I'm sorry

Well, friends, my darling bride read my last post and told me it was "mean," so I thought I'd better apologize, and that right quick!



Actually, I didn't think it was "mean," per se, but perhaps a little too honest for the tender sensibilities of some folks. Since it concerned those who participate in fantasy football, and, since most fantasy guys have had enough sand kicked in their collective faces for a lifetime, I may have been a bit insensitive to their plight. I'm sorry!



Rock on, fantasy dudes! You know, everyone has a "thing." Star Wars officianadoes can't wait until the next Chewbacca action figure comes out; Some folks wait with breath abaited for the newest musical to hit Broadway. Other guys hang on every public moment of Scott Hamilton; others wax lyrical to their favorite Barry Manilow tunes. Everyone's got to have a favorite something; that's what makes the world go 'round! So, rock on, fantasy football dudes! You guys are the bomb!



Seriously, most of the guys I've known who did the fantasy football thing were NOT, to the best of my knowledge, overtly interested in arguing the "pro" position in the same-sex marriage debate. They're just regular guys who are interested in the "front office" perspective in pro football.



There. I hope that clears things up. If my comments offended anyone, please accept my apologies. - Dan



PS - If you happen to be one of the guys who actually participates in fantasy football, feel free to read elsewhere from now on. I doubt I'll have anything more positive to say on the topic anytime soon. - Dan

Who's fantasy?

Several years ago, when the "fantasy" football craze was just beginning, a friend at work asked me if I wanted to join their little fantasy group and play along. I'd never heard of fantasy football, so my first question was, "What's it all about?" My friend explained that a bunch of guys get together and draft teams from existing NFL rosters and then "play" games based on the weekly stats of "their" players. "A game on paper, if you will." My next question was, "Who's doing it?" He gave me a list of names. One guy was sort of a sickly kind of guy who couldn't lift his weight (and he was only 4 foot nothing, so he couldn't have weighed more than 120 after a shower); another one of the guys was a guy I remembered from school. He may have been a cheerleader, too, but I remember him from the band. Another one of the guys was one of those "always on the internet trading 401k stock picks" kind of guys. Another one was a guy who was friendly enough, but not real bright. As he went through the roster of "players," not a single one of them was a guy who I'd choose for my Saturday afternoon two-below game; they were all pasty, morbidly obese, or play hide-and-seek with dental floss kind of guys who I don't think had ever gotten close enough to a real football to play with one. I politely declined. "Are you sure?" my friend asked, "It's going to be a lot of fun!" "No, I don't think so," I replied, "It doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy."

Now that the "craze" has been under way for around 10 years or so, my original impressions are bolstered more every day. I don't know a single "fantasy" partipant who doesn't simply scream "LOSER!!!" Oh, they're nice enough guys and, as far as I can tell, they don't do anyone any harm, but they're all like the guy at the cocktail party who corners you talking about their allergies to cat dander; they just make your skin crawl and you can't wait to get away from them so you kind find someone with something interesting to say!

Maybe it's the title of the thing; fantasy football. Perhaps if they called it "Never could play for real so I thought I'd find SOME means of participating" football, it'd be easier to stomach. Meanwhile, watch those stats, losers! Curt Warner came in off the bench last weekend and threw a meaningless touchdown pass with 3 seconds left....your fantasy team may have won!

Maybe I'll invent "fantasy ice dancing" for the fantasy football guys who can't find a league. - Dan

Oh....my GOODNESS!!!

I've about heard it all now!

Yesterday evening, my youngest called me and said that her car was broken down. She'd been leavning work on the other side of Houston when it happened. She made it sound as though one of the CV joints had broken, or something else very serious with the driveline had broken, so I suggested that she call a wrecker and have it towed to wherever she wanted to have it checked. Naturally, she was concerned about the cost, but I reminded her that, yes, she'd have to pay the wrecker out of her pocket, but she'd get reimbursed by her insurance. To exacerbate things, the location of the break-down is a really bad part of town, so I asked if she were going to be able to lock herself in her car until the wrecker got there. She said that she had pulled up in front of a business and, even though the owner was in the process of closing up for the day, the lady was going to stay with her and let her stay inside with her until the wrecker arrived.

Today, I called several times to check on things. She said that the wrecker showed up at around 11 and towed the car to the Honda dealership, where she learned that her car broke down because she'd waited too long to tune it up. Apparently, the diagnostic test they ran said that the rotor, distributor cap, and spark plug wires were bad. Her boyfriend and his father had agreed to repair it for her. Of course, her situation is this; she's living with her mom and older sister. Between them, they have two cars. Most of the time, older sis uses mom's car to get back and forth and Katelyn uses her car to drive herself back and forth to the other side of Houston to her job. They all pitch in and help one another when available. Anyway, she'd asked if she could bring my granddaughter over to spend the night tonight before all of this happened. I told her that we'd love to see her, so we've been keeping in pretty close contact to coordinate.

I said all of that to say this; when I called this evening to check, she said that her car was back on the road and that she and her daughter were on the road, headed to her older sister's job to check on her. Apparently, older daughter had to work a double today because some other girl got fired. Well, usually older sis takes mom's car to work, so I asked about that situation. "She doesn't have her mom's car?" "No," she said, "Mom went to a poker tournament, so I'm checking to see if sis needs a ride."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Wait a minute," I said, "I thought that L usually uses mom's car when she goes to work. I'd have thought that, especially with your car out of comission, she'd have mom's car." "Well, me too," she said, "but she took it to play poker."

Oh....okay.

Nevermind what I said about them helping each other out. It's every man for himself!

Stop whining!

I'm going to buy stock in Kraft, Inc. so I'll have enough cheese to go with all of the Whine that's going around these days.

There's no shortage of people who want to blame all of their problems on someone else, people who are unwilling or unable to accept responsibility for their own actions, and people who want everything right NOW but are unwilling to sacrifice anything at all, or WORK at all, to achieve the things they want.

Of course, this latest "crisis" in home sales, mortgages gone haywire, and the fallout from all of the above, plays right into all of the things I mentioned. People want way more house than they can afford, so they find a "flexible rate" mortgage that allows them to buy one. Then, when the mortgage company exercises its right to accelerate the interest and house notes go where they should have been in the first place, these people cry "foul!" and ask the governement to bail them out! Please tell me; WHY ON EARTH IS THE GOVERNMENT INVOLVED???!!!! The mortgage companies, attempting to make a profit, baited the homeowners, KNOWING that the greedy buyers would want more house than they could ever afford!

Here's what I think. The people who bought way more house than they could afford and did so KNOWINGLY should lose their homes - period! The government, if it gets involved at all, should simply outlaw these kinds of mortgages in the future; there should be no penalty to the mortgage companies. Mortgage companies offered a product that they thought people would appreciate - apparently they did! Of course, the chickens came home to roost, and NOW the very companies that thought they'd make it rich by pandering to people's greed are wondering how they're going to stay out of bankruptcy court.

I think it's time to return to the values of our parents. Save before buying; BUDGET!!! Only buy what you can afford; learn to say "No!" Accept your station; if you make a middle-class salary, buy a home that fits your budget. READ what you sign BEFORE you sign it!!! Stop whining about your own greed causing you to lose your home! It was your actions that caused it; accept the consequences and move on!

Meanwhile, I think I'll buy that Kraft stock. I don't think the flood of Whine is going away any time soon!

2 weeks left

Well, there's two weeks left in football season. What started during the dog days of August is now drawing to a close. I'd like to say that this season's been fun, but I'm afraid that it really hasn't been. We just don't get the same kind of athletes at our school that other schools get, which makes us less than competitive. Not only that, but our kids don't even seem to come to us with much of a basic understanding of the game, which makes things kind of strange. Our kids don't know about onsides kicks; they don't understand that a punt doesn't HAVE to be fielded. They have NO aggression; for most of them, I don't even understand why they're playing football. Regardless of all of that, I love coaching. I feel as though I have an impact on their lives, even if it's not in success as an athlete.

The other day, after grades came out and we found out who was not going to be eligible, one of the kids hollered out a line from "The Waterboy;" "Oh no! We suck again!" Well, sorry, fellows. We never stopped sucking; we've been bad from the start; losing a few guys only made us worse!

Coach B and I decided to "draft" the guys left on our 8th-grade B squad. I've got 14 guys for defense; he's got 14 for offense. We won't be much good on either offense OR defense, but everyone will get to play, so that's a good thing. We play a team this week that hasn't won a game all season; we should be safe. This past week, we played a team that had only 2 wins, both of them against other winless teams. We lost 6-0. My defense played pretty well, obviously, but our offense is sad. We just can't move the football. Two more weeks, and then basketball begins. Look in for updates. As bad as our 7th-grade football team was, I don't expect big things from the basketball team.

We'll see. - Dan

Baseball season's over

Well, big-money, big-market wins again. Are the Rockies going to win the series? I doubt it, as much as I'd love to see it. You see, the Red Sox have the most dominant pitcher in baseball (thanks to extremely deep pockets) and he'll pitch in 3 of the 7 games if it goes that far. That means all of the other Sox pitchers only have to win once between them. I'm sorry, but, as poorly as they did in the ALCS, winning one game shouldn't be that big a deal. So, once again, big money wins out. When will baseball adopt a salary cap like the NBA? When will it truly evoke revenue sharing like the NFL? I guess those things will happen when fans get tired of Boston or New York winning every year.

Bring on the NFL!

I want to find the next big thing in education

During September, I had one Saturday off. Things have been a little more laid back during October, but we had a "mandatory" training scheduled for this past Saturday - a "guru" with all the answers for how to bring our test scores up to "exemplary" (we were "recommended" this past year, so "exemplary" is the next and highest rating we can achieve). The trainer, a lady with impecable credentials, said basically the same thing I've heard at least 1,000 times already, but her special emphasis was that we need to identify our "at risk" kids using previous year's test scores and spend more time with them individually, trying to get them over the hump.



Really? We should find out who struggles in whatever area and bring them in for tutoring? Well, that's just freakin' revolutionary! Why didn't WE think of that? We've been doing extended-day help sessions for just such kids for as long as I can remember! I'm sure glad we paid her $1500 plus travel expenses!



I need to find the next big thing in education and then travel all over the country, charging sick stipends for my brilliant idea! A couple of years, I can retire!



Here's an idea. Teach the curriculum. Stress the things that are consistently tested, but teach the whole curriculum. When kids struggle, call their parents and insist that they come in for tutoring. If mom, dad, or guardian don't care, spend individual time with them when you can. An old maxim still holds true, however: you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. If kids insist on failure, help them out; FAIL THEM!!! Sometimes, a good, old-fashioned kick in the pants is exactly what they need to set them straight.



I think that's the next big thing. Kick them in the pants! I think I'll start the "pants-kick" institute and charge $200 a head to teach educators the technique; "well, it goes like this - have them bend over, bend your leg ever so slightly at the knee, then swing your leg until your foot strikes them in the back of the pants." I think I'll clean up! And here's the best part; it's been so long since any of these kids actually got what they need (a swift kick in the pants!), they'll improve dramatically on their test just to avoid any more "motivation" from their newly-trained teachers!

Of course, I'm joking. Physically abusing children doesn't help them to improve academically. However, most of this other garbage they're training us on almost constantly anymore doesn't help anything either. All it does is create a lot of confusion and fatigue an already tired faculty, who would be better served by focusing on what works - establish good relationships with the kids, hold them to high standards, do everything you can to help them, cajole them, tutor them, and TEACH them.

I think I'd make more money with the other thing, but then, I don't know if I could live with myself if I was part of the problem and NOT the solution. - Dan

Race in America

I read an interesting article yesterday on FoxSports.com by Jason Whitlock, who happens to be African-American. At nearly the same time, Bill Cosby appeared on Oprah, hawking his new book "Come on, people!" Both the article and (purportedly) the book address an issue that is seemingly best tackled by other African-Americans; the seeming lack of civilized behavior by the "hip-hop" generation of black youth and its effect on the upcoming generation of children and future black Americans.

Mr. Whitlock says that the antics of black athletes such as Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals and Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys, among others, have made football owners less than enthusiastic about signing African-American athletes in general and particularly those with less than stellar reputations coming out of college. He points out that successful organizations in football (he mentions the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots by name) have already significantly "whitened" their rosters and don't seem to be negatively effected at all by the effort. He also points to the chaos that has ensued when clowns such as Johnson and others are allowed to engage in "buffoonery" unchecked and suggests that these athletes owe it to future potential generations of black athletes to toe the mark and stop all of the clowning around before its too late.

Mr. Cosby has engaged in numerous "call-out" meetings over the last several years, addressing what he hopes are predominantly African-American audiences. He points to the collapse of the nuclear family in the African-American community and the rise of an ill-educated black society that has a much greater chance for death by homicide, prison, or both, than their white counterparts. He suggests that civil rights activists of the 60's, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and others, are rolling in their graves because the very thing they struggled so mightily for in that day, the opportunity for an equal education, has been just as mightily shunned by the current generation. He suggests that contemporary blacks take control of their own destiny and take advantage of the opportunities they've been afforded so that they, as a people, can rise above the horrific consequences of drugs, violence and occupation of society's lower rungs.

My own experience in athletics has been similar. Reverse discrimination against white athletes as they vie for scholarships and professional contracts has become legendary. As my own daughter worked for a scholarship in basketball, she was told, over and over again, that the program, though interested, was only signing "athletes" this year. What that translates to, my friends, is that these programs were only interested in signing black athletes and were not looking for white girls, whether they could play or not. Of course, this stance is not new in basketball. Blacks, as a general rule, are known to be more dynamic athletes than their white counterparts. The old "white men can't jump" rule, if you will. I'm no different. I'm more apt to give a black guy a second or third look when he tries out for my team just because of this notion. However it makes me sound, I can also testify that African-American guys typically come from much different backgrounds than their white counterparts and are more likely to have difficulties accepting disciplinary or academic guidelines that simply don't bother most guys of other races. That's not a stereotype - it's what I've observed from years of coaching both blacks and whites.

So, what's to be done? First off, Mr. and Mrs. African American, stop blaming racism every time something happens that doesn't favor your son or daughter. A lot of folks, myself included, are more than willing to give a fair chance to anyone, regardless of race, on a even playing field. Second, stay involved in your kid's life! Question teachers and coaches. Ask them how junior's doing and what he can do to improve! Know who he's hanging out with and what he's into. Make sure he does his homework, and, if he's not doing well in one area or another, get him to tutoring or after-school "extended day" activities. Stress that education is his ticket out, not some contract playing this sport or that. That's a dream realized by very few regardless of race and it winds up badly when there's no back-up plan! Finally, model the behavior you expect from your child. If you want junior to speak English well, speak it well yourselves. If you want junior to value education, turn off the TV and pick up a book every now and then. For that matter, enroll in a class or two yourselves just to show that education is not something that is inflicted upon us but something to be valued and cherished! African-American athletes; stop acting like clowns! When you score, toss the ball to the official and jog off the field. Everyone else is glad you scored, too. You'll be heartily congratulated when you reach your own sideline, believe me. What good did it do to rub the other team's nose in the fact that you just scored, other than to steel their resolve toward stopping you next time?

I'm not black, but I think I can speak to what the problems are. I'm the proud grandfather of a grandaughter who is half African-American. If I have anything to say about it, she will value her opportunity for education and will better herself, not because it's a "white" thing to do, but the right thing to do. - Dan

Knee surgery

My darling bride had knee surgery this morning to "clean up" arthritis that has been increasingly uncomfortable and debilitating. When finished, her doctor came out and told me the prognosis; there isn't much cartilage left, he had to repair the meniscus, and it's basically bone on bone. At the outside, she's got 5 years or so until a knee replacement will be necessary. I've known a number of people who've had that procedure. To a man, they all say they wish they'd done it 15 years earlier. They walk pain-free for the first time in years. With Kim's other health issues, I'm not sure it would be that simple, but it appears to be an inevitabilty. Anyway, she came out of anesthesia just fine and did just great getting into the car after the surgery and from the car to the house afterward! I'll tell you - she's a trooper! The only problem I've had is getting her to sit still and let me wait on her! She keeps jumping up for this or that, telling me all the while that she doesn't do "sit still" very well. She's taking a nap now, and a well-deserved one at that. If you're reading, please pray that God will help her heal quickly and delay the necessity of the artificial knee for a long time! - Dan

Well, we lost AGAIN!!!

If you happen to be one of my players reading in - please stop reading now....

Have you stopped yet?

If you haven't stopped yet, why not? Didn't I tell you to stop?

If you're one of my players, and you're still reading, please forgive me in advance for what I'm about to say. We're not very good. We don't tackle well. We don't block well. We're not very fast, not very strong, and not very physical. We don't play with much passion for the most part, and we don't play very well together. What's worse is the fact that we're not very smart, either. I've got a pretty extensive stunt and scheme package that I usually put in, but I haven't been able to put much of anything at all in this year - we're just not smart enough to pick it up and run it. We've won one game all year and I'd be surprised if we win another. Our one victory was against the perennial doormats of our league, and we just barely beat them. I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good coach, but kids without much talent and very little desire are a pretty tough sell.

Here are some of the sideline quotes from the game tonight (names changed to protect the innocent):

Coach B (my partner) - "Smith! Stop tip-toeing through the tulips and hit the hole! (to me) Dan, I'm getting really tired of these guys running like they think they're Barry Sanders or something!"

Me - "Yeah, I'm afraid we don't have Barry Sanders over here anywhere. COLONEL Sanders we got - but no Barry!"

Coach B - "Jones (an offensive tackle)! What're you doing 15 yards downfield?! My running back's getting killed behind the line of scrimmage and you're 15 yards downfield!"

Me - "One of the guys on the other team hollered 'donuts!' and he went down there to look, coach!"

Coach B - "Dan, I'm going to burn a time-out. I think we're out of gas."

Me - "Yeah, I'm seeing cleat-marks on tongues - it's probably time!"

Well, if you're not winning, you may as well have a good time with it. We have three games left, and then basketball season starts. Here's the sad news. As bad as our group in 8th-grade is, the 7th-graders are even worse. I coach the 7th A and B and, based on what we've got out for football, it's going to be a VERY long basketball season. Well, maybe some kid will come out of one of the PE classes and surprise me.

I sure hope so!

Dan

I'm liking this series!

Hello, baseball fans!

I like the way the LCSs are shaping up! In the NL, two expansion (and NOT big market!) teams are playing; well, one of the two is playing - the D-Backs have been doing a lot of watching so far and come into play tonight down 0-3. The Indians are poised to take a 2-1 on the Red Sox with two more to play at "The Jake" before heading back to Beantown (if necessary). How could it get any better than that? I don't know about anyone else, but I really like it when small market, small payroll teams advance. It proves that you don't have to have a $200+ million payroll to compete AND it proves that buying every free agent with Scott Boras as an agent doesn't necessarily guarantee success. Hey, this is GOOD for baseball!

What would be better? If baseball could guarantee that all of the players on the field were NOT drug-affected and if baseball would establish drug-testing guidelines to ensure that no player will ever be juiced up again! Okay...I know that's a tough one. As fast as tests are devised, bathroom chemists come up with ways to defeat the tests. What about this? Any player who suddenly gains 50 pounds of pure muscle and goes from 35 homers a year to 70 AUTOMATICALLY comes under suspicion! Uhh...how about a hat size test? Any player who goes from 71/4 to 9 automatically comes under suspicion! Okay; not reasonable. Perhaps, when the next CBA is reached, baseball will insist upon tough drug-testing as part of the agreement. I hope for the sake of baseball it comes to pass.

This year's LCSs have been good. They could be better in the future.

More thoughts on Presidential politics

Hello, again!

Inquisitive minds want to know - why do so many people seek the Presidency, why is there almost always such a nasty debate about who should or should not win the office, and why do people have the perceptions they do about this office?

The office of the President of the United States is the most powerful on earth. People do not seek it because of the pay. Most highly placed executives, or for that matter, JUNIOR executives in America, make more money than the President. People seek it because they want to be seen as "the guy in charge;" they want to be the one who hears "Hail to the Chief" when they enter a room; they want to be the one who fingers the nuclear football; they want to be "the man." Why do people care who becomes President? Well, there's another question, isn't there? The fact is, the President establishes the agenda and sets the pace for whatever legislation is pending before Congress. The President can veto whatever he dislikes, and it usually dies when he does. Perhaps more importantly, the President nominates SC justices, and THEY are the real power in Washington! If he gets his nominee through Congress, the political tone is set for a long, LONG time by whoever sits on that bench! More than any other reason, THIS is why people care about who gets to be President. So, the President has a lot of power, but the SC has more. Why do we care, then, if the SC is pretty much set for the time being? Well, people want Congress to DO things! They send people to Washington who they believe will represent their interests. If we have some dimwit President running a personal agenda that has little to do with anyone's interests other than their own, Congress gets bogged down and can't get anything done AT ALL. This is one of the reasons that Hillary would be such a bad choice. She wants to nationalize health care. Anyone tried to get surgery in Canada lately? It's a freakin' nightmare! We need LESS government in health care, not more! Reasons for the high cost of prescription drugs? It's because Medicare has the pricing structure for drugs so messed up everywhere they control it that prescription drug companies seek to make up their losses anywhere the prices are not controlled! If government would get out of the health care business altogether, pricing for the rest of us would normalize as market forces take over. Anyone remember Capitalism? You know...supply and demand, that sort of thing? It doesn't exist in health care, which is why it's so screwed up already! If government would get out of the health care business and let doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies compete on even ground with one another, health care would once again be affordable and Hillary could stop worrying about it!

Has anyone ever noticed...anytime something goes wrong, it's the President's fault? If it goes well, he's not usually given credit! Poor old Herbert Hoover. The Great Depression was blamed on him, but he just happened to be the guy at the wheel when the tires blew out. It wasn't any more his fault that the man in the moon, but he got blamed. A lot of people have tried to blame 911 on Bush - his intelligence agencies were asleep at the wheel, not communicating with one another, not forwarding important stuff to the right people, forwarding unimportant stuff instead, etc. Uhh...when did Bush establish the hierarchy of intelligence agencies? When did HE decide that the FBI, CIA, NSA, etc., should not talk to one another? 911 wasn't his fault; he just happened to be the one driving when the wheels fell off. Now, has anyone noticed the fact that there hasn't been a terrorist attack on American soil SINCE 911? Well, there hasn't been! Thanks, Mr. Bush. Your folks got it right. Here's one voice who WILL thank you for your service to our country.

Who ought to be President? I don't know, and I don't think it really matters all that much, as long as it's not Hillary. Most of the other candidates I've heard speak have pretty much the same agenda; get out of Iraq; smooth out the bumps in health care; provide for the common defense; promote the general welfare. As far as I can tell, there all pretty much the same. They want to be the one who hears "Hail to the Chief" when they walk into a room. I think maybe it's time we elected a President who cannot hear. maybe then we'd get someone who would serve the best interest of the country first and foremost. - Dan

If you're reading here...

You're one of the few! LOL! I blog a lot more now than ever before, mostly because I have more time now, being married to the most wonderful woman on planet earth, and all.

I like to go on about the things I'm passionate about; politics, education, Jesus, sports, trucks (might as well say "Ford trucks;" anything else is a truck "wanna-be"), and my darling wife Kim. Now, most of you might have a hard time prioritizing that list, but mine goes like this: Jesus, my darling wife Kim, everything else. Naturally, Jesus comes first (please note: I say God occasionally, but I find that many Christian sects are timid about saying the name of Jesus, opting to say "God" instead. Now, I'm not against speaking the title of God, but the Father gave the Savior a name; it's JESUS! So, I try NOT to shy away from talking about Jesus when I can!). Why's that? My soul is satisfied because of my salvation in Him. Without that salvation, I would be a basically unhappy person; unhappy with myself and eventually, unhappy with everything around me. If one is not happy with oneself, one cannot be happy with much of anything else or find long-lasting satisfaction in much of anything else. Therefore, my relationship with Jesus is pre-eminent. Such being the case, everything else falls in line and I CAN be happy elsewhere in my life! Praise God for that! Kim comes a close second. Now, I've been married twice now. The first time, even though it went on for 25+ years, was basically unhappy. Looking back from a perspective of shear joy now, I can see how unhappy I truly was! Kim has brought many good things into my life! She's sweet, caring, compassionate, giving, loving, considerate, kind, honest, funny, beautiful, sexy, positive, fun to be around, fun to talk to, and a great kisser! I know anyone reading here will think I'm making this up, but I've not found one thing about her that I do not simply ADORE!!! I love her in every way! She has totally completed me and I've been so completely blessed by her that I will never fail to thank Jesus every moment for bringing us together and allowing us to fall in love!

You can read back to previous posts if you want to find my views concerning politics, education, or sports. Hopefully you can tell from this post (and previous posts) that I love Jesus with my whole heart and consider myself a blood-bought, born-again believer in Him. However, I think this may be the first time I've shared my views about trucks.

I'm a Ford truck guy. Any other truck is a wanna-be. Oh, I know there's Chevy guys out there who'd try to tell you that their truck is the real deal, but I've always bought Fords (Oh, I've DRIVEN Chevys, but I always leave the experience shaking my head going "what on earth do people see in these pieces of garbage?"). Several years ago, one of the maintenance guys at work bought a new Dodge. He was pretty proud of it. I showed up a couple of weeks later in my new Ford F-150. It was a pretty basic model, but it had the 4.6 V-8 and it had an automatic transmission. He asked if he could drive it; I agreed. He took off, and reappeared several moments later, shaking his head and muttering "I KNEW I should have bought the Ford! I KNEW IT!!!" At the same job, the company bought a Suburban that was rigged for towing. It had the 454 V-8 (the largest V-8 that Chevy produced), a limited slip differential, and all the suspension tricks GM can put on one to make it stable. We hooked up a 24' box trailer and took off to College Station. It burned up not one, but two tanks of gas round trip and NEVER got above 65 MPH even though it was floored the whole way! My freakin' RANGER could have pulled it better! Time after time, I see some slow-moving trailer or another moving down the road. When I get into position, I find that there's a Chevy pulling it. Let's face it - Chevys simply do not pull worth a darn and they never will! They're built for looks alone, not for work. Now, I can hook my new F-150 up to either my 16' flatbed or my 24' boat trailer (with my 8,800 Lb boat on it) and pull it like its not there! Well, there's my tesimonial for Ford trucks. No money was solicited or accepted for this ad. I just like Fords and I've always had great fortune with them.

Let's recap. Dan loves Jesus, Kim, my job, Ford trucks, and sports. Kim is the love of my life; Jesus the lover of my soul. 'nuff said! - Dan

Was there a nuclear accident around here about 13 years ago?

Hello again!

I have a theory; there was a widespread release of nuclear material around here about 13 years ago, very hush-hush, of course, and it affected the unborn children of that generation in ways unfathomable and, physically, inperceptible.

Why do I think this? Several reasons. This generation of kids, starting last year, has little or no common sense. They have brains that they are not being challenged to use. They have no work ethic, and they have strange maladies that are used as excuses for all of the above. If I hear "ADHD" as an excuse for poor academic performance one more time, I think I'll scream! Ma'am, your kids not as ADHD as he is L-A-Z-Y!!! Not only that, but many more times the norm are kids with hearing deficits, seeing deficits, some sort of physical malady that prevents normal ambulation, or some off the wall thing or another that just prohibits normal activity. It's a freakin' epidemic! Something must have been released, or added to the water, or something. Too much strangeness going on for any other explanation!

I was talking to my buddy across the hall awhile ago. She told the story or how one of our hatchling ducks was allowed to perish because it was not strong enough to free itself of its shell. It was decided that it would always be the weak one; it would be picked upon, starved, and would perish in any case. She was sad about it, but I explained that it is nature's way. Natural selection prevents defective genes from being passed to future generations by weeding out the sick or defective in the species. The human animal does not do this, however. We are compassionate, defending those who are less able. What's the outcome? Defective genes are passed on!

Am I advocating genocide? Of course not! I AM trying to explain why, all of a sudden, we seem to be getting an overflow of kids who are incapable of performing up to expectations. Is that the answer? I don't know, but I guess its as good as anyone else's guess!

I think I'll stick with the nuclear accident theory. Not as plausible, but easier to stomach.

Presidential politics

Hello again!

The President of the United States is the most powerful office in the world. It is, easily I think, also the most misunderstood. People tend to give the President credit where credit is not due, and, more importantly, tend to affix blame where none is warranted or earned. This is where most Presidents fail - the battle of public perception.

Bill Clinton was, in the minds of most people, a successful president. Were his policies responsible for the successes of his administration? I doubt it. Most would give credit for his successes to the policies of previous administrations, the Ronald Reagan administrations for the most part. He was just smart enough to leave it alone and take all the credit. The failures or successes of the Bush administration can be left on Clinton's door as well. Have we fought a battle on terror for the last 6 years because of Bush? No. Clinton had Bin Laden in the palm of his hand, and he let him go. Those chickens came home to roost on 911, and we've been paying the price in the blood of Americans every since. Is Iraq as important to the war on terror as the Bush adminstration says? That will remain to be answered by the subsequent adminstration. If we pull out of Iraq before the Iraqis are prepared to run their own country and the forces of militant Islam take over, Iraq was an abject failure. If we ARE able to intall a government that is friendly to America and play that chess peace in the broiling board that is the Middle East, then I'd say Iraq was a success. A stable, America friendly Iraq is a valuable peace in that game. If we can make it so, it is an object much to be wished for.

So, what's to come? A Democrat administration, doing what Democrats do best, will poll the public and find out that Americans are against the war in Iraq. They will pull our forces out prematurely, and all of those lives given will have been lost in vain. Hopefully, a Republican administration will be more cautious, understand exactly what is at stake, and remove troops at a slower pace. Troops will be removed, one way or the other. The outcome depends upon how quickly they are removed and how good a job we do preparing Iraquis to take over the reigns when we do leave.

I have a feeling that Americans, understanding little other than what happens between their thigh and mid-chest, will insist upon a Democrat. Hopefully, that Democrat is someone with a brain in his head and not a pollster who seeks power for power's sake, like HRC. I wouldn't be surprised if it is Hillary, but I would lose a lot of faith in the collective intellect of the American public if that power-monger ever becomes President. Who's to say that she's smart enough to leave it alone and take the credit for the former adminstration's efforts like her husband did.

I have the most wonderful life in the history of the world!!!

Dear Reader (From the number of replies I get....there's only one! LOL!)

I thought I'd take a moment to tell y'all how wonderful my life is! I have a job most guys would kill for. I teach science (pretty cushy, by most standards; certainly more cushy than jobs I've had in the past!), and I coach (an occupation that most of the guys in the world THINK they can do, but few ever get the opportunity!). I live a very comfortable, middle class lifestyle that many would simply die for. Granted, I don't have "personal assistants" waiting on me hand and foot, people doing my yard, pool, etc., for me, or that sort of thing, but that's not my dream anyway, so I'm happy as a clam doing my own yard, my own car maintenance, routine maintenance, home repair, and that sort of thing anyway. So, to sum up, I've got a great job and exactly the lifestyle I love, so who could want more?

Well....I did. I had no one to share my joy with, at least not until recently. I met the woman of my dreams in February. It was truly love at first sight! We spent practically every spare moment together for several months, and were married on June 7th. I know a lot of people think they're happy, but think somewhere deep inside that something's missing. I used to be that way before Kim. Now, with Kim by my side, absolutley NOTHING is missing!!! She's the most awesome person ever, and I love her with every ounce of my being! Now, I truly have it all, and I thank God for watching over me, hearing my prayers, and giving me the desires of my heart. I have found the love of my life, and I have never (and I doubt I ever will!) been happier!

Here's the good part! Kim feels the same way about me! She thinks I'm the greatest, and she loves me as much as I love her! She's truly the most awesome person ever, and I am truly the most blessed man ever to walk the earth!

How could it ever get better? Stay tuned! Who knows what God has in store?! All I know is that God has blessed me beyond measure and I shall praise Him forever for all of His blessings!

Dan

The War

One of the coaches at work has been watching "The War" with some interest. His father fought in WWII and was held prisoner in a German Stalag for two years or so before being liberated. He theorizes that, if placed in a similar situation today, we would never again be capable of fighting a global conflict like WWII; I am forced to agree.

My colleague argues that kids today have had things too easy. They are unwilling, in fact, UNABLE, to sacrifice the way people did back then. They'd rather be overrun by Japanese or Germans than fight for their freedom or give up any of the luxury they've come to depend on to keep their liberty intact. I find that argument compelling, because all of the evidence I've seen in the classroom tends to support it. I don't think that it's the main reason we'd lose another global conflict if involved, though. I think we'd have a hard time competing in such a conflict because we are no longer the industrial giant we once were. One thing has been true in every war since the cavemen; the combatant nation with the greatest industrial output wins. In WWII, our tanks were not the best. They probably came in third in fact, behind those of the Germans (the Tiger was arguably the best) and those of the Russians. The deciding factor was the fact that we made so many of them and constructed ships to have them delivered at an astonishing rate ("Liberty ships"). That combined with overwhelming air power that decidedly reduced the industrial capabilities of our adversaries gave us the edge in Europe. Our ability to produce warships at an equally astounding rate overwhelmed Japan in much the same way. Would we have the ability to do so again if the need arose? I don't know, frankly, but I sincerely doubt it.

"But Dan," you say, "we don't fight wars that way anymore. We lob cruise missiles from hundreds of miles away. We fly stealth planes and disable advance radars before we overwhelm our opponents with smart bombs and satelite-guided missiles. We don't need numbers like we once did." Oh, really? If we ever fought another multiple theatre war like the last big one, our military would have to quadruple or perhaps quintuple in size and the numbers of planes, bombs, and missiles produced would have to rise exponentially. I'd have to argue that we don't have the capability to meet such production demands any longer and we definitely don't have the will to fight for a righteous cause like WWII any longer.

How can I think that we don't have the will to fight that way anymore? During WWII, this was predominantly a Christian nation. We tended to see things in terms of good versus evil much moreso than today. Hitler was seen as evil incarnate, a demon who needed to be defeated at all cost. I don't think he'd be seen in such black and white terms today. We'd adopt our usual "if it doesn't affect us, let's leave them alone" attitude, just like we did with Rwanda, and Bosnia in some ways. Would we eventually join the fight? Well, even in 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, we didn't join in immediately. During 1940, when Germany overran all of Europe except for England, we still had no direct involvement. Not until late 1941, when Japan attacked us directly, did we join the war against the Axis. Much like with our more recent national outrage at 911, the nation joined together against the evil Axis. Would we react similarly today? Let me ask this; have we remained outraged at the AlQaida attack on American soil on 911, or have we mostly forgotten that day and our short-lived resolve to fight terrorism, tired suddenly of fighting when body bags start coming home? I think it's more the latter; we're already tired, yet terrorism isn't gone. It's as big a threat now as it was then, if not moreso.

Could we win another global struggle if we were to be involved in one? I'd assert that we ARE involved in just such a struggle and we've already lost our taste for it.

I pray that God will bring us peace, but I believe that wars and rumors of wars are our fate from now till the day that Jesus returns. - Dan

Interesting couple of days

Hi, again. My "one man and a dolly" service went back to work today, moving my youngest from her apartment back to her mother's place. This is the same daughter who, not too long ago, begged to move into my place because her mother was going to charge her rent to stay with her. Of course, since then, she moved back out of my place to her own place in Houston. I have since moved myself; it seems to be an ongoing theme. Earlier in the week, she called and asked me to help her move that very night. I explained that I had to work the next day and could not help her that night; I could help her this weekend. We just finished a little while ago - I'm beat!

I have to admit it - I'm confused. What's going to be different THIS time at the house of sand and fog? I give it about 6 months at the outside. My baby girl does not get along with her mother for long periods of time and mom almost ALWAYS finds a way to make one unreasonable demand or another that puts their relationship on hold for a period of time. I hope baby girl will do whatever's necessary to further herself and build a life for her and her daughter.

Meanwhile, the love of my life was AWESOME, as usual. I introduced her to my oldest daughter (who also lives with mom), and they seemed to get along quite nicely. I asked my ex if she'd like to meet Kim, but she declined. It's probably best. Kim's not petty, small-minded or vindictive and she might not have reacted to her negativity the was my ex expected her to. After we finished moving all of KK's stuff into the house of sand and fog, my oldest asked if they could borrow my dolly. I told her that I would love to leave my dolly for them, but could not. The house of sand and fog is a black hole for Dan's stuff, I explained, and every time Dan loaned something for use over there, it never comes back. I told her that, more than several months ago, I loaned my fishing rod to my oldest son and it fell into the black hole and did not come back. Fool me once, shame on you; fool my twice, shame on me! Anyway, my darling was proud that I stood my ground. Not only that, but my oldest found my fishing rod and returned it! Woo-Hoo!

Anyway, if anyone has the ability or desire, please pray for my youngest. She needs to get on with her future. I covet your prayers. Please pray that she goes back to school and sticks with it this time. Please pray that she gets along with her mom this go around and does not base her happiness on her relationship with some guy this time, but finds happiness in her relationship with Jesus. Also, please pray that whoever went to look at my house this afternoon liked what they saw and makes an offer.

Dan

Anybody got any "mean" pills?

Well, we lost again tonight; this time 24-12. We scored on the opening play of the game, kicking off to the other team, causing a fumble, and running it in for a touchdown (conversion failed). Then we kicked off, and they drove the ball right down the field and scored. Game tied at 6. That's the way the first half ended, so not so bad, so far, right? We took the opening kickoff of the second half and ran it back for a touchdown (conversion failed), so now its 12-6, our lead. Good news, right? Well, apparently, our guys thought that the game should have been over at that point, because that's when they quit playing football. We kicked off, they took it down and scored, game tied. We got the ball back, went 3 and out, then kicked a punt about 13 inches. They took over and drove down and scored. 18 to 12. Still not out of reach, right? We got it back, went 4 and out, giving them the ball back on our 25. They went in and scored - 24 to 12. That's where it ended, folks. I'm sorry, but our guys just don't like 3s and 4s. They don't play the third or the fourth quarter, and its killing us. We're now 1 and 3, and we have the monsters of the district coming up next week. About this time next week I'll probably be writing obituaries for several of my players and talking about our 1 and 4 record, so stay tuned.

Its never a good sign when your team physician is Jack Kevorkian.

I missed the memo

Sorry; I missed the memo. Tonight was apparently "drive 15 MPH below the speed limit" night, and I didn't get the word. It was pretty obvious from the funeral procession down 517 that about 350 other drivers didn't get correspondence, either. Seriously, at one point, I was tempted to call the SPCA; there was a dog relieving himself on the lead car's back wheel, or at least that's what I thought. When I got closer, it was apparent that the driver of the lead car was blind and the dog was leading as fast as it could. People, I'll say this as nicely as possible. If the speed limit is 60...DO 60! Have some consideration for people who have better things to do than drive for hours on end!