The Crab Chronicles

In the Spotlight

I enjoyed reading Frank Bruni's piece in the New York Times about Jenna and Barbara Bush, the twin daughters of former President Bush. They have written a joint memoir which was published last fall, Sisters First: Stories from our Wild and Wonderful Life. (Since there are two of them, shouldn't the title be "Wonderful LIVES"? -- my inner grammar nerd cannot be silenced).

I have not read the book, but it looks like a loving tribute to their parents, and as the Amazon page reports:

"In SISTERS FIRST, Jenna and Barbara take readers on a revealing, thoughtful, and deeply personal tour behind the scenes of their lives, as they share stories about their family, their unexpected adventures, their loves and losses, and the sisterly bond that means everything to them."

I would like to read the book one day but I will get it at the library.

One thing that intrigues me about the book is that these two are famous only because of their family, not because of their own accomplishments. I see Jenna all the time on the Today Show but she doesn't seem to me to have any outstanding journalistic talent. Why did she get that job instead of somebody else? Hmmm.... her NAME, probably. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Jenna. I usually enjoy her stories, and she seems like a genuine, nice person. I just wonder about her qualifications to ascend the journalistic ladder so quickly. 

Then again, I probably shouldn't point fingers. I got my first paralegal job because Dad was friends with the attorneys and his bank gave the firm business. However, before my first day at the firm he sat me down and said sternly, "I got you the job, but it's up to you to keep it. I expect you to work hard, be nice, and do what you're told. Never say that's not my job - if they are paying you, it's your job. Remember your manners. Don't embarrass me. Oh, and I told your boss if you don't do a good job to FIRE YOU -- I wouldn't hold it against him." I remember thinking WOW, thanks a lot. I worked my butt off in that job, and stayed three years, and although there were certainly some negatives, the experience made it possible for me to get other paralegal jobs. 

I do remember feeling great relief when I moved here to Atlanta because nobody in the legal community even knew my father, much less owed him any favors.

I kind of understand and sympathize with the Bush sisters.

I imagine the Bush twins wrote the book to try to present their family as human, not godlike creatures or privileged elitists. The tributes and outpourings of fondness which have recently marked the passing of their grandmother Barbara might make up for, in some small way, the negative things about living in the public eye. Or not. 

When you are the child and grandchild of presidents you learn to be careful about what you say and do, and the sisters have been schooled well, obviously. Bruni criticizes them for being circumspect about political opinions but I admire their poise. They aren't running for office. They don't have to explain themselves when he fires questions at them.

My dad was a little bit famous in his own way. 

Most everyone in the business communities in Knoxville -- particularly lawyers and bankers -- knew Dad, or had heard of him, in the 1970's thru the 1990's. He had bucketloads of charisma and charm. People who met him typically either liked him (98%) or loathed him (2%). Most liked him. (There were over 300 people in the church at his memorial service.)

I remember walking down the street with him countless times and he would always spot someone he knew and greet them, or be greeted by them -- whether it was downtown Knoxville, downtown Augusta, the mall, the gas station -- and it was tiresome, sometimes. Everyone was a friend of his, or so they thought. 

I once met a man in Knoxville, a local politician, who was on the board of some organization with Dad and he made it clear he despised Dad. I told him after he said that, that I was the daughter of Tony Thompson and he laughed with embarrassment. I couldn't wait to get back to the office and tell Dad, who laughed. "He doesn't like me because I always vote against him in meetings. He likes to spend too much money." Dad was never afraid to take an unpopular stand because he always valued doing the right thing over doing the most expedient thing.

I have never had to hear a lot of unfair criticism leveled at my dad, like the Bush girls have, obviously. That one incident rankled a lot, though. Take that and magnify it a million times and that's a bit of what those girls have had to deal with almost their whole lives. 

My grandfather Bob Hasty was a major league baseball player for five years and then played minor league ball for years afterwards, and was well-known around Atlanta. Mom remembers being so annoyed when they would be in public and people would bug him for an autograph, or just want to chat. Mom resented them pulling him away from her, and rightly so. [In the above photo, he is on the middle row, third player from the left.]

He never courted fame, but he didn't shy away from it either.

My grandfather would be horrified by the behavior of today's sports stars, who routinely get arrested, use drugs, get women pregnant and don't marry them, gamble, and on and on. Papa felt like sports stars should always be gentlemen, and always behave themselves. They are role models for kids. Obviously that's an old-fashioned view. I sure wish it was still followed, though.

Fame is never easy to deal with, whether it's yours or you're caught in the fame-light of someone you love. I can remember meeting people in the business community and feeling really self-conscious because Dad was so handsome and I'm... not. I always winced at the unspoken comparisons. It wasn't always easy to be his child. 

It hasn't always been easy to be the grandchild of a sports star, either. I've had to defend him against some unfair accusations over the years. Also, I have a deformed shoulder and I can't throw a baseball to save my life. I'm not tall and movie-star attractive, either. To make it a bit more uncomfortable, I am the daughter of a drop-dead gorgeous mother, and I don't look much like her.

It isn't easy to be the child of two really attractive people, and deal with scrutiny and sometimes pity. 

I have watched members of the Bush family in interviews on television the past few days and I have to extend kudos to them, for how they have handled the attention surrounding Barbara Bush's death. Poise and grace don't begin to cover it. 

I should mention that I am not a Republican and no huge Bush fan. I certainly didn't agree with all of the political views of either of the Bush presidents, but then again I never agree 100% with ANY politician, from either party.

I guess in summary I'd like to just say, living in a spotlight is far more difficult than most people realize. You have to not let all the negative things, the comparisons, the potshots taken, etc. get to you. You also have to carve out your own niche in life, and be happy in your own skin -- which is not always easy to do. I have a tiny bit of an inkling of what it's like to be part of a family members' fame.

Anyone in the public eye deserves the same basic respect as the rest of us -- including not having their families pounced on unfairly. 

Just some observations.. 

Let's Agree to Disagree

I think the reason I have a number of friends who have been good friends for many years is because I can say "Let's agree to disagree" and they can do that. Most of my friends are either very conservative or very liberal. Few are in the murky waters in the middle, like me.

I was reminded of the fact that this country has become disturbingly divided when I read this excellent piece in the New York Times, The Dying Art of Disagreement.

An excerpt from this piece really hit home for me:

"We disagree about racial issues, bathroom policies, health care laws, and, of course, the 45th president. We express our disagreements in radio and cable TV rants in ways that are increasingly virulent; street and campus protests that are increasingly violent; and personal conversations that are increasingly embittering. 

This is yet another age in which we judge one another morally depending on where we stand politically."

This REALLY hit home, and made me stop and think how I would feel if one of my kids married someone I disagreed with politically:

"The polarization is personal: Fully 50 percent of Republicans would not want their child to marry a Democrat, and nearly a third of Democrats return the sentiment. Interparty marriage has taken the place of interracial marriage as a family taboo."

Of course, part of my pausing to think included me wondering if I would be more disturbed by one of my kids marrying a diehard Democrat or a diehard Republican. I am still thinking over that one.

I have friends who no longer speak to me because they disagreed with me during the last presidential election. It bothers me that they cannot see that I did what I always do, every four years, voted for the lesser of two evils. I couldn't even debate with them about it, they just un-friended me on Facebook and in actual life, mush to my sadness.

Last night I mentioned to my son that I think pro athletes should show respect for our national anthem and not use a sporting event as a political platform. I didn't expect the violent response I got from him. He literally shouted at me until I just stopped trying to talk to him. I found it a little frightening, frankly, because I wanted him to just calmly talk to me and explain why he disagreed, not shout me down.

Of course, when I read the New York Times article this morning it really resonated because I thought of Michael's reaction last night.

Unlike most 21 year olds around here, my son wasn't born into middle class or wealthy privilege. He lived a pretty wild existence his first 8 years with an alcoholic birthmom, often homeless and hungry. He didn't get appeasement instead of discipline. He didn't get any participation trophies.

However, he is susceptible to influence by other people his own age, and they do not brook disagreement.

As writer Bret Stephens points out that many millennials consider it "...“acceptable” for a student group to shout down a speaker with whom they disagree. An astonishing 20 percent also agree that it’s acceptable to use violence to prevent a speaker from speaking."

Everything is offensive nowadays. Everyone is "spoiling for a fight" as my daddy used to say. How can one argue anything if there's a huge fear of offending some group?! Stephens illustrates this well:

"The result is that the disagreements we need to have — and to have vigorously — are banished from the public square before they’re settled. People who might otherwise join a conversation to see where it might lead them choose instead to shrink from it, lest they say the “wrong” thing and be accused of some kind of political -ism or -phobia. For fear of causing offense, they forego the opportunity to be persuaded."

What is the remedy for this situation? I don't know. I don't agree with everything Stephens says in his article. I am not sure journalism is the cure. However, I will note this -- journalism today is more infotainment than it was when I was a kid. I watched a lot of news programs as a kid because during the commercials I could actually talk to my dad. He rarely sat still except to watch the news at night, so there were only small windows of time when I could talk to him. All that news watching made me aware of the greater world outside myself more so than many of my peers.

However, maybe journalism is our only hope.

 

I sometimes think my curse is that I am always able to see both sides of any question.

I understand the viewpoint of the athletes who "take a knee" during the national anthem. They are trying to illustrate that people of color in America often aren't treated fairly. They aren't, oftentimes. It's a valid point. I just don't think their protests are the best way to effect real change.

We are all biased, even those of us who are wicked smart.

I have a friend who is homeschooling her kids and overall doing a terrific job, except for one thing. She doesn't encourage any of them to go to college. She didn't go. However, she is one of the smartest people I know and I am often in awe of her ability to express herself in writing. (She blogs.) Truthfully, only perhaps one or two of her many children might do well in college. However, it's impossible to point out to her that her own personal bias shouldn't extend to her kids. She cannot see it.

I have dealt with that before.

I grew up with parents who said YOU WILL go to college. No discussion. I asked my Dad if I could take off a year after high school and just work and his response was a vehement NO. So I started college at 17 but I think I would have really done better if I had taken off that year, grown up a bit more. My parents were able to pay for my college without me having to get loans and pay them back, or work to pay my tuition, and so they viewed my not wanting to start college right away as evidence of ingratitude. They both had to work very hard to get through school, with little or no help from parents.

The point I am trying to make is that we are all prisoners of our individual life experiences. How can we really "think outside the box" if we cannot acknowledge there actually IS a box and we are in it?!

When I was in high school I took a class in debating. I was assigned to debate with another student and I had to argue that Communism was a good thing for China. I didn't agree with that, but as an intellectual exercise it was good for me to have to research and present that point of view. However, the teacher assigned the opposite view to a student who was Asian, whose parents had fled communist China. Very smart girl. She didn't do as well as I did in the debate because to her it was personal. It was impossible for her to be really objective and she got upset with me for taking the opposite side. We were casual friends before the debate but afterwards she wouldn't speak to me. It hurt my feelings, but it taught me a harsh lesson: it's all personal. All of it.

Journalism will never be truly objective because we journalists are human. However, we must STRIVE to be objective, even if it's an unobtainable goal. We must try. We must try to understand views different from our own. We must listen. We must research. If we don't, if we allow blind anger to prevail, everybody loses.

We must teach our children to try and really understand the views of people we disagree with. The kids need to put down their phones and actually talk to each other. They have to try. Only when this current climate of divisiveness cools down will I feel less anxious about the future.

Fixing the Problems

I don't have much respect for athletes or anyone who doesn't respect the national anthem or the flag of the United States. My ancestors have fought in every single war since the revolution, fought so that everyone can live in freedom in our great nation. They put their lives at risk. Some lost their lives.

Why?

America is worth fighting for. It's worth dying for. It's the one nation on earth that overthrew its oppressors and changed the world, at a time when that looked impossible.

Do we have problems in America now? Of course. We have tons of problems. So does every country in the world.

Should we have elected Trump? I don't know.

I do know this: refusing to be respectful when the national anthem is played, refusing to honor our flag -- those are actions which are empty. Nothing is accomplished by those actions. Nobody is helped by those actions.

Here's what I want to say to Colin Kaepernick and all those athletes who take a knee rather than stand for our anthem: PUT UP OR SHUT UP.

You don't like the way things are? Change them.

Angel McCoughtry is a professional athlete. I love this story about how she opened an ice cream store in her neighborhood. She puts people to work.

What about feeding the hungry? Jason Brown was a highly paid football player and now he is a farmer.

Ex-NFL player who made $25 million quit football at age 29 to become a farmer

He is helping the hungry and making things better.

Shaquille O’Neal Raises $5.8 Million for Charity with Toys”R”Us

Shaq is making things better.

Athletes are in a unique position to use their celebrity and influence to help people. The ones who do so have my respect and admiration.

The ones who simply "take a knee" should be thankful they live in a country where it's okay to protest. We have freedom of speech. We have freedom to speak and write what we like. We have those freedoms because men and women who love America risked their lives and some DIED for them.

You may not like everything that happens in this country, but you should still respect the flag, the anthem, the office of the president. It's basic courtesy.

Twenty Questions With Art Black

A few years ago I was contacted by a writer in  Alabama who was interested in my grandfather Bob Hasty's experiences playing for the Birmingham Barons from about 1928-31. While he was there, the Barons went to what was basically the World Series of baseball in the south, at that time, the 1931 Dixie League championship. Papa pitched in that, against a young Dizzy Dean.

The writer, Art Black, and I corresponded a lot by email and eventually he let me know his book was published. It's a beautiful book, well researched, Showdown at Rickwood. Here's more about it: "The dramatic 1931 Dixie Series between the Birmingham Barons and the Houston Buffaloes serves as the backdrop of the newly published book Showdown at Rickwood. Written by local author Art Black, the book focuses not only baseball culture in the Magic City, but explores as well the social and economic climate of the Birmingham district as it was evolving into a major industrial center during the early decades of the 20th century. Through World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and the onset of the Great Depression, Birmingham and its citizens weathered the turbulence of national and international events. In the midst of this unrest, many found respite in the calming rhythms of the national pastime." [from the press release]

I wanted to interview Art Black about his book and his fascination with baseball history. He's a fascinating guy, and an excellent researcher and writer. Although now retired, he has been a technical writer and a sports information writer for Furman University and Wofford College in South Carolina. This is his first book, and it represents 6 1/2 years of meticulous (and sometimes tedious) research and writing. He looked through microfilm for many hours to learn the facts presented in the book.

However, I want to emphasize that Showdown at Rickwood is also about a period of time in American history and the history of Birmingham [Alabama]. Art explains, "My idea about the book was to make it more about the people, and not a year-by-year, game-by-game kind of thing. I think that's what people like, to feel invested in the characters."

Personal stories abound in the book, and they are fascinating.

 

What got you interested in The Birmingham Barons?

As a teen, in the late 1960s, early 70s, I loved going to games at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.  It is now America’s oldest ball park.  Before I was old enough to drive, I had to beg someone to take me to games – a next-door neighbor, my father, or grandfather.  After I got my driver’s license, I usually went by myself. 

What got you interested in writing Showdown at Rickwood? [click on the link for purchase information]

They celebrated Rickwood Field’s 100^th birthday with an event in August 2010.  Allen Barra, a noted writer and author, had just published a book about Rickwood Field, and I wanted to meet him.  I told Allen I wanted to write a book about Rickwood.  He said, “There’s one book still out there – the industrial leagues.”  Back in the 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, baseball was THE sport in America and vital to the social and cultural life of every city.  Companies, large and small, had baseball teams for their employees to play on.  There were leagues of these teams, and the industrial league games were written up in the newspaper.  I think that’s fine, but it’s not what I wanted to write a book about.  Days after I met Allen Barra, I began looking at newspaper microfilm in the library, beginning with 1950 and going further back in time.  I said to myself: If I go back to the 1930s, the newspaper won’t have much coverage about baseball, but it did.  Then I said, If I go back to 1912, they won’t have much coverage.  But you know what?  They did.  It seemed the further back I went, the better the coverage.

Were you able to speak with anyone who attended any of those games?

I interviewed the Birmingham Barons batboy from 1950, but that story is on the cutting room floor.  A year after I interviewed him, I refined the time period of my book to cover the years 1910 to 1931.  I’ll include the batboy in the next book, as I move ahead in time.

What was the hardest part of writing the book?

The tedium.  I scrolled through newspaper microfilm, day by day, page by page, year by year, of two newspapers for my time period, 1910-1931, not just looking at sports but looking at national news, local news, editorials, letters to the editor.  I spent thousands of hours looking at microfilm.  Some days I didn’t take a single note.  On days that I found a gem of information – something I could use – it was all worthwhile.  The project - researching, writing, editing, and laying out the book - took six-and-a-half years.

Do you know anyone on the current Birmingham Barons roster?

No, I do not.  I don’t go to games much anymore.  I’m busy being productive in other ways.

Now that Showdown at Rickwood is finished, what’s your next project?

Over the past two years, as we edited and laid out the book, I never stopped researching.  Presently, I’m 15 years beyond my time period of 1910-1931, still looking at microfilm.  I intend to research through the 1950s and cover the 30 or 40 years after the time period of my present book.  Think about this: I have read in newspapers of the day about the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, Lindbergh flying across the Atlantic - a huge event, by the way, the stock market crash, the Great Depression, and World War II.  Unfortunately, one can’t read every story he comes across.  You’d get diverted from your main objective, which is searching for information to help you write the book.

The best way to buy the book?

Go to the website, [link]. You can email Art at [email protected] for an autographed copy.

 

THE STANDARD TWENTY QUESTIONS

What is your full name?

Arthur King Black, Jr.

Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world?

I’m happy where I am. I’ve decided that writing my next book is how I will live out my life, and I can’t research the topic living in another city.  If you forced me to answer your question, I’d say New York.  I might get tired of the hustle and bustle, but I’d like to give it a try.

What is your favorite movie and why?

I would go back to around 1980 and the movie “10.”  Bo Derek was beautiful.  Also from the time period, the Peter Sellers’ movie, “Being There,” because of its subtle humor, and a few years later, “Hoosiers,” a truly inspirational movie.

What was your least-favorite subject in school when you were a kid?

Math.  Doesn’t everyone say that?  I chose the liberal arts college I attended partly because it didn’t have a math requirement, if you can believe a college didn’t require you to take math.

What was your nickname when you were a kid?  I didn’t have one.  My name is Art, short for Arthur. When I played little league baseball, people in the stands yelled: “Come on, Artie, get a hit!”  I hated that nickname.

Do you believe in God? 

Someone’s watching over us.

What sound or noise do you love?

The purring and the mewing of a cat.

If you could do anything other than what you do, as a profession, what would it be? 

I admire truly intelligent people – for instance, the great scientists or the mathematicians, the people who have changed the world.  I would love to have been an astronaut, the first person to go to the moon.

If heaven exists, what do you think it is like?

Here’s what I hope: that we’ll be with our family members once again - parents and grandparents - when we were all young and vibrant.

Do you have siblings?

My mother had six children in nine years, three boys and three girls.

What is your favorite memory of childhood?

Collecting baseball cards and opening the package to find my first Mickey Mantle while visiting my grandmother in South Carolina, the summer of 1961.

If you had to choose between one week traveling around the USA by car, or one week traveling around Europe on a train, which would you choose and why?

Traveling Europe by train – all the history you’d see while someone else does the driving.

What inspires you?

Getting up every day at 4 o’clock in the morning and going to the gym, before the rest of the world wakes up, knowing I’ve done something good for myself, and the good feeling I have when the workout is over.

What project or idea are you most passionate about, right now?

Writing my next book.  It’s my life at the moment.  There’s so much to do and so little time to do it.

Do you know how to cook?

I know enough to prepare vegetables and rice to go with my meal.  I usually fix baked chicken, fish, or a frozen entrée, along with the vegetables. 

What is your favorite thing to cook/eat?

Turkey or anything Italian.  As a dessert, anything chocolate.

If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, for 2-4 weeks, all expenses paid, where would you go and why?

I don’t have a desire to go anywhere at this stage of my life.  I guess I’m becoming a homebody in my old age.  Sad, isn’t it?

What question has nobody ever asked you, but you wanted to answer?

If you want something related to the book, then “Why did you write the book?”  My answer is: Not to sell books and not to make money.  It was something more personal.  I wanted to preserve the neat old stories that are in the book before they are lost to the dustbin of history.  As a corollary, I wanted to leave something behind after I’m gone.

Encounters with Holyfield

I woke up and checked Facebook and one of my cousins posted this story: UGA's Elijah Holyfield arrested on drug charges in Athens. I didn't even know a Holyfield was playing for UGA.

Now, since it's his first offense [hopefully] he should get off pretty lightly, legally. How the football coach deals with it I don't know. I doubt that even casual marijuana use would be good for an athlete's health.

This is disturbing to me for a couple of very personal reasons that have nothing to do with football.

I should say, first of all, that boxing champion Evander Holyfield lives in Atlanta. I saw him once, years ago, [around 2001] when I was eating lunch at Houston's, a popular local restaurant. I got up to go to the restroom and passed him, walking. He is much smaller in person than what you see on TV. The website says he is 6'2 but he didn't seem that tall. However, he has an incredibly powerful presence. He was sitting at a really large round table with a lot of friends and they were obviously having a great time. Nobody was bothering them. We are pretty used to seeing celebs in Atlanta.

Nobody at the table with Holyfield was being loud or obnoxious. They were laughing and having a good time, though, and I just got the overall impression that Evander was a good guy with good folks around him. Evander is my age and also an Atlantan and I feel an affinity for him for those reasons, and because I have always loved the sport of boxing, since I started watching Muhammed Ali as a child.

A few years later I had another encounter, this one with his wife. I'm not sure which wife, to be honest, but it was round 2003-04.

When I knew I was going to adopt my daughter, I signed up to take Russian language classes at a small language school near my office. I went a couple of times a week, after work. I am good with languages [French and Italian] but Russian is wickedly difficult. I never really learned the alphabet, which is 36 letters and two sounds, unpronounceable to Americans I should add. I gave it my best effort. Finally my teacher, a young Russian woman, gave me a handout with a bunch of Russian "mommy" words and phrases, which was really helpful. I memorized all the phrases and muddled through that way until my daughter knew enough English. (Communication was very difficult for a while but that's not the subject of my blog today.)

Anyway, one evening when I went to class I noticed a very pretty black lady sitting in the reception area of the office with a cute little boy, about 3-4 years old. I don't remember how or why it came up in our class, but the teacher explained that the lady was the mother of the little boy and he was the child of Evander Holyfield.

The teacher said the mother demanded the child be taught, as I recall, about 4 languages, including Japanese and Russian. The teachers would sit with him, one on one, and try to just conversationally teach him. My teacher said to me privately that it was a huge waste of her time because the child had no interest in learning languages and a very short attention span. Well he was less than 5 years old. DUH.

I wonder if that child was Elijah. Quite possibly. The math works.

A quick Google search reveals Holyfield has 11 children with 6 different women. He was sued in 2012 for owing more than half a million dollars total in back child support. He had declared bankruptcy in 2008. His mansion was foreclosed on around the same time.

What happens when extraordinary athletes from impoverished backgrounds are suddenly catapulted to fame and fortune? This is what happens. They mis-manage their money. The become prey to women who just want to exploit them. They do not understand business and personal finance at all, and they often fall victim to substance abuse, too. Everyone wants a piece of them. That would be hugely difficult for anyone to handle, but add in a background that didn't prepare him for fame and fortune, and the pressures of having to stay on top as an athlete, and it's no wonder a professional athlete from a poor background often has a very messy life.

I read the comments on one of the news stories about Elijah this morning and was rather irritated. One commenter basically said "this kid has an easy life and will never have to work a single day why feel sorry for him." Passing judgment like that, without any knowledge of the facts, is just so hurtful and counter-productive. I think it's probably very difficult to be the son of a boxing champion with a very high profile like Evander Holyfield. If he was the child I encountered who was being forced to learn 4 new languages as a toddler, what does that say about how he was parented?

I have made a resolution recently to make a much bigger effort to stop judging other people and situations that don't involve me. I have often, in my younger years especially, been too quick to judge and to criticize, and it's a character flaw I still struggle with today.

Judging should be left to God. The bible says it clearly "Judge not, lest ye be judged."

Who are we to judge anyone?

My grandfather Bob Hasty was catapulted from the Army into minor league baseball in 1919 and then into the major leagues a year later. The first time he ever saw a major league baseball game, he was pitching in it. Nothing had prepared him for celebrity. Nothing had prepared him for trying to manage his career or his money. He took some of his earnings and bought a farm in North Georgia, and lost it during the Depression when his career in the majors was over. He was accused of a crime he didn't commit and lost his big league career because of it. He faced a lot of adversity and did his best in life, with mixed results, financially. He was still a wonderful man, respected and loved by his family, friends, and fans. He never turned down an autograph request. He was lucky to have a smart, good wife by his side. Athletes don't get to do what they love forever. Careers end, but life goes on. (I am just mentioning this because I know more than the average bear about the challenges faced by professional athletes.)

I said a prayer that young Elijah will be able to rebound from the arrest and chart a new, healthy course for his life. I'm sure his dad is worried about him. I also prayed for his dad, Evander. The handsome, confidant man I saw years ago doesn't deserve bad luck, any more than anyone else. A recent article says he is looking to be a promoter now. Good for him. I hope and pray that he has a successful life, and his son is able to have a successful life, on the playing field but also in his personal life.

Let's quit tearing people down, quit judging them, and just send prayers and positive energy. Let's remember the Golden Rule applies to everyone, and if we call ourselves Christians we are called to love one another, not judge one another.

Brazil Olympics Disaster

Someone asked me the other day if I was watching the Olympics coverage. I'm not. It got me to thinking, why not? When I was a kid I always watched the Olympics. Summer games, winter games - I was glued to the TV. Of course back then we only had three channels, so very little choice in what to watch.

I've never been a fan of hockey but I remember vividly how I felt watching the 1980 hockey game where team USA won, called The Miracle on Ice. I was very proud of our team and proud to be an American. That was the last hockey game I ever watched. It might have something to do with the fact I graduated from high school that year and started college, and life got really busy then - and has stayed busy. Or not. Being a Southerner, hockey just isn't big here. Even our own Atlanta Thrashers eventually gave up and went to Canada, eh.

However, I'm not here to write about hockey.

So far, the Rio Olympics seem to be disastrous.

That makes me angry and sad.

For months we've been seeing news coverage about the zika virus. Back in June, Time magazine wrote Zika Has People Freaked Out About the Olympics But Experts Aren's Worried. Some athletes decided not to go to the Olympics due to health worries.

I was horrified yesterday to see the video of Scary injury: French gymnast Samir Ait Said snaps his leg on vault on Facebook. Hasn't France had enough issues lately?! Sacre bleu!

What horrifies me most, since swimming is the only competitive sport I've ever attempted [4 years on the neighborhood team anyway] is that some athletes are going to be swimming in RAW SEWAGE. What Happens When There's Sewage in the Water?

That article was from back in March. The issue hasn't gotten better.

According to a British article: Rio 2016: Athletes warned to keep mouths closed when swimming in faeces-infested water "Researchers found that many of the beaches in Rio de Janeiro have been long contaminated with raw sewage, household garbage, and even dead bodies, creating hazardous swimming conditions for the 500,000 people expected to descend on the city in August.

“Foreign athletes will literally be swimming in human crap, and they risk getting sick from all those microorganisms,” Rio paediatrician Dr Daniel Becker told the New York Times. “It’s sad but also worrisome.”

UGH.

How desperate are you to win a medal? Desperate enough to swim in poopy water?!? Bumping dead bodies out of the way? Keeping water out of your mouth while swimming in a race isn't really possible. Lots of splashing goes on. I know this from experience.

My family had a speedboat when I was growing up and I remember my disgust sometimes at the dirty water in Lake Loudoun near Knoxville. However, that was was pristine in comparison to Rio.

I do not understand WHY the Olympics people didn't inspect the water and make the Brazilians clean it up! WTH?! They should move to safe, clean waters, and penalize Brazil for this. It's absolutely disgusting and - far worse - a huge health risk. Dang y'all, get it together.

I do not want to watch our athletes, or any athletes, swim in raw sewage. This is ridiculous.

 

above, at the lake with my dad and cousins, abt. 1977

Yoga for Dogs

I have heard of the many benefits of yoga, and wanted to try it. One of the ladies in my book group suggested some yoga poses I could do to help with menopause symptoms. I can do these on the bed. Yay.

I am not as flexible as I used to be...

Lola was sound asleep on the floor when I started my yoga. On her back. Legs sprawled out. Tongue peeking out. Snoring. Something like this:

Next thing I know, she is on the bed, licking my face.

I got tickled.

I gently pushed her away.

She came back for more licking.

I pushed her away.

Finally I said "No! This is MY yoga!" She moved away, with a heavy sigh. [I wondered if she could do the downward dog pose? Why yes, now that I think about it, I've seen her do that one...]

Maybe I should enroll her in doggy yoga?! I bet they have such a thing in California.

Not here, though. Not that I know of...

We do have doggy Day Spas. The Atlanta Dog Spa. I didn't see yoga classes on their website. However, they do dog weddings and parties.

Yes, you read that right.

I love dogs. Love love love my Lolababy. But a WEDDING?!

Lola is a celebrity in our neighborhood. Whenever I take her to walk, folks slow down their cars and admire her.

My neighbor's two little boys came over late yesterday afternoon. I was sitting on the couch watching TV -- not something I do often, BTW -- and I heard a noise and the boys [ages 5 and 2] were standing outside the french doors with their faces pressed to the glass. Henry saw Lola - he is the 2 year old - "OLA!" he shrieked.

So "OLA" and I walked out to the front yard to visit. Henry petted Lola. She gave him a lick. William petted her and then wanted to show me how he could race around in his scooter.

Lola is a lover of everyone.

I wanted to get a photo of Lola with Henry [a blonde pixie-like cutie] but Henry never stays still for very long.

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In other news...

I had a meeting with Michael's teachers to discuss his 504 plan. All handicapped [I hate that word] kids in public school are entitled to a 504 plan to accommodate what they need for school success. I was so impressed with the Gateway to College teachers. It was a very positive meeting.

Michael is doing well in all his classes. Hallelujah.

He didn't get in until 10:30 last night, so we need to work on his getting enough sleep and eating enough.

He came home from work last night with a go box full of pasta that somebody sent back to the kitchen. He ate most of it. I had a bite. Delicioso. Don't know why they sent it back.

Mike said all the folks at the restaurant are surprised that he can handle anything. He can bus tables. He can carry dishes. He can get delivery orders ready. He doesn't need any extra help. He is strong and as hard a worker as anyone. The hand is simply an inconvenience.

So far the only complaint from him is that his car smells like Italian food. I pointed out that there are far worse ways for a car to smell..

More will be revealed...

Mike in his work clothes

Monday Recap

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Superbowl last night, I must admit. I am not a big football fan and I haven't the faintest idea how the game is played, but it was fun to watch the Seahawks win.

Michael complained that it wasn't a good game, a close game. Bah humbug.

Lots of complaints about the commercials, too. Everyone on Facebook was complaining. There again, I had no expectations so I wasn't disappointed.

Another big deal for me yesterday was that we went to Petsmart and got Lola a new walking harness called a Gentle Leader. So the leash is attached at her snout, and if she tries to pull ahead too hard, her head is jerked around, which she really doesn't like. So I walked her this morning as usual and she DIDN'T PULL! YAY!

You have no idea how important that is. She has pulled me really hard, to the point I was worried about falling over.

I really enjoy walking her. I enjoy getting outside. I don't listen to music. I just walk. Sometimes I see neighbors and stop and chat. It helps me to know I am getting a little exercise and she is a happy camper.

When we went to Petsmart yesterday I signed Lola up for obedience training. She needs to learn to obey simple commands, and she loves treats, so we are hopeful it will work.

The Superbowl Zombies

Wow, I had a lighthearted post all written in my mind as I was coming home a little while ago, and then I heard the news about Phillip Seymour Hoffman. What a loss. I have been admiring his abilities for years, even as far back as Leap of Faith, one of my all-time fave movies.

He's also memorable in The Big Lebowski, even though he's one of the few actors that doesn't get to utter the line "that rug really tied the room together."

RIP, Phil. Drugs are so very very scary, and they just destroy lives. You cannot control them. If you use them at all, particularly heroin, it ends up enslaving you. I have seen drugs wreak havoc on people I love and that's what makes it tough for me to stomach the growing movement to legalize marijuana.

On to lighter topics...

I let Michael sleep in and I went to Kroger this morning about 11:30, hoping to beat the church crowd. I did, pretty much. However, the Superbowl Zombies were out.

What? You aren't familiar with the Superbowl Zombies?!

Let me describe a a typical Superbowl Zombie. He is male, between 25 and 45, and he carries a shopping basket because getting a cart doesn't look macho enough. He wanders Kroger looking haunted, searching and searching for the beer [front of store, Dude] and the chips [middle, behind the pharmacy]. He is pitiful, scared, and defiant, all at once. He needs groceries for the superbowl party, and he knows this is the place, but it scares him.

There is a counterpart. The Superbowl Shopping Date Guy. He wanders around Kroger asking his girlfriend where everything is, and arguing about what chips to buy. She often looks as clueless as he does.

I shop that Kroger every week and I know where everything is. I know what they stock. I should hire myself out as a tour guide on Superbowl Sunday.

I was vastly amused to see this display this morning:

Some marketing genius came up with a yuppie-fied version of moonshine, right down to the mason jars. It's a malt beverage, though, some kinda fancied up beer, not the real deal.

Not that I advocate drinking 'shine. Tried it once, in college. Got sick drunk. Don't advocate using it for anything except possibly cleaning off tools.

Of course, they also had a HUGE display of chicken wings.

Normally, I go to Publix for wings. Their wings are far superior to Kroger's, in my opinion. I was therefore amused to see this huge display of wings at Kroger. I tried one of the BBQ wings. Not bad. I asked the guy how much per lb. "We don't sell them by the pound."

Really?! Since when??

"We sell these by the piece. 79 cents a piece."

How did he say that with a straight face?!

GOOD GAWD ALMIGHTY!! Price gouging at the Kroger. Taking advantage of the helpless Superbowl Zombies so desperate to have pre-cooked wings they would pay $8-10 for a lb. of chicken wings!! Not me. I wasn't born yesterday.

I will be watching the Superbowl this year, but for 3 reasons. One, the national anthem is being sung by an opera singer - so for maybe the first time in my memory it will be sung RIGHT!! Two, I like Bruno Mars and he's doing the halftime show. Three, I want to see the commercials.

I am not particularly interested in football. However, I will cheer for the Seahawks. I have family in Washington State [Hi Bill and Wendy!] and friends who live out there, so I will cheer for the Seahawks.

Our Superbowl Supper will be BLT's, but we don't use lettuce. Sliced bread, sliced tomatoes on top, then some good sliced cheese [I got Havarti] and a couple of small pieces of bacon. Run it under the broiler until the cheese melts. YUM. Seriously.

An Amazing Time

Really super busy day here, but very good, too, on many levels.

We got the 2 carpets in the downstairs cleaned this morning by a company called ZeroRez. Coco had been so sick and I just couldn't keep up with spot cleaning, so we decided to go ahead and get the carpets cleaned. Hopefully they will stay that way for a while now, since Lola is housebroken.

Then we had to get the bug guy out here, late morning. It was terrible telling him about Coco. She absolutely adored him and would bark insanely whenever he came. He's a very gentle guy who has been coming several times a year for years now. He's very good with dogs.

We've had a horrible time this year with box elder bugs. Joe said it was the result of all the rain we've had over the summer.

I think sometimes I would love to be able to time travel, and then I ponder the notion that there were no pest control companies 100 years ago, I don't think.

The highlight of the day, however, was that Michael was able to go down to Georgia Tech late this afternoon and spend some time with the women's tennis coach Rodney Harmon, who I met through a friend of a friend. Rodney is one of the nicest guys around, and he took the time to give Michael a lot of valuable pointers about his tennis game, and some pointers about life. I was listening and everything he said was very true, and Mike listened. 

Probably the most valuable thing he said to Mike was that you have to not lose your temper when you play. You win by not out-playing the opponent, but by out-thinking them.

I told Mom that and she just nodded. She's the daughter of a professional baseball player.

He also said there are going to be ups and downs, and you have to remember that when things look bleak. It evens out. You have to be philosophical.

Great life lessons.

He encouraged Mike to do his schoolwork, and work on his serve, and come to see the Tech tennis matches in January and February, which would be fun for Michael.

When we were in the car going home Michael said "I thought I was going to just get a tennis lesson, and I got a life lesson..." He wasn't mad. He was incredulous, especially after I told him Rodney's background, which is amazing. For instance Rodney coached tennis in the 2008 Olympics.

The tennis lesson was done as a favor, and may or may not ever happen again, but the nice thing is that Michael feels encouraged about tennis, and knows someone outside our normal circle cares about him. What a huge blessing.