SOMETIMES THEY REALLY DO GO IN THREES








Goodbye Barney, Chester and Carl Kolchak. Or was that Gus the bookie, or was that Mr. Parker from "A Christmas Story?" So many great characters, so many laughs, and so much talent. May God keep you and save you.

WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY EMBOLDENS TERRORISTS!!!



Yeah, its a headline grabber all right. Take out the name - a living secular-saint in conservative circles - and plug in Maureen Dowd, or Paul Krugman, or Michael Moore or (recently on Smarmy Hannity) Alec Baldwin or Ronald Brownstein or Robert Scheer and you get a trite Repub-neanderCon talking point for FNC and talk radio mental midgets all over the country. Don't expect to hear the Savage Weiner say this about Buckley . . . well, okay, that guy would say just about anything, bad example. El Rusho de Oxycontina won't utter this line, ditto Falafelboy, and don't look to hear Ollie or Gordo the rat-eater say it, either. But when Buckley says this, mark ye well, and hearken back to the day when LBJ had his legendary post-Tet Offensive Epiphany - "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America." No, crass and curmudgeonly, tricky and nefarious, LBJ had nine times the smarts that the current WH occupant has, plenty enough to realize when the bubble had burst. We're not gonna be so lucky this time, no doubt due to the omnipresence of so many loud louts like the aforementioned, each of whom will get their dutiful fax from Rove-Norquist and begin spewing in unison the latest in diversionary language. Nevertheless, here is an excerpt, from a whole column that is worth the read:

" 'I can tell you the main reason behind all our woes — it is America.' The New York Times reporter is quoting the complaint of a clothing merchant in a Sunni stronghold in Iraq. 'Everything that is going on between Sunni and Shiites, the troublemaker in the middle is America.' . . .One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed. The same edition of the paper quotes a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Reuel Marc Gerecht backed the American intervention. He now speaks of the bombing of the especially sacred Shiite mosque in Samara and what that has precipitated in the way of revenge. He concludes that 'The bombing has completely demolished' what was being attempted — to bring Sunnis into the defense and interior ministries."

YOU KNOW YOU'RE STILL REPUBLICAN IF . . .

Okay, okay, Jimmy Lohman's recent contribution to Buzzflash gets credit for this inspiration, and let's face it, he probably got some of his from spending formative years reading "MAD Magazine," but there are even more of these that could be extended . . so LOST's appear betwixt and between Jimmy's fine effort.



You are more upset about Brokeback Mountain than Abu Ghraib.

George Clooney and Alec Baldwin are Hollywood Loonies, but my how you love Mel Gibson and Bruce Willis

You can’t stand Hilary Clinton’s hair but you have no problem with Tom DeLay’s.

Condi is a wonderfully cerebral woman, but Barbara Boxer is a crazy B*tch

You think Global Warming is no big deal but environmentalists are a major problem.

You're convinced that teachers' unions have destroyed public schools, rather than the mass exodus to the private schools by upwardly mobile "haves" and "have mores"

You support the "war on drugs" but think Rush Limbaugh is being prosecuted unfairly.

You're convinced that Bill Clinton murdered people who got in his way even though he was never charged, but that Karl Rove and and Scooter Libby deserve a presumption of innocence

You think professional athletes make too much money but Sam Walton’s kids deserve everything they have.

You think union workers have priced manufacturing jobs out of the U.S. Economy, but that CEOs of lagging corporations like Ford and GM deserve to make 7 or 8 - figure salaries

You like the way George Bush walks.

The mere mention of the name "Clinton" makes you viscerally shudder

You think Al Gore is "wooden" and Donald Rumsfeld has charisma.

You admire Alberto Gonzales' legal acumen, but think Janet Reno was a dyke-puppet

You think CNN is biased but Fox News is neutral.

You think all of the Network News outlets are pinko-liberal run, even though they're owned by major corporations

You like the sound of Newt Gingrich’s voice.

You'd like to muzzle Ted Kennedy



You are sure the United States has the best education and health care systems in the world.

You think that the millions of uninsured are just lazy, cheap or "illegals"

You think Dick Cheney is a straight shooter.

You think Howard Dean is rabid-crazy

You think Michael Chertoff’s beard makes him look distinguished.

You Thought Tom Daschle was smarmy-slimy looking

You think the problem with our health care system is lawyers.

You think Cindy Sheehan is giving aid and comfort to terrorists

You think it was more important to locate Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress than to locate weapons of mass destruction.

You think that we're winning the war in Iraq

You don’t believe "terrorism" has made Rudy Giuliani an incredibly rich man.

You believe that Michael Moore hates America, but that Ann Coulter is just being "funny"

You believe freedom of speech covers everything Pat Robertson says and does, but burning a flag should be illegal.

You believe that the Federal Government did all it could to help New Orleans out with Katrina, but that the Mayor and Louisiana Governor gunked things up there

You can be in the same room with Brit Hume.

You think Dan Rather is a commie, and your not so sure about that Brokaw character, either



You have yourself convinced that the country and world are better off now than 5 years ago.

You think that the Average American owns a home and at least two SUVs

Come on, my 3 or 4 Loyal readers, play along. You know you can think of a few more of these . . .!

21 ON 23

Now that it's of legal age, our marriage will be in the bar, having a beer or two. It's definitely a conscientious objector, so don't even think of drafting it. Its relatively unique, sadly so among our peers, so we feel pretty lucky. It's healthy overall, even if a few hairs are out of place here or there. Its pretty quiet most of the time, but that doesn't make it boring, not by a longshot. Its fun without being too exotic or eclectic. Its comfortable but not ornate. It's well worn but not worn down or worn out. The warranty's run out by now, so it's carefully handled, but not hidden away in a cupboard or a hutch somewhere. Its funny at times, and it is sometimes disagreeable, but it is mainly constant. Its the sum total of its components and then some - a positive synergy. It's lightning quick in its movements and progressions, begging the question "how and where did that time go so quickly?"

SUNDAY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS



. . . What happens in Las Vegas may stay there, but what happens in Armstrong Ranch oozes out of so many birdshot holes. . . Is there anyone in the Democratic Party more principled than Russ Feingold? . . . How can I get excited about the Winter Olympics when the coverage fans the flames of selfish nationalism, while "our" team seems capable of winning gold medals only in sports that were recently invented here? When and how will China start calling for the collection of accounts with D.C. . . . Why does Karl Rove still have a job, and why is anyone still afraid of him . . . How stupid did Don Rumsfeld sound this week when he said We're losing the propaganda war because of bloggers - this from a wag of the Administration that has 2 cable networks in their back pocket, and the 3 major network news organizations on a tight leash at their heels . . . Roll on David Gregory, Keith Olbermann, Jack Cafferty, and Arianna Huffington, journalism's motto of "comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable" still resonates with a few of you . . . What is taking the jury so long in the case of People v. ("Father") Michael Wempe . . . If Congressman Duncan Hunter is really serious about his 2000 mile wall from Tijuana to Corpus Christi, why not create a "Sponsor a brick" drive? I'm sure lots of folks wishing to curb "illegals" will spring for a brick after eating their $2.99 Grand Slam at Denny's, or after cutting a check to Marco, their gardener, or Lucia, their housekeeper . . . when I want to know whether a scientifically studied phenomenon like global warming is real, I think the scientists should be asked before the novelists, by Crichton . . . Frank Capra and Wickard v. Filburn made the same great point . . . "Strange, isn't it, how one man's life affects so many others?", and "in the aggregate, everything affects Interstate Commerce" are different ways of saying the same thing - that we're all interconnected in some way. The cynical strain of the same observation is never underestimate the ability of people to narrow their vision and make selfish decisions . . . keep plugging away, Patrick Fitzgerald, you may be all that is standing between us and totalitarian Executive . . .

I GOT SHOT-FACED WITH DICK

Cheneyquaildick. You heard that here first. That's what this ought to be called. Another Whitehouse Whitewash from the people who believe that everyone else should take responsibility for their own actions.

I'm not sure I've heard a bigger bunch of birdshot in all my life. Two days after the Gasbag Dick is kowtowed to on Fox News for "remorse" without ever having to say "Sorry."

During his statement, Whittington said the past weekend involved "a cloud of misfortune and sadness that is not easy to explain, especially with those who are not familiar with the great sport of quail hunting."

He said he sent his love and respect to Cheney and his family.

"My family and I are deeply sorry for everything Vice President Cheney and his family have had to deal with," he said. "We hope that he will continue to come and seek the relaxation that he deserves."

So, here's a novel thought. As a cradle Catholic and the bane of elements within my own local Charismatically-crazed parish, LOST has always had trouble with the Fundavangelical concept of "The Rapture" you know, that all of the good folks with the good sense enough to have uttered the phrase that pays for all eternity and have "accepted a personal savior and invited Him into" their hearts will one day disappear into eternal paradise together like some synchronized swimming marathon. Oops, digression. Along with Rapture, LOST has always poo-poohed the Faustian idea of mere mortals making deals with the devil, the bargaining away of one's soul for personal, temporal gains. Well, this Administration has finally forced me to rethink that last one. Nothing would explain this gaggle of amoral misanthropes who wreak havoc with impunity for personal gain and call it altruism better than a monumental, blockbuster deal with Satan whereby the entire 5 or 6 levels of the GOP Leadership inked a deal with ol' Scratch; you know, a kind Diabolical Collective Bargaining Agreement, whereby they get away with anything, including the near homicide of big donors, and the latter wind up apologizing for causing harm to them.

Well, what if thats right, there WAS a big Luciferian package deal, and say, next Tuesday, at midnight, the deal goes, ahem,South, permanently. As in, all of the soul-sellers are called to their new eternal home. Maybe uber creepy Tim LaHaye could write a new series of books - the "Dragged Off" series, starting out with the first one, where, Wedesday, everyone wakes up in DC, and K Street is a ghost town. All the big lawbbying establishments are virtually empty. Toney townhomes in Georgetown quiet. Fox News showing test patterns and/or snow. Ditto CNN. Limbaugh doesn't show up for work. The White House is more eerily silent than the Haunted Mansion after closing time. And the only clue to the missing are these blackened, vaguely people-sized circles on the ground and a faint, but cloying smell of brimstone in every locale. Except for Rove's li'l half acre. That place looks like it imploded, and the rubble is in the form of a perfectly shaped pentagram.

Okay, a guy can dream, right?

A COSTCO-SIZED PACK OF LIES


It's what we've come to expect from Vice President Noxious Gasbag. Only talking to his consiglieres at Fox News - you know, the "We Distort, You (heh-heh) Decide" guys. Never NEVER NEVER saying "I'm sorry" or "I screwed up;" instead we get a Dr. Seuss like, "I'm-the-guy-who-pulled-the-trigger-that-fired-the-shot-that-hit-my-friend" sing song statement which is then spun like Rumplestiltskin on steroids into "remorse." The only remorse expressed was self-remorse, as in Feel sorry for ME, 'cause I had "one of the worst days of my life." I think Harry Whittington's day didn't end on a high note, either. That and if he said "Accurate" or "Accuracy" one more time - realizing this in its context of telling no one for nearly 24 hours about it ,and then not speaking to the public about it himself for nearly 5 days, what a colossal tool.

Their eyewitness thought Cheney had had a heart attack. If that is true, she must not have seen the shooting.

If Cheney saw "Harry fall" why the hell didn't he see Harry standing.

If Cheney really does "take responsibility" why not publicly countermand all the trolls and sycophants out there (Armstrong and McClellan to name two) who were trying to slide blame over onto Whittington?

Ditto the alcohol thing. If he had "one beer (ask any cop how often they've heard "one" or "two" beers from the weaver they've just pulled over at midnight)" why didn't he point out that the Sheriff's report was not accurate, or that Armstrong's initial assertions of "Dr. Pepper" were, ahem, not accurate?

Why does it take 14 hours to get a "Story" straight when there were 3 - 4 principals involved in the whole thing?

OHHH, THAT WILY "DAILY SHOW"

Okay, even if you can't stay up late and watch it live, it is oh-so-worth TIVO'ing. And if you don't have a TiVO (and who can blame you, the 12.95 monthly cost after buying the hardware is a bleeder) then you can at least click on the "Crooks and Liars" link on this page, and see what your missing.



Tonight, comedic genius Jon Stewart had all the guns blazing, OOPS, I mean called out the heavy artillery -well, he had his entire force marshalled, well, all the staff reporters were chiming in. Rob Corddry (pictured) had this to report,

"Jon, tonight the Vice President is standing by his decision to shoot Harry Whittington. Now according to the best intelligence available, there were quail hidden in the brush. Everyone believed at the time-there-were-quail in the brush. And while the quail turned out to be the 78 year old man. Even knowing that today, Mr. Cheney insists-he still would have shot Mr. Whittington in the face."

THE DICK IS SHOOTING HIS OWN NOW!!!!




Yes, the DICK's homicidal tendencies are no longer sated by the vicarious death and destruction he presides over in Iraq. He's now looking to make personal notches in his gun, though its being played off as an "accident."

Wonder if Nino Scalia will be goin' duck huntin' with him anytime soon? Any truth to the rumor that they were "Quayle" hunting at the time? Has anybody seen li'l Danny in awhile?

HEY COACH, FUNDAMENTALS WILL WIN THE STAPLES REMATCH



The only thing worse than watching a great Bruin basketball team go down to defeat to the Seattle Poodles - okay, well there are two things. One is watching the Bruins lose because of two very correctable fundamental issues - turnovers (20), and crappy free-throw shooting (19-29). The second is having to listen to Steve 'Grease-boy" Lavin blather on with useless cross-sports metaphors and assorted platitudes which remind all - in viscously putrid detail - what an idiotic move Pete Dalis made by hiring the greased one as Head coach in '97. A great Lavin-ism from yesterday "you can't work on fundamentals like free-throw shooting during the Season." Lavin oughta know; his teams were among the least-disciplined, fundamentally unsound groups in the entire long history of the program. He brought in loads of talent, and never developed any of it. Unfortunately, yesterday's great Bruin team had a Lavin relapse, and it showed.


Coach Howland, you CAN work on fundamentals during the season, even if it means shooting extra FT's at practice for every player who is below 70%. No excuse for missing more than 3 out of 10 at this level. 70% from the line, and 1 or 2 fewer turnovers was the difference in this ballgame.

CONFORM, AND WATCH WHAT YOU SAY

It was Sept. 14, 2004, just months before the presidential election, and this was a carefully orchestrated Bush-Cheney campaign rally in a hangar leased by Monaco Coach on Eugene Airport property. Attendees had gotten their free tickets from discriminating volunteers at the Lane County Republican Party headquarters; dissidents were screened out. The VP, dressed cowboy casual and seeming at ease with the crowd, had just finished saying, "Our accomplishments over the last four years have made America stronger, safer and better." "The word 'no' just came out of my mouth," Patterson recounted later. "I was at that moment visualizing women in different war scenes around the world screaming out for mercy. And I actually felt like my voice didn't come out, because nobody around me was reacting. That's when the men in black came up behind me and took me by the elbows. Go here to read the rest of this story.

Who are these people whose beliefs are soo fragile that they cannot brook the slightest dissenting view? Are the beliefs fragile, or is there, deep down in the psyche of every American, a mustard seed of faith that freedom and democracy are not as these malignant monsters portray it to be?

And while we're at it, understand that they've codified this to punish dissenters. Part of the Patriot Act, 18 U.S.C 1752 to be precise, reads as follows:

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person or group of persons -
(1) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in . . .

. . . (ii) any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area
of a building or grounds where the President or other person
protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily
visiting,

in violation of the regulations governing ingress or egress
thereto:

. . . (2) with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of
Government business or official functions, to engage in
disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to,
any building or grounds designated in paragraph (1) when, or so
that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly
conduct of Government business or official functions . . .;

(b) Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies to
commit such violations, shall be punishable by a fine under this
title or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both.
(c) Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies to
commit such violations, shall be prosecuted by the United States
attorney in the Federal district court having jurisdiction of the
place where the offense occurred.

Now, as someone legally educated but who never spent time in a Prosecutor's office, it still occurs to me that the highlighted phrase above is in the eye of the beholder. Is it someone with bells and whistles and screaming "F*** the President and the War" during a speech? Well, probably so. Is it someone wearing the same message on a t-shirt, but otherwise being quiet? I wouldn't think so, but the statute doesn't say that. Is it someone who simply doesn't have the same party affiliation as the President or the Veep? Is it someone who hasn't said or written complimentary things about the President, the Veep or the Administration? Does any of this matter at all, since we're in a time of war and the Congress authorized the President to do whatever is necessary to go after Al-Qaida? This is the latest schtick the Bushies have been touting to authorize domestic spying without getting warrants - even from the compliant FISA courts. Gonzales said as much last week in the Senate hearings. OF course, he also said that Washington and Lincoln used electronic surveillance on the enemy in a time of war too, but hey, who noticed that one?

You see, if the Administration's argument is right, then so long as the President, in his well-oiled mind, decides that such expressions hurt America and aid the terrorists, he is simply carrying out the mandate of Congress by pummeling, removing, and prosecuting those with dissenting views from his political appearances, speeches, etc..

Welcome to American Stepford, Where everybody likes the President. Pay no attention to the polls. Assault dissenters for Patriotic purposes!

WHOSE TURN TO DUMP THE SLEAZE BUCKET?

Well, the DICK told us that everything's okay 'cause the Spying has been vetted through the Administration. Chimpy sez we thwarted an attack on LA with shoe bombing hi-jackers - but didn't say it had anything to do with spying. The GOP took Sleazy Tom and put him in the Dukester's old seat. Brownie dropped a dime on Bushie - he knew about the levees before he had his guitar-man photo op but didn't care, probably because Kanye West is right, "they was only them people." The righteously indignant morons in Wingnut radio and TV were out in force criticizing liberals for praising Coretta King for her tiereless efforts to seek justice and equality and political fairness. Bildo'falafel told Sharpton on Fox that he wanted him in chains as his dying wish. Frist slipped pharmacy company immunity into an appropriations bill - so when Avian flu vaccine starts killing people, their families are SOL. Alberto Gonzales said that George Washington used electronic surveillance without a warrant during the Revolutionary war, and that makes Bushie's actions okey dokey. Arlen Specter didn't think lil' Albert needed to be under oath at the time. Oh, and McCain verbally lynched Obama, and Zell Lieberman backed him on the deal.

I think the bucket's full. Whose turn is it to dump the damn thing?

"IT'S BEEN LOOKED AT THOROUGHLY WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION"



Gee, I feel so much better. The guy who said we'd be greeted as liberators, that Iraq would be a cakewalk, that Saddam Hussein had reconstituted nuclear weapons, that last Summer was the Last Throes of the insurgency in Iraq, just said that the warrantless domestic spying program was okay because, as he told journalistic snail darter Jim Lehrer "It's been looked at thoroughly within the Administration."

The same Administration that gave us "Brownie"
The same Administration that fed us WMD crap
The same Administration that paid money to pundits to write fake news articles pimping their programs
The same Administration that screens speech audiences
The same Administration that harbors people who out CIA agents for political purposes
The same Administration that censors media coverage of the horrors of the war
The same Administration that sends troops into battle without enough body armor
The same Administration that's afraid of a middle aged mom of a dead soldier
The same Administration that didn't send enough armored vehicles into Iraq
The same Administration that's ignored the growing threats in Iran and North Korea
The same Administration that has let Osama bin Ladin stay alive and free
The same Administration who ignored briefings about bin Laden wanting to hijack planes and attack the US
The same Administration that has gutted environmental laws
The same Administration that has spent half a trillion dollars on an elective war
The same Administration that has slashed taxes during a time of war
The same Administration that ignored Enron's gaming of the energy market
The same Administration that tried to make political hay out of a brain dead woman and vilified her husband in the process
The same Administration that ignores global warming and climate change
The same Administration that slashed enforcement for mining safety
The same Administration that has watched manufacturing jobs spew overseas.

Those guys. They've thoroughly reviewed the spying.
Damn, I feel soo much better.

Novel Idea for Congress: Since torture, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, stop loss orders, and domestic spying are all being blamed on the post 9/11 "Force Resolution" from Congress, how 'bout the 535 members grow some 'nads and rescind the Resolution, so our civil liberties can be restored?

MAHONY & BAKER SHOULD BE SITTIN' HERE TOO!



Admitted serial molester Michael Wempe awaits his fate, as he sits in court, listening to final arguments in his criminal molestation trial. Men like Wempe don't deserve death - that's too easy. Their brand of evil deserves serious punishment. So does the behavior of those who enabled them. Roger the Dodger Mahony deserves to be punished for his slack-jawed "Gee we didn't know this wasn't curable in 1986" crap that enabled him to rationalize putting predators like Wempe and Michael Baker - the one time fresh-face of Catholicism in the next parish over from where LOST sang the hymns and held the paten for the communicants - back into the system at different parishes. Roger has been feeding the legal meter for sooo long you'd think he was a Soprano, hiding documents, playing like he cares while he's busy hiding the ball, keeping people from the measley measure of justice that a handful of dollars can provide to a shattered life. All the while, the message gets floated out into the parishes - you can hear it if you listen closely - that this isn't as big a problem as the lib'rul, Church-hating media makes it out to be, or this is about greedy trial lawyers. Are there greedy trial lawyers? LOST knows there is. Are there some journalists who hate the church? True enough. Did they create the fondling Michaels - Wempe and Baker? Hell no. Did those lib'rul journalists and money grubbing lawyers hurt those young children, ruin their adult lives? Not on your life. Did the Church hierarchy know it was going on? Don't make me laugh, because none of it is funny. Not one damn vignette of it. There is a Hell, and these perpetrators will have to reap a windfall of Divine mercy to avoid it. Their hierarchy enablers -on the other hand - should make their reservations and pack their Summer clothes for the journey. Until that day, they ought to resign, and load up on the ashes and sack-cloth

"GEE, PICKLES, WHY DOES THAT GUY HATE 'MERKA?"



Way to speak truth to power and the power-binging, Reverend Lowery. Have a ciggy, Laura. You KNOW you want one. And Twitchy, you and Jack D can go out back and have a li'l faced time, too. I know, 's hard work to face a crowd that doesn't cheer your every mangled phrase, isn't it?

CLIMBING TO THE TOP OF THE HEAP



LOST and son loaded up the car for trek down memory lane today. A drive up the 5 to the 10 to the land of the Wizard in the Blue and Gold City. Yes, the Wizard still packs 'em in, and he sits there in his corner seat and receives people like some real life Santa Claus, with children of all ages waiting to see him, get a smile from him, and some piggy folks demanding that he sign something for them. And that kindly old gentleman sits there and obliges - even though he'd probably rather watch his game being played on his court by the current crop of players from his program. No, really, this year especially, the Wizard must REALLY enjoy watching because this is once again a special team. Great talent, tremendous speed, and for the bulk of forty minutes on the Wooden Court the Bruins played smart, tenacious defense and selfless, agressive opportunistic offense as they took apart the Arizona Wildcats, and sent their coaches into near apoplexy in the first quarter (2 very quick Technical fouls) The Bruins wound up with an 84-73 victory, after leading by as many as 22 in the second half.

They're back. The Wizard knows it. Please, fellow Bruins and fans, let the Wizard watch more of the games in Peace, too. He's earned that right, you know?

ON TO SEATTLE, AND WE"LL WIN THERE, TOO!!!!!!!!!!!

THE PHONE CALL THAT DIDN’T COME



Memories flooded back this week around the homestead, watching the anticipation rise with every ring, and dampen with the response to each “Who’s calling, please?”

LOST’s family is blessed and benefited by so many great things. One of the greatest blessings are the LOST boys, who come in two sizes, but who are giants in so many ways that LOST cannot begin to describe. Sometimes it is easy to forget they’re not adults, with their outlook, awareness and vocabularies. And its painful to watch and feel them hurt.
This is especially true for the littlest LOST, who often shows gritty determination not found in his father, and missing from many, many people among LOST’s generation.

Last week, little LOST had his tryout for Majors in Little League. Little League – that traditional athletic repository for the blue-collar pageant parent mentality. Little LOST did his usual creditable job. Little LOST has never been the best hitter on his team, doesn’t have the strongest arm, and by far will not be the tallest or fastest person on a team. He’s just a gamer, a coach on the field who’ll do what the coaches ask and more. For two seasons, he’s been the kid the coaches have tossed out on the pitchers mound to “save” the game – because nobody else on the teams weathered that kind of pressure so well. This year was starting off rough already, as Little LOST's long-time assistant coach had moved across state lines last Summer, and late word from the League's Board was that Little LOST's manager for the past three Seasons was being nosed out of a Majors team, despite having volunteered as a coach for nearly a decade.

The “draft” of players for Majors was Tuesday. Surely the phone would ring Tuesday night? The call would come then. Okay, maybe Wednesday evening then? Both nights, calls came, but not THE call. In the meantime, stories of other kids from last years games getting their calls were flying about. A resigned 12 year old voice saying to his dad, Wednesday night: “If I’m not drafted, I don’t want to play.”

Thursday, with crushing certainty, the message was in: there was no draft for the fireplug. Another year in Minor A’s awaited. There were tears – so foreign to this stoic child's face, and sobs and there was the searing pain of rejection. Whether 8 or 80, rejection is among the worst sensations we humans can feel. And it puts out a second hand toxicity that could make cigarettes seem benign by comparison. LOST offered his dejected son the support of a father, but the caution that decisions of "what to do next" should never be made while the hurt is greatest. For the regret that flows from a bad decision hurts, too, and can last much longer. The sobbing boy was told that we create ourselves, we build ourselves by how we respond to negative situations. The boy was told that both Mom and Dad made decisions to give some sports pursuit up at the wrong time, and that three decades later the pangs of regret still reverberated. The boy wise beyond his years understood through his hurt. Before bed time, Thursday night, the gritty twelve year old voice declared, “Dad, I want to play this year.”

The boy, like his brother who made a similar decision about a play two years ago, is already a champion, before the first pitch has been thrown.

FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH

Yeah, CONGRESS shall make no law abridging the Freedom of Speech, But I, as your Pres-dent, can do so as part of my plenary war-making powers. 'Cause if second-guessers speak up, the terraists win"


From Americablog