No one likes to fail; most would enjoy perfection. Reality is that champions overcome the mistakes that we all face - and keep coming back for more.

The Best Thing You Can Do For The Ones You Love

"The worst thing you can do for the ones you love are the things they could do and should do for themselves."

I read an article recently about interview candidates who bring their parents to the interview.

At Heartland Community College I've learned about the importance of resisting the urge to hand someone the answers, and instead teach them how to answer their own questions using notes and other resources.

America was founded on its independence. It's time to keep that spirit going, and equip our friends and family alike to be self-sufficient!

Mack Brown Advises Coaches On How To Deal With Intense Scrutiny

Mack Brown is taking criticism from all angles right now for the performance of his team, but Brown’s 30 years as a coach has prepared him for this type of scrutiny.

On Wednesday, he shared advice that other coaches, especially young coaches, can use to their advantage.

Brown said, “I’ve been around a long time and got a lot of friends in this business.  Friends understand.  They get it.  Most of them have been in a hole at some place or other, at some point or other.  If they haven’t, they will be.  That’s just part of our business. It’s part of who you are.  Coaches’ nature is to fight back, compete, and that’s what we’re doing.”

When asked to pinpoint the time in his career when he learned how to deal with rampant opinions and rumors, Brown pointed to a moment after the 2003 season.

He said, “After ’03 when we lost to Washington State in the bowl game is where it really it me because there was so many rumors about regents were meeting with me about firing coaches, and I had to fire them and demand them, but lord, I was at the coaches’ clinic in Orlando with two of them that I had supposedly turned loose.  My daughter called crying and said, ‘Dad, did you quit?’ I said, ‘I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.’ That’s when I said this is just ridiculous.  Go back and coach.  Do what you’re supposed to do. You learn to worry about the things you can control and not the rest of it.  If we win, everything is fine. If you lose, it’s not.  That’s the way this business in.

“The other thing you learn, especially if you coach at a place like Texas, is that it’s fair to have opinions.  I’ve got mine.  Coaches, when they give their opinion, there’s a lot more people talking about their opinion than I talk about yours. 

“You have a right to have your opinion. Fans have a right to have their opinion and very honestly, coaches do to. I didn’t speak out for a long time here because it gets bashed when you say what you think. What I’ve learned is that I would encourage coaches to speak out, say what you think.  I would encourage coaches across the country to speak out.  Say what you think.  Make it very clear that some of the opinions are yours and some of the opinions are yours as the head coach of the university.  But I can have personal opinions.”

Unfortunately, Brown has to endure overreactions like the one offered by Paul Finebaum, who stated during ESPN’s College Gameday last Saturday that Brown was without a doubt coaching for his career against Ole Miss last Saturday night.  (To which Chris Fowler stated Finebaum’s comments were over the top.)

In general, Brown said, “If I had gotten mad about everything people said rude about me or ugly about me for 16 years here or 30 years as a head coach, lord I’d be miserable.  I’d be walking around all the time miserable.”

Wind In The Sails: Overcoming False Enthusiasm

"When you come onto the floor with confidence, not cockiness, and the other team has used emotion to prepare to defeat you, you have a tremendous advantage. Your first run will deflate whatever has been pumped up; and your relentless confidence will usually prevail."

Among the easier things to do in life is to get fired up by raw emotion at the start of an endeavor, whether it's a new diet, painting a bedroom, training for a 5K race, launching a business or entering a competition. Maybe not surprisingly, it's at least as easy to quit when the novelty is past and hard work outside the limelight is required.

One way to stoke real enthusiasm, which in some stretches means just steeling your jaw and pressing on, is to visualize success on the far end. And to realize how many great journeys were fraught with boredom and obstacles. No doubt Columbus encountered a few waves and slow patches in his long journey to an unknown (and non-existent?) land. Yet on he went, inspired by the thought of land on the far side.

What seas are we riding today? Whether in the dock or out in choppy or dismal waters, our dream of success can fill the sails and keep us moving forward.

LMC Timber Pointe Room Layout

How To Praise

Kind words are powerful motivators - if you praise the right things.

Praising intelligence has proven in some studies to result in children putting out less effort, due to the perfection it may imply and the resulting pressure to avoid any setback. Praising effort, on the other hand, promotes resilience.

Praise should be specific and sincere - and given generously. Workers asked to learn a task performed better the next day if they had been praised at the end of the previous day. To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much of a social reward as being given money.

There's "Thanks," and then there's

"Thanks for helping me with math! Your patience made me more comfortable than other tutors I've worked with."

Fazes Of Success

"I didn’t want to be changed by any honor or success that came my way, so I went about my playing and coaching in a way that I would not be fazed by praise or criticism."
 
This would include praise and criticism that we deal towards ourselves. We're never as good or as bad as we or others might think. Reflect on the truthful nuggets that might lie within, adjust as appropriate, and move on.

The Surfer And The Lifeguards

A 47-year-old father of two was surfing when he suffered a heart attack, inhaled water, lost consciousness, and was soon face down in the ocean.

He was noticed by the lifeguard. Actually, he was noticed by the team of lifeguards, who at that moment just so happened to be taking a training class.

They administered CPR for nearly an hour - much longer than any single lifeguard could have continued. His life was saved.

What's the biggest disaster you've faced today? What good luck have you had today?

John Wooden's Definition Of Success

“Success is peace of mind as a direct result of self-satisfaction that comes in knowing that you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” – John Wooden

It's a classic from the 10-time collegiate basketball champion coach.

Success isn't about gaining something at another person's expense. It's not about reaching a certain level of measurable result. It's simply about doing your best.

On our deathbed, will we look back fondly - with "self-satisfaction" - upon how we spent our time here? If not, then what small step can we take today toward that peace of mind? 

Rocking & Retreating: The Week In Thanks

Fall has not quite officially arrived, but the previews are running this evening. Low-humidity, high-60s temps and a slow intermittent rain that must be turning up the corners of central Illinois farming mouths after a dry summer. When I got home from church, Dena had three different scented candles burning in different sections of the house. With the windows open, we chilled out on the living room cushions, reading and doing light chores while the Bears won their second straight 4th quarter comeback on the radio to remain undefeated. It's as easy-smiling of a day as they come.

We also got to head out to the Chamber of Commerce's member appreciation lunch on Friday. Besides the rare treat of burgers (yes, burgers!) made by Alexander's Steakhouse, we were surprised not by the splashy sunshine, but by the many familiar faces that came out to pack the tent. I'm lucky to be a part of the Chamber, and to live in a town with such an active one.

Leadership McLean County went extremely well this week. The opening 2-day retreat is just days away, and we lined up some exciting leadership discussion and polished off many details to give the class members a great experience when they arrive. The feedback from the Chamber has been affirming. It's been time well spent, and I'm fired up for another week.

Dena and I had some fun taking the personality tests that LMC participants will experience. We'd taken them years ago, but the results of the past were still holding true, mostly. That's for another blog post, but it made for a mini-date activity to talk about how we see each other. More profitable than sitting in a dark theater!

The sports in my life continue to run with excitement. Open gyms for the basketball players are drawing college scouts. I played a little, with no major injuries, and a few impressive moments. The Cubs' magic number is 10 for beating the Sox this year, as they prepare to hurdle the lowest possible bar of expectations in the profession. I've made the final four in the playoffs of the fantasy baseball league. My fantasy football team won week 1. Alabama won a squeaker against run-happy Texas A&M to stay #1 in the polls. And the Illinois Central College women's volleyball team (including two of my nieces) shook off an 0-2 deficit to win the match we watched on Friday, and went on to take the championship on Saturday.

While at the ICC match we hung out with old friends Kirsten & Mike Schaub and their three adopted children. The kids were more inquisitive than your average district attorney, literally a hundred questions about the plays I'm in, sports I like, and the ins and outs of volleyball. It reminded me how fun it is to be an uncle, even though I'm not technically their uncle. As I look around at the dozens of children small and teenage in my life, I'm amazed at the favorable odds I have in terms of good behavior. Jackson Stevens, for example, who's not quite six months old, is the quietest baby I can recall... despite sitting amidst what is essentially a Christian rock band, he never fusses.

The LifeTeen band added a new member this week to help keep our vocal balance of 2 men and 2 women. Our sound was especially crisp this morning if I say so myself, and a good portion of the credit for that goes to Mike Lieder, the man of many talents who mans the sound board and fills in at guitar when there's an opening. I've been in enough bands to know how underappreciated a good sound guy is. The creative energy was flowing today, and next week is primed to be better yet.

In the midst of Mass, there was an announcement about an upcoming retreat. I'm grateful that there are so many avenues for people to find meditation, affirmation, or rediscovery in their lives. Whether or not its within a religious environment, I've become a big believer in exercises that promote peaceful thinking.

Other new people are coming into my life. Yet another student will be starting with me next week who found me through the Wyzant site. I've come to enjoy the pair of tutors that I work with in the HCC walk-in math lab. Daniel Hill is a jack-of-all-science-trades with plenty of experience to share, and Evan is an eager learner who, for example, dove in with me into a "TI-89 Calculator for Dummies" book to figure out how to do a certain type of graphing.

At the same time, familiar faces continue to warm us up. My former co-worker Carol Gilmore is retiring in October; my actuarial brother Tyson Mohr and I got caught up over lunch; our LMC alumni friend Denise Geske found us at the appreciation lunch for the first time in years.

Little joys punctuate the days... the diversity of our condominium neighborhood... the taste of pumpkin-flavored ice cream... the surprising popularity of last week's thankfulness post, which has 300 views and so is the most-viewed original post I've ever had. I'll chalk that last one up to good timing rather than elite writing, but the fact is that Hidden Blog's averaged 200 views a day thus far in the month of September. Like this beautiful pre-Fall day, I'll give a nod of thanks to God and as my sis Dona would say, carry on to another blessed week ahead.

Tutoring Quote Of The Day

How To Apologize

"Sorry, my mistake. It won't happen again. Please forgive me."

Social psychologist Steven Scher of Eastern Illinois has noted five main elements of apologies:

1. A simple expression of regret ("I'm sorry," "I apologize," "Excuse me").

2. An explanation or account of the cause that brought about the violation ("I forgot to call you the other day with the information").

3. An expression of responsibility ("What I did was wrong").

4. A promise of repentance ("I won't do it again").

5. An offer of repair ("What can I do to make it up to you?").

Naturally, it's the mere act of apologizing and the sincerity - not the actual words - that make the gesture work.

Three Things People Most Want Out Of Life

“There is a wonderful axiom about the three things people most want out of life: happiness, freedom and peace of mind. Interestingly, these things are usually attained when we give them away.”

It makes sense to me.

Happiness and peace of mind are closely knit.

What makes a person happy? Volunteer service, for one. Faces light up with gratitude at the homeless shelter when a meal is served. Surprising a loved one with a note, or an unexpected chore completed. A hug.


Peace of mind can be given freely too, on our part. When we do exactly what we promise to do. When we show up early for an important event. When we offer a pat on the back, or an encouraging word. When we simply listen quietly and empathetically, without judgment.


Freedom to our children, spouse, co-workers, friends. To try something new. To try something that feels like a risk to us, or less than ideal to us. To learn the lessons of life through experience rather than lecture. To respect their beliefs. Sometimes, to let them disappear. We're here for them, but not on top of them.


Studies have shown it - we reap what we sow. Life's boomerangs are many. I've seen it firsthand. I hope you can too.

Love Is Blind, Like Is Not

“I will love you all the same, but I won’t like you all the same. You won’t like each other all the same; you won’t all like me the same. I understand that. You may feel, at times, that I have double standards, as I certainly will not treat  you all the same. However, I will attempt to give each player the treatment he earns and deserves according to my judgment and in keeping with what I consider to be the best interests of the team.”

Our personalities are all different. Even a leader averse to the pitfalls of favoritism is bound to be drawn to, respect, or be amused by some charges more than others. Likeability and status can be earned. But love - that gift of grace, patience, caring, genuine good-will, a desire for them to be the best that they can individually be - that is one to be shared unconditionally and equally.

Man Falls In Love With Wife Again As He Wakes Up From Surgery

Quote Of The Day

"Thanks for the nice compliments you gave me! :) I have to say that it is so great to work with you.  Your commitment and attention to detail is a great partnership for me."

Hidden Bloggers know that I'm picky as to where I spend my increasingly valuable free time as a volunteer. These type of people - who are themselves flexible, responsive,  encouraging and thankful - bring out those same traits in me.

We become who we surround ourselves with. Choose wisely!

Committed To A Dental Institution

Someone paid a compliment about my teeth yesterday. For that I've got to thank Dr. Anderson, my dentist of 20 years.

After getting a couple of crowns a half-year ago, I had been experiencing some pain in three different spots. Chomper of almonds that I am, I prepared for the worst - that some teeth might've cracked, that the trauma from the crowns had somehow damaged the root canal. I couldn't eat on the right side without contact pain, and couldn't put anything other than room-temperature liquid either. Since I've used up my dental insurance coverage for the year, I was also prepared for the uncomfortable status quo for the next few months.

As it turned out, the heat/cold sensitivity is due to simple overbrushing. Nothing that a switch to a softer brush, careful swabbing, and sensitivity-protection toothpaste couldn't cure.

As for the two aching crowns, nothing further is damaged - X-rays came out clean - I just needed some adjustment to my bite with the new teeth. A little instant drilling to re-shape, and I was on my way.

I have to wait a couple weeks for the tired tooth-ligaments to heal from their irritation, but it looks as if once again I have plenty to smile about, and plenty to smile with for the foreseeable future.

How To Take A Compliment

Nothing tops smiling, looking a complimenter in the eye, and simply saying, "Thank you."

I suppose that ought to come as common sense. Yet I tend to feel a swell of resistance. Either by downplaying it, or cracking a joke, or reinforcing the compliment somehow.

"Thanks" are a gift. We should accept them at face value.

Movie Review: The Butler

If you celebrated the election of an African American as president in 2008, then you ought to see this movie.

If you liked Forrest Gump, but wish it had dealt more with racial issues, then you ought to see this movie.

We went because I wanted to see Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker in a feel-good movie about a butler who served the White House through eight presidents.

It felt good at the end, but the struggle of the civil rights movement enmeshed within was a surprise, in part because I didn't read any previews.

The story begins with a young Whitaker in the cotton fields in 1926 with his died-too-young father and his mentally-stricken mother. Through hard work and savvy mind, he reaches a pinnacle of American servanthood. Along the way, his marriage to Winfrey endures the strains of an overworked employee, and the tension of a radical son who marches actively against black oppression.

Alternately heartwarming and sobering, this one's fine for the theater, but just as well to catch on Netflix on some future rainy day.

Doing What We Can

"Do not permit what you cannot do to interfere with what you can do." - Anonymous

I can't dunk a basketball, but I can practice shooting so that I can teach it.

I can't play the drums, but I can sing.

I'm no artist, but I can appreciate those who are.

I'm not the best at consoling, but I can empathize deeply.

I can't buy a mansion, but I can keep a clean home.

I'm not the quickest thinker, but I can hold my tongue and support the quick thinkers.

 

I can't always do, but I can always encourage. Always thank.

Home Cooking: The Week In Thanks

Not everyone appreciates the value of age, but it does make me thankful for that magical part of the brain that turns learned behavior into automatic behavior. When I step up to the microphone to sing at church or recite lines in the theater, I don't have to go over every single word multiple times right before singing it - I step up, start saying stuff, and the next batch of words just follows from memory from the last. Likewise my morning routine is so ingrained that it feels weird if I don't down a couple glasses of water, brush my teeth, and do a dozen other things in prep for the day. Habits... unconscious action... long-term memory is a gift worth marveling.

This last week was entirely sunny, the best that summer has to offer those of us who read by the pool. The promise of winter devotes me to get outside as much as possible while I can do it in shorts.

People are blessed with self-awareness - or at least the ability to become self-aware. It's kept me motivated to learn new skills and facts, to meet new people, to improve myself. Hopefully, to identify my faults and minimize them. Ants can't do this. Fish, probably not. We can, and it's why we're not only safe from extreme weather and almost all manner of natural predators, but can even learn to play the piano or sew incredible tapestries. Personally, I continue to learn how to become a better teacher, how to market in social media, how to coach. The self-awareness to be thankful at all makes us so unique in God's creation.

Father Gifford at Epiphany parish is a dynamic priest with enthusiasm for the church's youth program. It's inspiring to see someone putting his all into a mission.

As the summer's gone on I've been graced by the fact that muriatic acid, spilled in noticeable quantity in one's trunk, eventually fades in odor so that the driver doesn't get dizzy or smell like pool chemicals indoors. That's another whole blog post in itself, but let's hear it for chemistry.

This week I discovered auto-tweet. Hidden Blog posts now register automatically on Twitter, opening up to a whole new audience. Technology is grand. Especially with spreadsheets, which I also hailed last week. Once again, the diligent work of Coach Witzig was easily translatable into analyzable numbers by dumping his Word document into a pivot table. So thank you, Microsoft.

I read an article this week which noted that for many Americans - nearly a full quarter of them - the American dream is simply getting out of debt. In that sense, we're living the dream. And in a hundred others.

I'm glad that Mom's colonoscopy went well. No new developments. Amazing medicine considering that less than 5% of the world's population even has a computer. And I also learned that an extra measure of toughness is in my gene pool, as she underwent the whole 15 minute procedure - with snaky things stuck up into uncomfy places - with anesthetic that didn't work. Yikes! On her behalf, I'm thankful that colonoscopies are only recommended once every five years.

Nothing's much better than coming home to one of Dena's fresh-baked M&M peanut butter cookies. Except maybe for five of them. Mmmm.

This weekend Dena spent Saturday morning helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house, spent the evening visiting with a friend going through a rough patch, and spent Sunday morning volunteering for a food drive. She is so giving!

All the organizations I'm involved with are progressive leaps and bounds ahead of the stodgy, dying ones that are so easy to find. Heartland Community College continues to expand and to strive for national accreditation in its tutoring program. Normal Community High School's faculty are committed to growing new leadership programs for their student-athletes, and to use technology in new ways. Wyzant tutoring web site is constantly adding features which offer new resources that benefit tutors.

My newest private tutoring student is the most self-supporting I've seen so far. Intensely focused, and when he gets stuck he dives back into the book and reads the definitions himself. Who does this anymore? Usually I have to do the page-turning and hunting. He wants me to be a last-resort resource. It's a pleasure.

If small business is a playground, I'm excited for the toys coming my way... discovered a site where you can design legal pads with your own logo and web site. I'll be eager to share scratch paper with students now, a free page of advertising that costs less than a quarter apiece.

Our instrumentalists rocked out big time on Sunday! Sometimes the energy is just indescribable. They set the tone for a tremendous service of music leadership.

Thank goodness for the "autopick" feature of fantasy football drafts. Otherwise showing up 5 minutes late would've cost me dearly. As it was, I got an A-lister of a roster that coasted easily to a week 1 win. Meanwhile, the fantasy baseball season finished up in streaking fashion, as I leaped from 5th to 3rd place in one week, capping off a stunning 3-week run.

I'm grateful for Biblical words and the notion of Jesus that uplifts so many to higher moral standards. And at the same time, I'm more grateful for the flesh-and-blood philosophers of modern times who've been captured on film. Abraham Lincoln, John Wooden and others have imparted wisdom to me that I hope to live by.

May this week be filled with bright colors, deep sleep, and easy feeling.

He Just God Lucky

A former soldier who went on to become a great teacher for countless thousands of Americans explained:

“I haven’t had any ‘God said’ events that I can recall, but I have become aware of God’s hand in my life. I can now look back to see that God was at work, especially in certain circumstances that at the time I thought were simply strokes of good luck. In 1944, during World War II, I had orders to board the USS Franklin in the South Pacific. My orders were canceled due to an emergency surgery. My appendix ruptured. During the attack, the person who took my place was at the battle station where I would have been, and he was killed by a kamikaze.”

We may not personally have been spared from flaming warplanes bombing from the sky, but chances are there's some event in our lives, or maybe even on a much more minor scale this week, where good fortune may be chalked up to God fortune. What is it?