Entering the hospital, the man takes an elevator to the second floor and asks for directions at the nurses' station. His face is solemn as he walks down the hallway toward the designated room. He enters and moves toward the bandaged figure on the bed. The patient sees him, smiles wanly, raises an arm from which tubes dangle.
"Thanks for coming, Coach."
"How you doing?'
"Oh, okay." The mournful look in the sunken eyes tells a different story.
There is a long pause. Finally the visitor leans in, his jaw jutting close to the face of the patient.
"Listen, Mike. I need you in training camp in July - on the field, ready to go. We're going all the way this year."
Later Mike Westhoff, recovered from bone cancer and still the special teams coach for the Delphine, would say of Shula, "I thought he would tuck me in, but he didn't. He treated me the way I could be, not the way I was."
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Well Defined
"It was the first time I was able to look at football as something that God was allowing me to do, not something that should define me." - Tony Dungy
He was getting at those crisis situations where it's easy to fret over what we are going to do next. How important is the "crisis" in the big picture? What football moment takes on as much significance as anything having to do with the soul of the way we treat others?
As a supervisor, I once said to an employee that I enjoyed difficult conversations. "You are so full of s---," was the angry response, and she was right. The only thing I would have regretted more than the inane statement I'd just made was if I'd reacted to her comment with venom of my own. Instead, we talked it out. In time, we became friends.
He was getting at those crisis situations where it's easy to fret over what we are going to do next. How important is the "crisis" in the big picture? What football moment takes on as much significance as anything having to do with the soul of the way we treat others?
As a supervisor, I once said to an employee that I enjoyed difficult conversations. "You are so full of s---," was the angry response, and she was right. The only thing I would have regretted more than the inane statement I'd just made was if I'd reacted to her comment with venom of my own. Instead, we talked it out. In time, we became friends.
Still, Small Voice
"My dad always believed that God uses the logic and the passion He's given us to help direct us, and I believe that too. This must be the 'gentle whisper' thing. The 'still, small voice.'" - Tony Dungy
That's in line with my faith. Is there a heaven? I don't deny it, nor does my logic see it yet. But I am passionate about teaching. It makes sense to me that God might have put us here to interact in harmonious ways as part of a colorful plan. So following that path, applying gifts toward that harmony, gives me the satisfaction that some may find from the idea of eternal salvation.
That's in line with my faith. Is there a heaven? I don't deny it, nor does my logic see it yet. But I am passionate about teaching. It makes sense to me that God might have put us here to interact in harmonious ways as part of a colorful plan. So following that path, applying gifts toward that harmony, gives me the satisfaction that some may find from the idea of eternal salvation.
When They Try To Suck...
"The press wants to suck us into these kinds of comparisons and crystal-gazing conversations. I want to enjoy the thrill of coaching one game at a time." - Don Shula
Who should be ranked the highest? Who's the greatest of all time? Casting opinions about is a pastime fun or destructive, depending on whether it's played with a spirit of discovery or judgment.
Who should be ranked the highest? Who's the greatest of all time? Casting opinions about is a pastime fun or destructive, depending on whether it's played with a spirit of discovery or judgment.
The Art Of Living
"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both." - James Michener
I need to figure out how the aspect of choosing one's environment comes into play here. Where would Tiger Woods be if he'd just taken a job at Wendy's? Are legions of retirees failures because they left work for leisure? Perhaps the answer is that, where our environment is beyond our control, we find a vision of excellence within that environment, and let that be the end of it.
I need to figure out how the aspect of choosing one's environment comes into play here. Where would Tiger Woods be if he'd just taken a job at Wendy's? Are legions of retirees failures because they left work for leisure? Perhaps the answer is that, where our environment is beyond our control, we find a vision of excellence within that environment, and let that be the end of it.
National Anthem
I saw an article in the Pantagraph today about auditions to sing the national anthem at a game for the new local pro baseball team the Normal CornBelters. Drat, I would have gone if only I'd known! Maybe next time.
High/Low Week 16 2010
A short night of sleep got the best of me during morning basketball today. My general belief is that athletic performance is only mildly affected by sleep, compared with mental activities. A lack of shuteye does (as documented many times on Hidden Blog) affect my emotional state though. Less then ten minutes in, a wayward pass to me under the hoop caused me scrambling into a collision with another player. I decided that he was deliberately impeding me and, during the next trip down court, happened to end up guarding him with the ball. I took about ten manic swings at "the ball," perfectly within the edge of the rules but admittedly a little psycho. It's what happens when the world becomes too narrow and self-centered - if my focus had been on a greater cause like playing my best, hustling for the team or just getting healthy exercise then the moment would have passed innocently.
Until and unless some magical voice tells me more clearly, one of the closest senses of purpose I experience is validation from my peers. This week a couple of co-workers gave some sincere appreciation for my teaching and leadership experiences. I wouldn't consider my career remarkable, but to have influenced someone in a positive way does help the days along with a tad more gusto.
Today was clean-up day around the condominium complex. About a dozen neighbors teamed up to sweep, organize, and seal the property. The traditional communal lunch that follows is always a high point, munching on sub sandwiches from La Gondola under pleasant, breezy, slightly overcast skies. Then as the sun peeked through in the late afternoon, and I sat poolside with Tony Dungy's book, it was one of those golden experiences - surveying the beautified environment, stretched out and enriching the mind with the words of a highly spiritual man.
Until and unless some magical voice tells me more clearly, one of the closest senses of purpose I experience is validation from my peers. This week a couple of co-workers gave some sincere appreciation for my teaching and leadership experiences. I wouldn't consider my career remarkable, but to have influenced someone in a positive way does help the days along with a tad more gusto.
Today was clean-up day around the condominium complex. About a dozen neighbors teamed up to sweep, organize, and seal the property. The traditional communal lunch that follows is always a high point, munching on sub sandwiches from La Gondola under pleasant, breezy, slightly overcast skies. Then as the sun peeked through in the late afternoon, and I sat poolside with Tony Dungy's book, it was one of those golden experiences - surveying the beautified environment, stretched out and enriching the mind with the words of a highly spiritual man.
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