A Mother’s Day Tale

Once upon a time a husband and his son planned the perfect Mother’s Day celebration for the wonderful woman in their lives. They started months ahead of time. And why not, after all you know a year in advance when it will fall. They organized activities bought many cards and presents and even hand made some special items– out of love. And why. Because she does so much for them and really, really deserves it. The sun was shining on a warm spring day and all was good in the world.

My wife is still waiting to live that fantasy. Maybe next year honey.

 I did manage to get a couple of cards. D bought some cards, made one and bought a nice present–the night before. After her annual walk for a breast cancer cure–in the pouring rain, and cold wind of Chicago 2008– we opened cards and the present. Then on to the Cubs game. It was cold and windy but at least the rain stopped. Most importantly they won!

Yes this game had everything. They were ahead for awhile. Then they fell behind in traditional old Cubs fashion. The relief pitcher walked the first two batters he faced with the bases already loaded. We were down two and it seemed colder than the 40 some degrees temperature. But wait. This is 2008. Game tied in the seventh on a 2 run home run by Reed Johnson, his first of the year. Then in the eigth we went ahead by two when Darryl Ward hit a pinch hit double–he had an average of .176 at the time. Finally Kerry Wood set the Diamondbacks down in order in the ninth. Somehow it seemed warmer all of the sudden.

For comic relief we had a fan jump onto the field only to be gang tackled and taken away in handcuffs. Then later on with the Cubs in the field someone decided to remake Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds“. No Tippi Hedren but two dozen sea gulls came swooping around center field. Over a dozen of them landed and just sat on the field while the others made menacing circles in the sky. It was quite the sight.

 

I dropped the family off at home, did the grocery shopping and picked up dinner. While not a fantasy level Mother’s Day I think she enjoyed it.

They Ought To Be Committed

Commitment.  Two of the definitions from Dictionary.com. Both apply to this story.

• a pledge or promise; obligation
• confinement to a mental institution or hospital

So let’s begin. First, how many eighth graders do you know who:

1. Are ready for college? (OK, I know one extremely bright girl who skipped high school completely and is doing phenomenally well in college. Name a second. Doogie Hauser does not count.)
2. Are prepared to make life altering decisions? ( I am not talking about hormonally driven ones. Those are not conscience decisions they are reactions to uncontrollable forces.)
3. Would not be awed by a college making them an offer? (It would be awesome.)

Earlier this week a story appeared in Sports Illustrated.com about college basketball coaches offering scholarships to eighth graders. The headline, “The Trend of Players Choosing a College Before a High School”. This is a trend? Didn’t the NCAA/NBA just pass a rule a couple of years ago not allowing players to be drafted until they were 19? So let me get this straight, at 18 they are unable to make life decisions but they can at 14? 14! And these are jocks we are talking about, who may or may not also be intelligent, thoughtful children.

To be clear, these kids are not going straight to college, just committing four years early. Being the parent of a high school junior, I admit to a certain envy towards those who do not have to go through the college selection process. But still, can this possibly be good for the student? I suggest not.

So why is it happening? Let’s start by asking the coaches. Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie, what do you have to say after offering a scholarship to young Michael Avery (a 6-foot-4 combo guard with a sweet shooting stroke) before Mike had even decided what high school attend? According to SI, Gillispie offered because he was worried someone else would beat him to the punch. I guess it is fitting that his reasoning is at the eighth grade level.

So who might this someone else be? Have all major college coaches gone insane? Not yet anyway but at least one other. In this case, “someone else” translates loosely to USC coach Tim Floyd, who accepted commitments in consecutive years from players who had yet to suit up for a high school team. UCLA and DePaul are other schools who have offered scholarships to younguns’.

Forget that much can happen to the student-athlete between eighth grade and the end of high school. They may grow, lose some skills, get hurt, or even have a better understanding of what they want to study in college- not that this latter point should influence the choice. I get why the coaches do it. Major college sports are a big time money maker and they feel the need to get an edge. I get why the kids may agree. They are overwhelmed by the offer. But what about the parents? What the f_ck are they thinking?

SI did not delve much into the parents point of view. If they had I would have expected more quotes about doing what is best for their child. Actually if the dads were honest they would be jumping up and down, high fiving (and all the more sophisticated variations that exist today) and playing up the bragging rights. They probably have more stars in there eyes over this than their kids. Far too many parents live through their kid’s actual athletic achievements or fantasies of a pro career. They become agents or managers instead of parents.

There is some sanity in all of this btw. The NCAA doesn’t recognize scholarship offers until they are accompanied by a National Letter-of-Intent. Basketball players may sign a NLI no earlier than November of their senior year of high school. So these offers are not real until they are real.

In my view this commitment process, specifically the adults involved, should be committed.

$4 Per Gallon

Three days ago I spent $3.979 for each gallon of gas I put in my tank. The sad news is that this will probably be the last time in my life I will fill up for under $4. (For those of you who may have a few more days you should know that Chicago area prices have been 15-20 cents higher than almost any other city I travel to and my non-luxury VW Passat takes premium.) Already the price of regular is in the mid $3.90s. I feel nostalgic for the good old days which were only a few months ago.

I know that China is sucking up a bunch of resources and that their are problems in some oil producing companies such as Nigeria but I still do not understand why prices have risen as fast as they have.

Time for some serious contemplation on how often to use the car and how lifestyle changes may be in order since fuel and food costs are rapidly increasing and my income is not.

Job Choices For Urban Youth: Drug Dealing Or Starbucks

An article in The Economist titled “Back from The Brink“ tells the story of the falling crime rate in Baltimore. The story describes such things as community policing and new laws which have aided the effort.

However it was the following paragraphs that caught my attention. They present the sad, shocking truth of the employment choices for many urban youth.

A big problem for the police (and more so for respectable ghetto residents) is the unfortunate truth that for many young men, gangster culture is alluring. Apart from the low pay and the high risk of getting murdered, drug-dealing is not a bad job, says Peter Moskos, a sociologist who spent a year as a policeman in Baltimore’s eastern district. You hang out with your friends. People “respect” (ie, fear) you. You project glamour. You get laid.

You also become otherwise unemployable, says Mr Moskos. To survive on the street, you learn to react violently and pre-emptively to the slightest challenge. This is a useful trait for a drug-dealer, but, oddly, managers at Starbucks do not value it.

What do you mean “Apart from the low pay and the high risk of getting murdered”?  Isn’t that an oxymoron? A path that doesn’t build employment skills in Corporate America. Too funny in a very dark, twisted way.

At a charity fund raising dinner last Saturday, a speaker told a roomful of high acheivers that we cannot take too much credit for who we are no matter how hard we have worked to become successful. His point was that we do not determine when we are born, where we are born or who our parents are.

I do not think I fully understood the point until I read this article. I was fortunate to be born in the middle class and not in a dangerous urban environment or in a poor third world country. I am one of the lucky ones.

5 Seconds Under Curaçao

Thanks to the cinematographic genius of Da Man, I can share with you the greatest underwater adventure since Sea Hunt (or Flipper).

 

OOOPs. Sometimes Smoke Is Just Smoke

Most of the time I take a different point of view from the phrase that Where There Is Smoke There Is Fire. My POV is usually, If Something Does Not Look The Way It Should Look Again. My point being that much of the time things are as they should be. For example, can’t find something? First assume it is somewhere, then look in all the usual places, then the unusual places and then repeat this process. It is more likely to be misplaced than lost–or stolen.

Which brings me to yesterday. I could not find my Blackberry and iPod (smoke). I emptied my briefcase, checked my car and while I began to believe that it got stolen (fire) from what should have been a very safe place. This did not make sense so I looked everywhere twice. I even waited until I got to my office to see if I had left them there (unusual).

All the time I had this nagging thought that this did not make sense. No one else reported anything being stolen. And yet my stuff was gone and I had checcked everywhere twice. I filed the office security form in order to start the process for getting a new Blackberry. I was bummed out all day. Yet because of this nagging feeling I mentioned the “theft” (did I give the ending away with the quotation marks?) to only a few people. Typically once I have an interesting story I tell everyone near by and then stop random people on the street to tell them. You get the idea.

Sure enough I get to my car at the end of the day and something catches my eye. A pen was laying at the opposite side of the back seat from where my case sits and where I had invested all of my search time. I looked some more. Guess what. Yep, the pen was not the only thing out of place. All the supposedly stolen loot was right there. The pocket holding everything must have been open and items flew out when I took a tight curve driving home the other night. Case solved.

So do you think “If Something Does Not Look The Way It Should Look Again” will ever catch on like that old smoke/fire saying?

Unexpected Theft

I had my Blackberry and iPod stolen from my briefcase yesterday. I was in an all day meeting attended only by other people from my company. I left my case near my chair. The pocket with my stuff was unzipped. I wandered around the room a lot so my case was often unattended but always near other colleagues.

I assume the company will pay to replace the Blackberry but now I need to spend for an iPod. I already have too many things to spend money on.

I feel violated. I’m bummed.