Will This Never End?

I didn't expect to have to address something like this again.  In fact, I wasn't even sure that I wanted to address it.  I've sat in front of my computer for several days now and finally think that I'm ready to say something.

When my daughter got home Friday night I quickly got her out of her car seat and started to hug her.  I didn't really want to let go.  On a day like that one, I don't think a lot of parents wanted to let go of their children.

In the span of three days there had been two mass shootings with victims both alive and dead.  Friday's terrible massacre of children is unexplainable and hard for any parent - any person - to fathom.

On Wednesday, last week, in Portland, someone walked into a mall and started shooting.  Friday, a man walked into a school and started shooting.  In both cases, both men chose to take their own lives after a considerable amount of chaos.  As a Catholic, I was raised to preserve the sanctity of life and that suicide was a sin. However, it is my opinion that if these people wanted to kill themselves, why did they need to take others with them?  One less terrible person in the world would be just fine with me, so why did they have to go and wreak tragedy in two separate communities, if not the whole United States?

Reading both stories with journalists attempting to find answers for the tragedies, all I could do was cry.  The two people that died in Portland had San Diego connections, with one of them being an alumni of my alma mater, University of San Diego.  The other had gone to UCSD.  The lives that those people touched are forever changed by their passing.  In Connecticut, the lives of those twenty children will never get to have those special moments that the president spoke about in his speech to America.  They'll never get to even open the gifts that were probably being wrapped to be placed under the Christmas tree.  The six teachers that were killed will no longer be able to encourage future students to live their dreams and hope for the future.

All of these people were living their lives normally never once thinking that Wednesday or Friday would be their last.  Innocent children who dreamt of becoming firefighters or astronauts or doctors no longer getting that option.  A coach of children no longer being able to teach his players the best part of the game - sportsmanship.  A hospice nurse who will never be able to care for others as they reach the end of their own days.  And teachers who will no longer help their students with creative projects for the holidays or supervise recess.

I understand that people die every day - sometimes important people or famous people.  But in the wake of these shootings and the victims that were taken in such a random act of violence, I have to write what I feel. 

When I wrote about the tragedy in Colorado (see the link at the beginning of this post), I wrote about not wanting to give up on my life.  I still believe that.  And while I know that it will be hard for the people in the Portland suburb and those that work at the Clackamas Mall and those in the small town of Newtown (as well as the rest of the country), over time we will all move on. 

As if these stories are not bad enough, over the weekend, in Newport Beach (where we happened to be enjoying a boat tour), at the Fashion Island Mall, a man opened fire in the parking lot.  He didn't shoot anyone and didn't even kill himself, but there he was, in the parking lot with a gun.  And in Colorado yesterday, yet another murder-suicide was discovered after a man killed his ex-wife and her sister, her sister's husband and then himself.

I just finished listening to a novel called, When Will There Be Good News?  Apropos, isn't it?  The book had a happy ending but as I listened it seemed as if there were a lot of bad things happening.  Sadly, there will be no happy endings for the time being and we will have to live our lives with this madness in our world.

As you read this message today, or whenever, think of your families and your friends and remind them just how much you care about them.



Until next time.

Influence

Today, TIME Magazine released their 100 Most Influential People of the last year.  Just like last year, I did not make the list.  As usual, though, there were the standard politicians, economists, philanthropists, celebrities and athletes.  And though someone wasn't listed for the previous year, it turns out that someone needed to be added to the list.  A person that influenced not only popular culture over the past sixty years but influenced television, radio and the music industry.

That person is Dick Clark.

The legendary television icon and producer died today at age 82 from a massive heart attack.  It's sad, for certain, but the last few years of Clark's life were sad as well.  In 2004, Dick Clark had a stroke that paralyzzed the right side of his body.  This caused his speech to be slurred once he was able to start talking again as well as difficulty moving.

I still remember watching the New Year's Rocking Eve show when 05 became 06 and how difficult and uncomfortable it was watching Dick Clark trying to stumble through the words that he wanted to say.  I felt bad for him and wondered why he would want to show himself off to the world in that condition.  And then I realized it.  It was because it was important to him.

Going back to yesterday's post about passion . . . .

Dick Clark was passionate about New Year's and the show that was produced every year.  Even if he didn't have much say in the process any longer, he was still happy to be there and he wanted to be there.  He was even willing to work with Ryan Seacrest, whom people have said is like this generation's Dick Clark.  He did it for the event and the joy that he knew it brought to the people that watched.  Sure, his voice was harder to understand now and he couldn't move very well, but the passion was still there.

Dick Clark was an amazing person.  Because of him and his show, American Bandstand, the youth of America (and everyone else that watched) were introduced to such singing sensations as, Brenda Lee, Cyndi Lauper, Gladys Knight and even Madonna.  It's because another of his shows, TV's Funniest Bloopers, that people started to enjoy blooper reels.  It was probably even the forebear of America's Funniest Home Videos (I don't have a valid fact of that, but I could totally understand if that were the case).

An icon passed away today and he will be missed.  Celebrities of all kinds submitted messages of thanks and applause for the man that made an influence on their life in one way or another.  I think TIME Magazine needs to change their list and simply have Dick Clark as the Most Influential Individual in Entertainment.

As he would say, "For now, Dick Clark, so long."  And so it will be until we see him at the Bandstand in the sky.



Until tomorrow.

A Sad Note

Today's blog was going to be about something very random and more than likely happy.  Not sure exactly because I didn't have an idea, however, once I got home, all those plans changed.

We've lived in our neighborhood just over two years.  In that time, we have gotten to know a few neighbors, but none more than the older man that lives next door.  Sadly, we found out this evening that he and his wife were hit by a car while on a stroll this morning and his wife was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The reason that I'm writing this tonight, not only to ask for prayers for our neighbors and the neighborhood as it heals, but also to remind everyone that life is short.  One minute you're here enjoying life with your loved ones and the next you're not.

It's sad that I've written blogs lately about dying.  I don't like to think about it because it brings my own mortality into view.  Yes, I know that someday all of us are going to die, but I don't like to be reminded.  Maybe I'm not a realist because of that opinion, but I've never said that I was.  Those of you that know me well know that I prefer to live in the imagined world instead of the real world.  I also know that doing so is not practical and I must live in the real world. 

So if I live in the real world, can't I choose the rules?  My house, my rules, sort of thing?  Maybe not, but I can choose what to write about here on this blog.  I'm very sad for my neighbor.  He's a kind old man and she seemed very nice even though I didn't really do more than say hello to her.  I wish there was something that we (Joanna and I) could do but they have requested nothing yet.  We'll be here, though, as good neighbors - to support and to encourage and to help.

When you see someone you care about in the next few days, remind them just how much you love them and care about them.  You never know when God is going to need you.



Until tomorrow.

Think Different

Ironic that I was just talking about the iPhone in yesterday's blog post.  News is spreading quickly (as I'm writing a day early) that Steve Jobs has died.  It's sad when anyone dies, obviously, but for just over an entire generation, the kid in the jeans and long sleeve shirt is the definition of the modern world's Thomas Edison.

Over the past few years, Steve Jobs has had struggles with his health.  He had pancreatic cancer in 2005 and had to have a liver transplant in 2009.  Some people suggested that his health is what led to him stepping down as Apple CEO earlier this year.  Regardless of his reasons, Steve Jobs leaves behind a legacy that not too many people will be able to match - either before or after.

Several years ago, just after Steve Jobs had been rehired by Apple to be CEO, his marketing team came up with a unique concept.  It was called, "Think Different".  The concept was to get people to think differently about personal computers.  To think about Apple Macintosh computers not just as a "cute" response to Windows based computers, but powerful to do many things other than just word processing.  The ads featured famous "thinkers" or people whose actions and were different than what was considered normal.  People from Cesar Chavez to Albert Einstein to Jackie Robinson to Jim Henson.  Each ad was simply their picture with the Apple logo and the phrase, "Think Different".  People who made a difference just by being who they were.  People who didn't let others tell them what they could and couldn't do.  People that decided that something was wrong in the world and decided to change it. 

These posters are still sought after pieces of memorabilia.  I used to have a Picasso one along with a Jackie Robinson one.  The one I always wanted was the Jim Henson one because he was yet another innovator of his time.  Not in technology, of course, but in how people viewed puppets and puppeteers and the creative genius that was in that man's head.  Much like people think of Steve Jobs.

In 2005, Steve Jobs spoke to the graduating class at Stanford University.  I'm sure parts of the speech are being played on the news as I type.  He had a great message - "You've got to find what you love."  He certainly did.  And even though I never got to hear that speech first hand, I've listened to it and read it a few times since it was delivered and find confidence in it.

Sometimes I get down about different things and sometimes I wonder when things might change (this is mostly attributed to my writing) and then, if I happen to think about it, I'll look at that speech and it will remind me that my writing is something that I love along with my family and no matter what, that's what's really important.  I still think differently than a lot of people and that's just fine.  I think you as my readers should also consider thinking different.  But don't do it for me and don't do it for Steve Jobs.  Do it for yourself.  Be who you want to be no matter what people think.  Be who you are and believe what you want because one day people might think of you as an innovator also.

I started writing this blog post just minutes after the news started hitting the Internet.  I finished it later in the evening and it will post just after midnight - just over seven hours after people found out that a great man, a great father, a great husband and yes, a great innovator, died.

Rest in peace, Steve.  Your friends, family and fans will miss you.



Until tomorrow.

The Power of Baseball

Yesterday, I read two separate articles that discussed two different people and how baseball affected each of them differently.

The first, I read in regards to Mike Flanagan, the Baltimore Orioles pitcher, who, sadly, took his own life earlier this week.  A lot can be said about suicide - how it's an easy way to escape problems, how it's a selfish act and how no one thinks about those that are left behind.  And I can admit that I don't know all of the details and it's very possible that Mike Flanagan was selfish and only thinking about his own personal problems and not about the family he was going to leave behind.  But one thing that was on his mind was baseball.  The article that I read was written by ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, a personal friend of Flanagan's.  It is a beautifully written tribute to not only a great friend, but a great man, as well.  According to the article, Flanagan loved baseball and loved being a part of it.  When he was fired as GM of the Orioles, he was devastated and for good reason.  It's hard to come out of depression when the one sport that you so love and the team that you love throws you to the curb.  I'm sure a lot of us might feel the same way.  Baseball was so important in Flanagan's life that for some people, it's hard to think of Oriole baseball without thinking about him as well. 

And yes, he had his own demons that might have led to his suicide, but isn't it better to remember all of the good about someone while they were alive instead of thinking about the way they died?  I certainly do. 

I don't like suicide, for some of the reasons that I've already mentioned and I'm not here to argue for or against it.  What I am here to tell you is that no matter how you die, it's how you're remembered afterward that really counts.

As for the other article that I read yesterday, it was written in the Los Angeles Times, by sports writer, Bill Dwyre.  I received a link to the article from Joanna because the man that it is about, John Rountree, is a friend of her father's.

That article talks about the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I still hate that name) and how much John Rountree loves to pay attention to the team.  Sadly, Rountree was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and it has gotten increasingly harder for him to enjoy the sport that he so loved.  Dwyre, for his part, talks about his friendship with Rountree and how he recently took him to a baseball game.  Rountree had not been feeling too well recently and the Angels were doing just as poorly in the standings.  But somehow, with Rountree in the stands, the Angels managed to come back and win a game in the bottom of the ninth inning.    At this point, the Angels haven't lost since and have climbed back into the pennant race against the Texas Rangers.  It seemed that for Rountree, it was like a shot in the arm and brought him out of a funk, though only momentarily.  According to the article, Rountree may not have much longer to live as his body continues to fail.  And yet, he is still rooting for the Angels.  Wouldn't it be something for the Angels to at least make it into the playoffs, just so Rountree could see a few more games?

You might think it rude of me to talk of someone dying when they are not even dead, but if you read the article, even Rountree feels his time is close.  The power of baseball is keeping him going and a few extra games at the end of the season might make him feel a little bit better.

And so, that's it.  The power of baseball.  Two different people.  Two different life experiences.  One will be missed immediately by his family and friends and baseball.  And the other will be missed eventually, and even if the baseball players of today never knew either one of them, both of them enjoyed every game they watched.


Until next time.

A Senstive Subject

DISCLAIMER:

There will be no quips today.  No puns or funny comments.  This blog entry will feature nothing personal about me, save my opinion.  As always, read if you want.  If not, come back soon when I return to my normal blog self.

END DISCLAIMER.


Saturday, January 8, 2011.  The city of Tucson, Arizona is a great town.  Filled with many people from many cultures and many beliefs.  It is also the location of a terrible tragedy.  There's no need to go into the details, nor is there need to add a link.  If you were on the Internet at any time in the past day, then you know all about it.

You know all about a madman that walked up to a U.S. Congresswoman and shot her in the head - luckily, the bullet actually went through.  I say lucky because when it comes to brain surgery, it's actually better to repair damage then have to unlodge a bullet and then repair any damage. 

You know all about the madman that took anywhere between 15-20 shots.  According to some reports, the weapon was a Glock 9mm handgun, which, when equipped properly, can actually hold up to 33 bullets.  But, according to other reports, the shooter was tackled and restrained in between reloading, so more than likely, he didn't have that many.

A Federal Judge from Arizona.  A retiree.  A woman that had been married for fifty years.  A nine year old girl.

I wasn't sure that I wanted to write anything about this tragedy because I'm a very emotional person.  But after reading a headline - one that I didn't even expect to see - I felt the need.  Before I continue, though, let me tell you something else.

9/11 still troubles me.  Not for the political reasons and not for the fight against terrorism.  What bothers me is the loss.  And yesterday was like that for me.  Too much innocence lost.  Yes, some people can argue that a member of Congress - a woman that had had threats against her life in the past - and other politicians may not be so innocent, but a nine year old girl?  Let me tell you who she is and then I'll tell you why she is so special.

This little girl was the granddaughter of Dallas Green.  I know anyone reading this blog will go, "Who's Dallas Green?"  He was the manageer of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980 when they won the World Series.  He was a manager of the New York Mets and he is currently an excutive with the Phillies organization.  The girl's father is a scout with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.  This girl practically had baseball in her blood.  A passion that, sadly, will never be fulfilled.

And now to tell you why she was speical.  This nine year old girl  was born on 9/11/2001 - the most tragic day in America since Pearl Harbor.  On a day that saw great sadness, this wonderful child was born.  She was born in a time when America was on the hunt for terrorists, both at home and abroad.  And yesterday, she died.  Not because of terrorists.  Not because a suicide bomber entered a shopping mall and ignited a bomb.  She died because she wanted to learn about politics.  She had been elected to her student council at school and this was a good learning experience.  She always knew about terrorism and how America was slowly working to remove it from the world.  And now, she'll only get to see the outcome from Heaven

I'm not going to get political.  Mostly, because I'm not good at it.  It's a topic that I choose to tolerate, not ignore.  I know that people have strong opinions about politics, but I am not one of them.  If you want to argue Immigration or Health Care, go find someone else.  This is about people.  Politicians, judges and children.  They're all just people.  People that could have talked out their differences.  People that were just living their lives.  People wanting to learn.  And now it's all gone.  Just like Pearl Harbor and 9/11.


Until Next Time.

The King of Pop, The Queen of Hearts and The Jack of All Trades

The date: 2030
The game: Trivial Pursuit
The Category: Arts and Entertainment
The Question: Who was the actress that died on the same as Michael Jackson?

Pause 15 seconds for everyone to ponder and not answer.

Farrah Fawcett.

Now, I'm not saying that the world has forgotten Farrah already, but it seemed that yesterday morning was dedicated to her memory and the fact that she lost her battle with cancer. Stories left and right on the Internet about her life and how she lived. However, when news broke of Michael Jackson being rushed to the hospital, Farrah's stories disappeared into the ether, along with her.

Again, I'm not saying that it's wrong to talk about Michael Jackson. Plus, people will say that Farrah had been in the media spotlight for some so sorry news broke of her cancer. But I feel so sorry for Farrah's family and friends who were already in mourning just to be pushed aside by the media as they rushed to cover the death of the Pop Icon.

Now, despite Michael's personal troubles (the scandals, the debt and everything else), I still liked his music. He was a good soul that tried to help everyone and so was Farrah. They were so different and so alike at the same time. They share a death day, but they also share a passion for what they loved.

And as much as I was not a teenager in the seventies with a poster in my room, I think we all need to remember Farrah in all of this as well.

And let's not forget that deaths usually come in threes. Who was the first of this trio? Ed McMahon, of course. He was a consummate professional that sat at Johnny Carson's side for thirty years. He was considered a sidekick for a long time - first to Johnny and later to Dick Clark, but Ed McMahon was a comedic strongman. His timing was impeccable and his laugh was unforgettable. He, along with Farrah and Michael will truly be missed. They are three legends who could never be replaced, though many will surely try.

Rest in peace to three amazing people and two that died way before their time.

Life is short.....Part 2

It's unfortunate that so quickly after writing about the sadness of losing such a young man as Nick Adenhart, I have to be writing yet another reminder of just how precious time is. Today, I found out first, that Bruce Snyder, a former football coach at ASU, died after a 10 month battle with cancer. This, is sad in and of itself, because cancer is the worst disease out there because it affects so many people in so many ways - some even without affecting them with the actual disease.

A little while later, I learned that Harry Kalas, the broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies, died. One thing I have to say though, is that he died as he was about to do something he loved - broadcast a Phillies game. You see, he was in the broadcast booth in Washington D.C. preparing to call the game against the Washington Nationals. He was found in the booth by someone else. Sadly, it was too late. Granted, Harry was 73, and had had some surgery recently for something that was never disclosed, but he was probably in poorer health than someone else of his age.

Either way, both of these deaths, coupled with the death of Nick Adenhardt, give the simple reminder that life is short. As Ferris Beuller advised: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Slow down. It's fun to be the rabbit, but every now and then, being the tortoise can remind you of everything you miss.

Life is short......

Tragedy has struck the world of baseball today. Nick Adenhart, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, was killed by a hit and run driver early this morning / late last night (whichever you prefer). What's really sad about this story is that Nick was only 22. That young AND he was able to be a Major League Baseball Player? I had heard during Spring Training that Nick Adenhart was a great prospect for the Angels. I had watched some highlights of last night's Angels game and Adenhart pitched a great game. Unfortunately, his bullpen managed to lose the game and Nick Adenhart did not receive the decision.

It's a shame, but this is a good reminder that life is short. Tragic as this is, I am grateful to be alive and I pray for the families of the three people that were killed early this morning. There is no happy ending to this story, it simply is what it is - tragic.

Just remember....you were placed on this earth for a certain amount of time. When that time is over, it's over. Live your life to your fullest and don't get bogged down by the inane. Live and enjoy for the time will come someday and when it does, you might regret not living.