2008 was a great year for sports, so it is hard for me to list my top sports moments for the year.
The Olympics were nice but I was not mesmerized by the action so while impressed with Michael Phelps, his feats did not overwhelm me. Nor did the Giants in the super bowl. I am bored with Tiger, he is just too good. I don’t care about the NBA anymore so bah hum bug on the Celtics. With the Tar Heels out I couldn’t have cared less about Rock Chalk Jayhawk, and I almost vomit at the sound of Brett Favres name.
But two events of 2008 stand out to me.
Back in early march, my daughter’s Middle School basketball team won their conference tournament and Ryanne was named All Conference and All- Tournament. That was justice for a team that had been pounded soundly the year before. This was only slightly better than their runner-up trophy in the conference volleyball tournament in 2007. I never thought I would get so excited about volleyball that didn’t have two women in bikinis in the bright hot sun!
In late January, my son Brooks made a shot and was fouled in his league game with one second left on the clock. His basket cut the lead to two. He intentionally missed his free throw that bounced back to him and he swished it back in to send the game into overtime. Then with 8 seconds left in the first over time he buried a three that sent the game into a second overtime. The gym was packed and the atmosphere was awesome, so losing the game in over time number 3 wasn’t so hard to swallow. Brooks and I went and bought lottery tickets after the game. His luck must have run out because we didn’t win anything!
I get more anxious over my kids games than I ever did my own. And even if my favorite teams reversed their futility into greatness; that means something other than an awful Notre Dame Football season; or the Tar Heels not losing in the final four; even my pitiful Detroit Lions going from 0-16 to 16-0. None of these would touch the joy of walking to the car with my arm around one of my kids after their game and telling them that I love them. Win or lose I love them.
But our favorite saying in the Corder household is, “Winning is so much better than like…..losing.”
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
December 23, 2008
December 10, 2008
3 Days of Introspection
I have spent the last 3 days at a meeting focused on looking at my leadership abilities. Throughout all of this introspection I realized something. I am not that deep. I am pretty normal (Some may say boring) I wish there was more depth and breadth or something that would be remotely interesting. Nope nothing is there!
But I did reflect about being on Facebook and Facebook has really allowed me to reflect and take stock of my life; my life in high school, my life in college and my work and my professional life. Reconnecting with people who in hindsight had such profound influences on me has been a tremendous experience. These are wonderful people whose memories are woven together into an awesome mosaic of my life’s fabric. I say mosaic but I guess the reality is maybe its just a nice shade of beige. These are wonderful people whose entrance and exit throughout my life have made me into the man I am today. Some people may not want to lay claim to that but facts are facts.
Our lives have reconnected and stay connected through the technology of the internet and the miracle of Facebook, but in reality the thread that ties us together has remained tethered to the deep regions of our memories. In reality, nothing can break the connection of our time together.
The Way It Is
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding. You don’t ever let go of the thread.
- William Stafford
But I did reflect about being on Facebook and Facebook has really allowed me to reflect and take stock of my life; my life in high school, my life in college and my work and my professional life. Reconnecting with people who in hindsight had such profound influences on me has been a tremendous experience. These are wonderful people whose memories are woven together into an awesome mosaic of my life’s fabric. I say mosaic but I guess the reality is maybe its just a nice shade of beige. These are wonderful people whose entrance and exit throughout my life have made me into the man I am today. Some people may not want to lay claim to that but facts are facts.
Our lives have reconnected and stay connected through the technology of the internet and the miracle of Facebook, but in reality the thread that ties us together has remained tethered to the deep regions of our memories. In reality, nothing can break the connection of our time together.
The Way It Is
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding. You don’t ever let go of the thread.
- William Stafford
November 22, 2008
Lets Take the House to DefCon 4
The Corder house is going to DefCon 4.
Five 9th grade girls are spending the night tonight. I worked all day in the yard today and while I was getting up leaves I wondered what I would have done as a 9th grade boy if I knew these girls were in the house! OK, this is not good.
I'd be calling the house and checking out things....but kids don't call today they text. OK, I will just go check my daughter's phone......Damn, she has got it locked and pass word protected. Since 9th grade boys don't drive, they will probably be walking past our house like vultures circling their prey. I wish my dog's shock collar would work on them!!
I have instructed the house to go to DefCon 4 and we are all on high alert.
Motion Dector Lights - Check
Dogs Un Fed and Hungry - Check
High Powered Flash Lights - Check
Pellet Gun Loaded and Pumped - Check (I will just sting 'em)
I have changed into all dark clothes and have painted my face so I can be mobile outside without being noticed.
If you need me I will be in the Situation Room monitoring the situation.
Five 9th grade girls are spending the night tonight. I worked all day in the yard today and while I was getting up leaves I wondered what I would have done as a 9th grade boy if I knew these girls were in the house! OK, this is not good.
I'd be calling the house and checking out things....but kids don't call today they text. OK, I will just go check my daughter's phone......Damn, she has got it locked and pass word protected. Since 9th grade boys don't drive, they will probably be walking past our house like vultures circling their prey. I wish my dog's shock collar would work on them!!
I have instructed the house to go to DefCon 4 and we are all on high alert.
Motion Dector Lights - Check
Dogs Un Fed and Hungry - Check
High Powered Flash Lights - Check
Pellet Gun Loaded and Pumped - Check (I will just sting 'em)
I have changed into all dark clothes and have painted my face so I can be mobile outside without being noticed.
If you need me I will be in the Situation Room monitoring the situation.
November 16, 2008
Futility
I am embarrassed to say that my favorite NFL football team is the Detroit Lions. I watched them today lose to the Panthers. They are now 0 – 10 and on course to be the first team to lose every game in a single season.
Being a Lions fan draws me to a line in one of my favorite all time movies, Plains, Trains and Automobiles. Recently I keep relating to this quote in the movie by the character played by Steve Martin. He and John Candy have been stuck in this hotel together and of course John Candy is driving Steve Martin crazy.
“I could tolerate any insurance seminar. For days I could sit there and listen to them go on and on with a big smile on my face. They'd say, "How can you stand it?" I'd say, "'Cause I've been with Del Griffith. I can take ANYTHING." You know what they'd say? They'd say, "I know what you mean, the shower curtain ring guy. Woah."
So, don’t complain about your sports team around me because I will just say, “I am a Detroit Lions fan.” And then you will say, “Oh, I know what you mean. The Detroit Lions Whoa.”
They play on Thanksgiving day against the undefeated Tennessee Titans. Do I smell an upset? No, that is just my 11 year old son's feet!
Being a Lions fan draws me to a line in one of my favorite all time movies, Plains, Trains and Automobiles. Recently I keep relating to this quote in the movie by the character played by Steve Martin. He and John Candy have been stuck in this hotel together and of course John Candy is driving Steve Martin crazy.
“I could tolerate any insurance seminar. For days I could sit there and listen to them go on and on with a big smile on my face. They'd say, "How can you stand it?" I'd say, "'Cause I've been with Del Griffith. I can take ANYTHING." You know what they'd say? They'd say, "I know what you mean, the shower curtain ring guy. Woah."
So, don’t complain about your sports team around me because I will just say, “I am a Detroit Lions fan.” And then you will say, “Oh, I know what you mean. The Detroit Lions Whoa.”
They play on Thanksgiving day against the undefeated Tennessee Titans. Do I smell an upset? No, that is just my 11 year old son's feet!
November 6, 2008
Keep an Eye on the Ditch
One morning, as I was about to walk into our Senior Staff meeting, I met a man asking if the YMCA "Prayer Partners" were meeting. You see "Prayer Partners" would meet once a week and it is a time when we do a devotion and list prayer requests for the week. Staff mostly attend it, but occasionally a member will stop by to make a specific prayer request. Unfortunately, this particular morning, I had scheduled a meeting at the same time as "Prayer Partners."
It didn't look like anyone was going to show up for the devotional. I diplomatically told him to come back next week and that I would make sure people showed up...."next week." I am now embarrassed to say, that I told him that I had a meeting to go into and we would not be having the prayer time today. At that point he looked at me and said, "Sir, I do not have a church, but I need somebody to pray for me. And I saw where you had this "Prayer Partners" and I thought the Y could help me!"
I felt two inches tall. How could I have made such a statement? I could feel God slapping me in the back of the head like my father used to do and saying, “Now what did you say?" I shook the man's hand and I invited him to the meeting and introduced him to our Senior Staff team, and for the next twenty minutes we heard his story.
He shared a story of a confused man searching for peace. He wanted us to teach him how to pray. He wanted us to pray for him. "You see", he said, "I believe in God, but I guess the more people praying for me, the better off I am." You could feel our Y staff embrace him with nods and smiles of encouragement. He had a slight mental disability he alluded to, but his real demon is his battle with alcohol. He wanted us to pray for his DUI trial next week. He was scared to lose his license. He rambled on and on about his car, and he threw out a few bible verses he remembered. But you could tell he was lonely and scared.
As he talked I kept kicking my self and seeing his tear filled eyes looking at me. “Sir, I don't have a church, but I need somebody to pray for me." At the very time when I could have been the "Good Samaritan", I became the priest and the Levite walking to the other side of the road. "Sir, I don't have a church, but I need somebody to pray for me." WOW! You should have seen his eyes!!!!
I have often thought about how many times I may have missed an opportunity. How many times have I told our staff and volunteers that the "YMCA is the church for many people and we have an obligation to lead them closer to Christ," and in that opportunity I came within a look into this man's eyes from letting him lie in the ditch.
Before our meeting started, we prayed for him. I hope tonight before you go to sleep you will pray for people like him and also ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities to help people out of their ditch!
It didn't look like anyone was going to show up for the devotional. I diplomatically told him to come back next week and that I would make sure people showed up...."next week." I am now embarrassed to say, that I told him that I had a meeting to go into and we would not be having the prayer time today. At that point he looked at me and said, "Sir, I do not have a church, but I need somebody to pray for me. And I saw where you had this "Prayer Partners" and I thought the Y could help me!"
I felt two inches tall. How could I have made such a statement? I could feel God slapping me in the back of the head like my father used to do and saying, “Now what did you say?" I shook the man's hand and I invited him to the meeting and introduced him to our Senior Staff team, and for the next twenty minutes we heard his story.
He shared a story of a confused man searching for peace. He wanted us to teach him how to pray. He wanted us to pray for him. "You see", he said, "I believe in God, but I guess the more people praying for me, the better off I am." You could feel our Y staff embrace him with nods and smiles of encouragement. He had a slight mental disability he alluded to, but his real demon is his battle with alcohol. He wanted us to pray for his DUI trial next week. He was scared to lose his license. He rambled on and on about his car, and he threw out a few bible verses he remembered. But you could tell he was lonely and scared.
As he talked I kept kicking my self and seeing his tear filled eyes looking at me. “Sir, I don't have a church, but I need somebody to pray for me." At the very time when I could have been the "Good Samaritan", I became the priest and the Levite walking to the other side of the road. "Sir, I don't have a church, but I need somebody to pray for me." WOW! You should have seen his eyes!!!!
I have often thought about how many times I may have missed an opportunity. How many times have I told our staff and volunteers that the "YMCA is the church for many people and we have an obligation to lead them closer to Christ," and in that opportunity I came within a look into this man's eyes from letting him lie in the ditch.
Before our meeting started, we prayed for him. I hope tonight before you go to sleep you will pray for people like him and also ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities to help people out of their ditch!
November 3, 2008
One More Day
The best thing that can happen tomorrow is that it will be over. It seems that the big winners in this election season are the printers, marketing people, TV stations, ad agencies, newspapers and the people that sell canned phone calls.
I am starting to get tired of the calls at home, the slanderous slick ads in the mail, and the partisan TV pundits. I am not getting tired of the SNL impersonations. Tina Fey gets better looking each week!!!
I am going to get up early and vote tomorrow. And I will watch the news tomorrow night trying to monitor who will be our new President, Governor, Lt Governor and County Commissioners. But no matter who wins or who loses, I will get up Wednesday morning and sit in the dentist chair.
That may be the only thing worse than the last month of this election season!
Everybody rinse and spit. And God Bless America!
I am starting to get tired of the calls at home, the slanderous slick ads in the mail, and the partisan TV pundits. I am not getting tired of the SNL impersonations. Tina Fey gets better looking each week!!!
I am going to get up early and vote tomorrow. And I will watch the news tomorrow night trying to monitor who will be our new President, Governor, Lt Governor and County Commissioners. But no matter who wins or who loses, I will get up Wednesday morning and sit in the dentist chair.
That may be the only thing worse than the last month of this election season!
Everybody rinse and spit. And God Bless America!
October 23, 2008
I Feel So Cool
I am an official member now. Spent the day talking about Gen Xers and Millenials at a Y staff retreat, and now I am an official member of FACEBOOK! It took 5 minutes to register and 27 ½ straight hours of finger blistering and eye straining to find 14 people to sign up as my friend! I have heard from people that I have not heard from in 25 years. I haven’t been able to focus for the past day and a half and now all I can do is send a message, invite a friend and scan the list for potential friends.
I even found a page or link to a group from my old neighborhood – Holly Tree. Where are Mike Selvy, David Catron, Barbie Bowen and Linda Yokum. Where are Sean DeVine, William Poole, Jeff Westhoff and Allen Cantrell. Hello all Holly Tree people. Are you out there? Wow, What if Evelyn Barber even vaguely remembers who I am and asks me to be her friend? I may just pass out! (Sorry about that. I had a flash back to being 15 years old again!)
It is kind of like a crack addiction!!!! I am Jonesing for some friends. WHOOAAAH.
One of my staff members has 1600 friends, and another has only 500. That is only 500. Well I have 14. 14 of the greatest friends that I have in the entire world. 14 people who dropped in and out of my life sometime over the last 44 years and now they have picked me. Picked me of all people to be on their list! To be their friend. To send an instant message . I am not worthy!
I feel so hip. I blog. I text. I IM on my blackberry and now I am on Facebook. If only my 14 year old daughter thought that I was cool. Maybe if she asked some of the 14 friends from my high school days to tell them how cool I was back in the day….Well maybe that is not such a good idea.
In all seriousness, this is a cool way (typed neat first but that ain’t cool) This is a cool way to connect with people. I love to regale my kids in those long lost stories where I can embellish my significance in the world. Whether it’s the story of Jayma Gilmore’s scarf, Sadie DePolo’s dance or the first date with their mother, the way I tell the story makes it sound like it should be part of a screenplay.
I know in a few days when I get April on Facebook she and I will have some secret arms race to see who can get more friends. That will be another thing that she will kick my ass in and lord over my head. And if my kids get a page then I will be pulling up the rear with them too.
Calling all Holly Tree people. Help me out please! I need some cool points! I need some friends!
I even found a page or link to a group from my old neighborhood – Holly Tree. Where are Mike Selvy, David Catron, Barbie Bowen and Linda Yokum. Where are Sean DeVine, William Poole, Jeff Westhoff and Allen Cantrell. Hello all Holly Tree people. Are you out there? Wow, What if Evelyn Barber even vaguely remembers who I am and asks me to be her friend? I may just pass out! (Sorry about that. I had a flash back to being 15 years old again!)
It is kind of like a crack addiction!!!! I am Jonesing for some friends. WHOOAAAH.
One of my staff members has 1600 friends, and another has only 500. That is only 500. Well I have 14. 14 of the greatest friends that I have in the entire world. 14 people who dropped in and out of my life sometime over the last 44 years and now they have picked me. Picked me of all people to be on their list! To be their friend. To send an instant message . I am not worthy!
I feel so hip. I blog. I text. I IM on my blackberry and now I am on Facebook. If only my 14 year old daughter thought that I was cool. Maybe if she asked some of the 14 friends from my high school days to tell them how cool I was back in the day….Well maybe that is not such a good idea.
In all seriousness, this is a cool way (typed neat first but that ain’t cool) This is a cool way to connect with people. I love to regale my kids in those long lost stories where I can embellish my significance in the world. Whether it’s the story of Jayma Gilmore’s scarf, Sadie DePolo’s dance or the first date with their mother, the way I tell the story makes it sound like it should be part of a screenplay.
I know in a few days when I get April on Facebook she and I will have some secret arms race to see who can get more friends. That will be another thing that she will kick my ass in and lord over my head. And if my kids get a page then I will be pulling up the rear with them too.
Calling all Holly Tree people. Help me out please! I need some cool points! I need some friends!
September 23, 2008
Lets Talk Politics
This election doesn’t make any sense. People hate George Bush. For the past 8 years, most people would say that America has lived disastrous times. We have been plagued by war. Our economy has tanked. Our financial giants have crumbled. 80% of the people believe that the nation is falling apart. And with all that the race to be President is a dead heat. That in it self should signal a big “L” for the Democrats.
I read recently that no matter who wins the election, our political system is moving left. The best thing that could happen to the far right conservatives is Barak win the election. That way they can re-group and plan for a major coup attempt for the White House in 4 years. But if McCain wins, the party moves toward the center and it will be hard to pull it back right.
My two die hard right wing conservative friends pledge that that will never happen, and Sarah Palin is the answer to a more conservative White House. I think that the country is more like me…we are on the right but just not far right.
Today, that is what gets you elected. You need to be closer to the middle. People are tired of partisan politics and are looking for consensus builders. The GOP has won 7 out of the last 10 elections and will likely win this one because the Democrats just don’t get it. For them it is all about the evil of the Republican Right instead of creating a plan for the people.
The Republicans are like Ali and we are doing the “Rope a Dope” and they are letting them punch themselves out. All they really need to do is find the right game plan and stick to it. They are too mad at Rush Limbaugh to stay focused.
The White House and the GOP is working on all time low approval ratings and the Dems still can’t win. All the Republicans do is wink and cover up and let them swing away!
I read recently that no matter who wins the election, our political system is moving left. The best thing that could happen to the far right conservatives is Barak win the election. That way they can re-group and plan for a major coup attempt for the White House in 4 years. But if McCain wins, the party moves toward the center and it will be hard to pull it back right.
My two die hard right wing conservative friends pledge that that will never happen, and Sarah Palin is the answer to a more conservative White House. I think that the country is more like me…we are on the right but just not far right.
Today, that is what gets you elected. You need to be closer to the middle. People are tired of partisan politics and are looking for consensus builders. The GOP has won 7 out of the last 10 elections and will likely win this one because the Democrats just don’t get it. For them it is all about the evil of the Republican Right instead of creating a plan for the people.
The Republicans are like Ali and we are doing the “Rope a Dope” and they are letting them punch themselves out. All they really need to do is find the right game plan and stick to it. They are too mad at Rush Limbaugh to stay focused.
The White House and the GOP is working on all time low approval ratings and the Dems still can’t win. All the Republicans do is wink and cover up and let them swing away!
August 29, 2008
LABOR DAY RAMBLINGS
· Glad the USA (the Redeem Team) won the basketball gold medal. I wonder if you gave them 6 months to get in shape, how the original Dream Team would do? Play a lot of zone and shoot three’s. Maybe future teams can be recently retired vets?
· The USA network has become my favorite station. Burn Notice on Thursday nights and In Plain Sight on Sundays are killer shows. Mary McCormack is HOT!
· In the words of John Madden, “Brett Favre is Brett Favre.” Could ESPN have beat that story to death anymore? I believe he came back because the Packers will be good and that may make him look bad. I kind of hope he has an awful year. I used to like Bret Favre.
· I saw my 9th grade daughter walking around with a boy at the ball game the other night. That was a first. This will be a new era for the Corder’s. I better pull out the 12 gauge!
· I really don’t like to watch golf on TV but I can’t wait for the Ryder Cup. I predict win US win this year!
· I have had a run of bad luck in August. Someone backed into my car, my son broke his foot and had to have surgery, a water line broke and flooded my front yard, and while eating breakfast in a restaurant, a man a few booths over died of a heart attack! I am ready for September.
· I have a couple of Mexican children that I have become friends with in the last few years. They are Katia an 11 year old girl and her 8 year old brother Jovani. They are great kids and so much fun to be around. They speak two languages better than I speak one!
· I know Michael Phelps was impressive but Dana Torres….WOW!
· Is there any bigger oaf than John Edwards? Everything this guy did was bass ackwards. When they first said run for President he should have said “No, I need to serve my state first.” Then said the same thing when Kerry asked him to be VP. He was so far behind in this Presidential race that he should have taken a pass. He had a natural out when his wife got sick but he continued on. Whoever was advising him should be shot! I predict his next venture will be on the next episode of MTV’s Real World!
· I really appreciate the historical significance of Barack Obama, but that doesn’t mean I have to vote for him. He is a lot like Edwards in that all he has done is run for an office and be a great public speaker. We should make the candidates name their cabinet prior to the election so we can see how they will surround themselves.
· The Democratic convention was almost comical. No way the Clinton’s want Obama to win. I predict we hear a great big “I TOLD YOU SO” about the second week of November!
· I read the book the Shack recently. I highly recommend it.
College football starts this week. This is my favorite time of the year! Have you ever noticed that Southern Cal has this great college football programs yet their players seem to under perform in the pros? I think it is because they take a cut in pay!
GO IRISH!
· The USA network has become my favorite station. Burn Notice on Thursday nights and In Plain Sight on Sundays are killer shows. Mary McCormack is HOT!
· In the words of John Madden, “Brett Favre is Brett Favre.” Could ESPN have beat that story to death anymore? I believe he came back because the Packers will be good and that may make him look bad. I kind of hope he has an awful year. I used to like Bret Favre.
· I saw my 9th grade daughter walking around with a boy at the ball game the other night. That was a first. This will be a new era for the Corder’s. I better pull out the 12 gauge!
· I really don’t like to watch golf on TV but I can’t wait for the Ryder Cup. I predict win US win this year!
· I have had a run of bad luck in August. Someone backed into my car, my son broke his foot and had to have surgery, a water line broke and flooded my front yard, and while eating breakfast in a restaurant, a man a few booths over died of a heart attack! I am ready for September.
· I have a couple of Mexican children that I have become friends with in the last few years. They are Katia an 11 year old girl and her 8 year old brother Jovani. They are great kids and so much fun to be around. They speak two languages better than I speak one!
· I know Michael Phelps was impressive but Dana Torres….WOW!
· Is there any bigger oaf than John Edwards? Everything this guy did was bass ackwards. When they first said run for President he should have said “No, I need to serve my state first.” Then said the same thing when Kerry asked him to be VP. He was so far behind in this Presidential race that he should have taken a pass. He had a natural out when his wife got sick but he continued on. Whoever was advising him should be shot! I predict his next venture will be on the next episode of MTV’s Real World!
· I really appreciate the historical significance of Barack Obama, but that doesn’t mean I have to vote for him. He is a lot like Edwards in that all he has done is run for an office and be a great public speaker. We should make the candidates name their cabinet prior to the election so we can see how they will surround themselves.
· The Democratic convention was almost comical. No way the Clinton’s want Obama to win. I predict we hear a great big “I TOLD YOU SO” about the second week of November!
· I read the book the Shack recently. I highly recommend it.
College football starts this week. This is my favorite time of the year! Have you ever noticed that Southern Cal has this great college football programs yet their players seem to under perform in the pros? I think it is because they take a cut in pay!
GO IRISH!
August 6, 2008
From My Friend Burnie
Blind Spots: My Pre-Surgery Thoughts
This past year I saw much of the world through sun drenched and ‘bug splattered’ windshields as I logged over 20,000 miles of highway travel. I could not tell you much about those miles but I probably can recall most of the destinations. I suppose that I focused more on where I wanted to be than where I was at that moment. However, I clearly recall one afternoon several months ago when I was traveling on I-26 in SC. I had been driving about three hours and as habit had checked my mirrors often. I signaled and started easing over to pass a slower vehicle in front of me when suddenly I heard the piercing warning of a horn. Wow, that was an attention getter. My heart-rate jumped as the adrenaline shot through me and triggered the memory of ‘you didn’t check your blind spot’.
I have journeyed through 51 years of life and have mostly focused my attention through the windshield of the future. Dreams, careers, accomplishments and plans to leave a lasting legacy are important in helping us maximize the gift of life. BUT, every now and then something slips into our blind spot and gets our attention in a powerful way. Maybe it’s the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, the ending of a relationship or in my case, a diagnosis of cancer. These events or circumstances that sneak up on us do not have the capacity to make us stronger or to cripple us; they only provide the catalyst for us to choose how we respond to the rest of our journey. I can’t change the triggering event but I can determine my attitude and response.
My initial response to cancer sneaking into my life was just the same as when I tried to occupy the same space as the car next to me. My heart-rate went up and I wanted to run but then I realized that my destination had not changed. My focus has been shifted so that I am more keenly aware of my present surroundings but I am still headed for home. Sometimes God has to slow us down to remind us of the joy in our journey. What joy I have found in friends who have given of their time to encourage me and to petition God on my behalf. Gifts of love demonstrated by phone calls, emails, financial gifts and cookies have brightened my day. (Although no one is stepping up to take on Jan’s perpetual ‘honey-do’ list.) J
My kids have made extra time for me to do special things for me. Megan’s taking on the responsibility of taking care of her siblings and running the household. (Don’t forget to lock the doors and turnout the lights.) Briley called and said that he was taking a day off from his work at Blue Ridge to come home and spend the day with me. What a great day that was, one that many dads never get to experience with their 18 year old son. Kelsey, took my new IPOD (which had been in the box for one year) and uploaded more songs that I probably know so that I would have something to occupy my mind when the pain gets tough. She even put together play list including praise music and classic rock. She knows her dad likes to row on both sides of the musical canoe. Tanner who knows what the pain of surgery is like asks me a least three times or more a week how I’m feeling. And Jan……well let me just say that this journey would loose much of its joy if she were not constantly by my side. Her strength, encouragement and compassion are the balance that I need. She knows that my greatest desire even beyond being cancer free is to contend strongly for the faith. It is my ultimate destination and the only lasting legacy that I can leave.
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Philippians 1:27
The Apostle Paul encouraged the church at Philippi with these words and I too am encouraged and seek to stand fast in Jesus Christ.
My encouragement comes from knowing that in the very next chapter of Philippians, Paul tells of how Christ humbled himself to come to earth as a man. Jesus did not exchange His deity for humanity but He did set aside or renounce His privileges in some areas. I am amazed at His love for us in that He would give up the glory of a face-to-face relationship with God the Father and the personal enjoyment of that glory. As a man, Christ identified with basic human needs and weakness, but yet He was without sin. He knows my desires and my fears because He to experienced the pain of a broken body. In John 17 Jesus prays for Himself.
“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” John 17:5
Jesus Christ stepped out in obedience on a road that was difficult and out of the comfort of His Fathers Glory. Because of Christ obedience, God was glorified and Christ was restored to His original glory.
So the way up is down. If I am to stand fast and contend for the faith in Christ Jesus, I must walk down this road. It’s not the road that I would have preferred because it is out of my comfort zone. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t see this coming what matters is that I do not journey alone. Jesus Christ, the Great Sheppard walks through the valley with me. It is a journey through and not a place of dwelling. I know now what it feels like to be under the wing of the all Mighty God. What a traveling companion. He has given me peace that I shouldn’t have and that I can’t understand, just like He promises.
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind me and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
I can do nothing to obtain or deserve such love from God my Father. I am a child of the King simply because of His precious amazing grace. God be praised for His grace is sufficient and His mercy everlasting.
Burnie Whitson
August 5, 2008
This past year I saw much of the world through sun drenched and ‘bug splattered’ windshields as I logged over 20,000 miles of highway travel. I could not tell you much about those miles but I probably can recall most of the destinations. I suppose that I focused more on where I wanted to be than where I was at that moment. However, I clearly recall one afternoon several months ago when I was traveling on I-26 in SC. I had been driving about three hours and as habit had checked my mirrors often. I signaled and started easing over to pass a slower vehicle in front of me when suddenly I heard the piercing warning of a horn. Wow, that was an attention getter. My heart-rate jumped as the adrenaline shot through me and triggered the memory of ‘you didn’t check your blind spot’.
I have journeyed through 51 years of life and have mostly focused my attention through the windshield of the future. Dreams, careers, accomplishments and plans to leave a lasting legacy are important in helping us maximize the gift of life. BUT, every now and then something slips into our blind spot and gets our attention in a powerful way. Maybe it’s the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, the ending of a relationship or in my case, a diagnosis of cancer. These events or circumstances that sneak up on us do not have the capacity to make us stronger or to cripple us; they only provide the catalyst for us to choose how we respond to the rest of our journey. I can’t change the triggering event but I can determine my attitude and response.
My initial response to cancer sneaking into my life was just the same as when I tried to occupy the same space as the car next to me. My heart-rate went up and I wanted to run but then I realized that my destination had not changed. My focus has been shifted so that I am more keenly aware of my present surroundings but I am still headed for home. Sometimes God has to slow us down to remind us of the joy in our journey. What joy I have found in friends who have given of their time to encourage me and to petition God on my behalf. Gifts of love demonstrated by phone calls, emails, financial gifts and cookies have brightened my day. (Although no one is stepping up to take on Jan’s perpetual ‘honey-do’ list.) J
My kids have made extra time for me to do special things for me. Megan’s taking on the responsibility of taking care of her siblings and running the household. (Don’t forget to lock the doors and turnout the lights.) Briley called and said that he was taking a day off from his work at Blue Ridge to come home and spend the day with me. What a great day that was, one that many dads never get to experience with their 18 year old son. Kelsey, took my new IPOD (which had been in the box for one year) and uploaded more songs that I probably know so that I would have something to occupy my mind when the pain gets tough. She even put together play list including praise music and classic rock. She knows her dad likes to row on both sides of the musical canoe. Tanner who knows what the pain of surgery is like asks me a least three times or more a week how I’m feeling. And Jan……well let me just say that this journey would loose much of its joy if she were not constantly by my side. Her strength, encouragement and compassion are the balance that I need. She knows that my greatest desire even beyond being cancer free is to contend strongly for the faith. It is my ultimate destination and the only lasting legacy that I can leave.
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Philippians 1:27
The Apostle Paul encouraged the church at Philippi with these words and I too am encouraged and seek to stand fast in Jesus Christ.
My encouragement comes from knowing that in the very next chapter of Philippians, Paul tells of how Christ humbled himself to come to earth as a man. Jesus did not exchange His deity for humanity but He did set aside or renounce His privileges in some areas. I am amazed at His love for us in that He would give up the glory of a face-to-face relationship with God the Father and the personal enjoyment of that glory. As a man, Christ identified with basic human needs and weakness, but yet He was without sin. He knows my desires and my fears because He to experienced the pain of a broken body. In John 17 Jesus prays for Himself.
“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” John 17:5
Jesus Christ stepped out in obedience on a road that was difficult and out of the comfort of His Fathers Glory. Because of Christ obedience, God was glorified and Christ was restored to His original glory.
So the way up is down. If I am to stand fast and contend for the faith in Christ Jesus, I must walk down this road. It’s not the road that I would have preferred because it is out of my comfort zone. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t see this coming what matters is that I do not journey alone. Jesus Christ, the Great Sheppard walks through the valley with me. It is a journey through and not a place of dwelling. I know now what it feels like to be under the wing of the all Mighty God. What a traveling companion. He has given me peace that I shouldn’t have and that I can’t understand, just like He promises.
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind me and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
I can do nothing to obtain or deserve such love from God my Father. I am a child of the King simply because of His precious amazing grace. God be praised for His grace is sufficient and His mercy everlasting.
Burnie Whitson
August 5, 2008
August 2, 2008
Thoughts for our High School Seniors
The primary way the gospels present Jesus with his disciples is as people on a journey. Jesus is always moving quickly from place to place, with his poor, sometimes dazed and confused disciples stumbling along after Him. He calls disciples, not to sit down and rest with Him, not to build great stone buildings where they can settle down with Him; rather He calls disciples to move with Him.
Our commitment to you is that we are here to help you along your way. You are beginning your college journey and as adults know, college is just one small beginning not the destination. God’s blessings on you as you continue to grow in Christ, as you continue to live out your new college life. We are confident that you will not simply survive, but you will triumph and have a life over flowing with joy.
We hope what makes you special and what gives us all hope is that when you hear Jesus say, “Follow Me” you know he means you and you dare to follow!
Our commitment to you is that we are here to help you along your way. You are beginning your college journey and as adults know, college is just one small beginning not the destination. God’s blessings on you as you continue to grow in Christ, as you continue to live out your new college life. We are confident that you will not simply survive, but you will triumph and have a life over flowing with joy.
We hope what makes you special and what gives us all hope is that when you hear Jesus say, “Follow Me” you know he means you and you dare to follow!
July 18, 2008
Wisdom and Knowledge for Y Staff
“Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” (2 Chronicles 1:10)
Solomon must have felt so helpless by the calling God had set for him. It is normal for each of us to feel helpless about our leadership at times. As we contemplate the calling to nurture and advance our faith within our own spheres of leadership, most of our prayers should be asking to develop our leadership skills. We shall need much wisdom and knowledge from the Lord if we are to be successful in our leadership efforts.
But we should also note that Solomon’s desire for knowledge and wisdom was entirely selfless. He sought neither fame nor wealth by becoming knowledgeable and wise; rather, he sought the ability to judge the people of Israel well and according to the Law and promises of God. Solomon understood that knowledge is not an end in itself, nor is wisdom. Rather, these gifts of God, these essential components for being a leader, are to be received from God for the purpose of serving others.
I hope you will pray for me, that I gain wisdom and knowledge from God so that I can be the Servant Leader to each of you that God wants me to be. And I will pray for you that same prayer, and also pray that our work together makes God smile!
Solomon must have felt so helpless by the calling God had set for him. It is normal for each of us to feel helpless about our leadership at times. As we contemplate the calling to nurture and advance our faith within our own spheres of leadership, most of our prayers should be asking to develop our leadership skills. We shall need much wisdom and knowledge from the Lord if we are to be successful in our leadership efforts.
But we should also note that Solomon’s desire for knowledge and wisdom was entirely selfless. He sought neither fame nor wealth by becoming knowledgeable and wise; rather, he sought the ability to judge the people of Israel well and according to the Law and promises of God. Solomon understood that knowledge is not an end in itself, nor is wisdom. Rather, these gifts of God, these essential components for being a leader, are to be received from God for the purpose of serving others.
I hope you will pray for me, that I gain wisdom and knowledge from God so that I can be the Servant Leader to each of you that God wants me to be. And I will pray for you that same prayer, and also pray that our work together makes God smile!
July 12, 2008
General Ramblings
· I know some people thought that the media made too much out of the death of Tim Russert, but I didn’t. I read his books a few years ago and loved them. I always enjoyed what he had to say. I also find it very impressive how his peers spoke of him. I bet we all wish we could be so revered.
· This election is headed in a direction where neither party specifically likes their candidate. I wonder who is 4 years away from being the President? Whoever gets elected might just be very vulnerable in 4 years. I bet Hillary hopes so!
· I am becoming increasingly bothered by bad things happening to really good people. How many more times will I ask why before I get an answer?
· I have an herb garden and I don’t care what you do, it is almost impossible to kill rosemary!
· I saw a double rainbow the other day while driving. I wish my Blackberry was a camera. It probably has the ability to take pictures but I need my 14 year old daughter to show me how.
· I have been almost to the point of sheer disgust over the pregnancy pact from the teenagers in Massachusetts. It is making me debate my own philosophy on birth control, sex education, and how we should or shouldn’t punish parents for the acts of their children. Parents….please TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN!!!!
· I love where I work. I have heard staff use the word servant leader more in the last 3 months than I have ever heard in 25 years in the Y.
· On my beach trip, I usually fill up to go to the beach and then fill up again to return. A full tank is 20 gallons. So an extra dollar a gallon from last year will not slow down my summer beach travel. $40 is a small price to pay for a week with my family.
· Did you know that Charles Darwin and Abe Lincoln were born on the same day?
· My son Brooks thinks it’s hilarious that the drug Aciphex may cause constipation. I am just thankful he is not asking me about why I should call a doctor after a 4 hour erection!
· I think I am the only person that doesn’t like the TV show The Office. I am not a big Steve Carrell fan and I know I wouldn’t like Get Smart. Now Anne Hathaway is way cool!
· I did watch the 5th set of the Federer vs Nadal Wimbledon match. What a display!
· I love the summer at the Y!
· Did I hear right? At the Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest they dipped the hot dogs in a mixture of oil and water to help them slide down? They call that the slider. I bet it slides out the other end too!
· This election is headed in a direction where neither party specifically likes their candidate. I wonder who is 4 years away from being the President? Whoever gets elected might just be very vulnerable in 4 years. I bet Hillary hopes so!
· I am becoming increasingly bothered by bad things happening to really good people. How many more times will I ask why before I get an answer?
· I have an herb garden and I don’t care what you do, it is almost impossible to kill rosemary!
· I saw a double rainbow the other day while driving. I wish my Blackberry was a camera. It probably has the ability to take pictures but I need my 14 year old daughter to show me how.
· I have been almost to the point of sheer disgust over the pregnancy pact from the teenagers in Massachusetts. It is making me debate my own philosophy on birth control, sex education, and how we should or shouldn’t punish parents for the acts of their children. Parents….please TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN!!!!
· I love where I work. I have heard staff use the word servant leader more in the last 3 months than I have ever heard in 25 years in the Y.
· On my beach trip, I usually fill up to go to the beach and then fill up again to return. A full tank is 20 gallons. So an extra dollar a gallon from last year will not slow down my summer beach travel. $40 is a small price to pay for a week with my family.
· Did you know that Charles Darwin and Abe Lincoln were born on the same day?
· My son Brooks thinks it’s hilarious that the drug Aciphex may cause constipation. I am just thankful he is not asking me about why I should call a doctor after a 4 hour erection!
· I think I am the only person that doesn’t like the TV show The Office. I am not a big Steve Carrell fan and I know I wouldn’t like Get Smart. Now Anne Hathaway is way cool!
· I did watch the 5th set of the Federer vs Nadal Wimbledon match. What a display!
· I love the summer at the Y!
· Did I hear right? At the Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest they dipped the hot dogs in a mixture of oil and water to help them slide down? They call that the slider. I bet it slides out the other end too!
July 6, 2008
Obviously Stolen From Letterman
Top Ten Signs Your Kid Is Having A Bad Time At Summer Camp
10. Daily art brought home signed "Prisoner #325"
9. Sounds disappointed when he mentions not being able to use his “epi pen.”
8. He's asking you to sprinkle extra Prozac on his yogurt
7. When you visit, proudly shows off his black eye
6. Camp director phones and says, "We're concerned about Psycho, I mean your son"
5. "Craft time" is 14 hours of cleaning the grout in the locker rooms
4. His name: "Jimmy"; his nickname: "What’s his name?"
3. Practices his new second language at dinner which is a string of four letter expletives
2. You ask to see picture of his friends -- he shows you a photo of a stick
1. His favorite counselor is the crazy homeless man on the soccer fields
10. Daily art brought home signed "Prisoner #325"
9. Sounds disappointed when he mentions not being able to use his “epi pen.”
8. He's asking you to sprinkle extra Prozac on his yogurt
7. When you visit, proudly shows off his black eye
6. Camp director phones and says, "We're concerned about Psycho, I mean your son"
5. "Craft time" is 14 hours of cleaning the grout in the locker rooms
4. His name: "Jimmy"; his nickname: "What’s his name?"
3. Practices his new second language at dinner which is a string of four letter expletives
2. You ask to see picture of his friends -- he shows you a photo of a stick
1. His favorite counselor is the crazy homeless man on the soccer fields
June 16, 2008
Brooks Piercy a Servant Leader
Our community lost a great leader last week with the passing of Brooks Piercy. At 93 years old, Brooks was revered by his friends, neighbors and his former students. Yes, former students. In the last few years of his life he was looked after by people who he had taught 30, 40 or 50 years ago. Isn’t that remarkable? Just a few minutes with the man, and it became obvious of his greatness. He was a servant leader.
A name would come up in our conversation and he would tell me what kind of cow this individual had in the agricultural class in 1958. At 93 he could recall with pride the facts and life changes of uncountable people who he had taught. I would sit and listen amazed. He was a teacher that served his students.
For a few years Brooks would visit his beloved wife Vernie at Cleveland Pines. Every day he would visit and help her with her hair and make-up. He was a husband that served his wife.
Even his friends spoke of him with great pride. One friend shared a story about his first day as a teacher, and being mentored by Brooks. Brooks was taking him around to meet the faculty and two teachers came up and just gushed over the new young teacher. “Be careful boy, sometimes when a Lion shows his teeth, he ain’t smiling,” Piercy joked.
One afternoon he and I rode across his property in his Clemson orange jeep and I told him that I wanted to buy it. In his deep voice he laughed that I should get in line. He told me that very few weeks would go buy that he didn’t get an offer to buy that car!
The greatness of Cleveland County is definitely the by-product of legendary people like Brooks Piercy. I worry that as his generation passes, we are not passing on the character and values for which he lived his life. I hope the memory and message of Brooks Piercy, to live a life of Servant Hood, can take a strangle hold of our lives. Brooks would ask us to “Love God with all you heart, soul and mind. And to love your neighbor as yourself.” Go Tigers!
A name would come up in our conversation and he would tell me what kind of cow this individual had in the agricultural class in 1958. At 93 he could recall with pride the facts and life changes of uncountable people who he had taught. I would sit and listen amazed. He was a teacher that served his students.
For a few years Brooks would visit his beloved wife Vernie at Cleveland Pines. Every day he would visit and help her with her hair and make-up. He was a husband that served his wife.
Even his friends spoke of him with great pride. One friend shared a story about his first day as a teacher, and being mentored by Brooks. Brooks was taking him around to meet the faculty and two teachers came up and just gushed over the new young teacher. “Be careful boy, sometimes when a Lion shows his teeth, he ain’t smiling,” Piercy joked.
One afternoon he and I rode across his property in his Clemson orange jeep and I told him that I wanted to buy it. In his deep voice he laughed that I should get in line. He told me that very few weeks would go buy that he didn’t get an offer to buy that car!
The greatness of Cleveland County is definitely the by-product of legendary people like Brooks Piercy. I worry that as his generation passes, we are not passing on the character and values for which he lived his life. I hope the memory and message of Brooks Piercy, to live a life of Servant Hood, can take a strangle hold of our lives. Brooks would ask us to “Love God with all you heart, soul and mind. And to love your neighbor as yourself.” Go Tigers!
May 24, 2008
BANNED
I’ve been banned from a message board for Notre Dame basketball. Now for my friend Ralph, his world would stop if he couldn’t go to www.goheels.com. But my world is still spinning. I was banned for defending Tyler Hansbrough and because he didn’t believe my name was really Cam Corder. Can you believe that?
I was banned by ElKabong. That is the call name for the keeper of the message board. El K, as his minions so affectionately call him, is really Mike Coffey. He is some mid 30’s computer geek that spends 22 hours a day scouring the world-wide-web, lusting after info to satisfy his man crush on 17 year old hoop stars that he dreams about playing for the Irish. Can’t you envision him staring blurry eyed at his computer screen in his boxer shorts, eating bags of Doritos and yelling upstairs for his mom to bring him some more kool aid? He fashions himself some Notre Dame hoops savant who thinks he is in the inner circle. He is a glorified groupie.
Now I hope he finds my blog. But then again he will probably attack my computer with a virus. It will be called the Dorito Dust Virus.
And don’t laugh, I am not bitter. Just out of Doritos and Kool Aid.
I was banned by ElKabong. That is the call name for the keeper of the message board. El K, as his minions so affectionately call him, is really Mike Coffey. He is some mid 30’s computer geek that spends 22 hours a day scouring the world-wide-web, lusting after info to satisfy his man crush on 17 year old hoop stars that he dreams about playing for the Irish. Can’t you envision him staring blurry eyed at his computer screen in his boxer shorts, eating bags of Doritos and yelling upstairs for his mom to bring him some more kool aid? He fashions himself some Notre Dame hoops savant who thinks he is in the inner circle. He is a glorified groupie.
Now I hope he finds my blog. But then again he will probably attack my computer with a virus. It will be called the Dorito Dust Virus.
And don’t laugh, I am not bitter. Just out of Doritos and Kool Aid.
May 19, 2008
10 Myths all High School Seniors Should Know
I heard David Chadwick share this in a sermon several years back
1. This world is all there is – I pray that you find that spiritual connectedness to God that becomes your core!
2. Your outsides are more important than your insides – We are bombarded with the notion about looks and beauty. The reality is that we should look for the content of a person’s heart and character
3. Your net worth defines your self-worth – Don’t chase the dollar
4. Your work will define you and your world – This becomes less and less true as you mature….I hope
5. Life is about getting more than you give (Note how close the word miserable is to miser) – It actually is about GIVING!
6. Older people have NO value – We are losing our history, plus people are living longer. We need to make sure we continue to give them value
7. Science has more authority than faith and scripture – It is that awesome connection to faith that gives us strength
8. You can have it all at one time – If it is too good to be true, then it is too good to be true
9. There is no absolute truth – Read the bible!
10. Only the strong survive – Remember those less fortunate!
1. This world is all there is – I pray that you find that spiritual connectedness to God that becomes your core!
2. Your outsides are more important than your insides – We are bombarded with the notion about looks and beauty. The reality is that we should look for the content of a person’s heart and character
3. Your net worth defines your self-worth – Don’t chase the dollar
4. Your work will define you and your world – This becomes less and less true as you mature….I hope
5. Life is about getting more than you give (Note how close the word miserable is to miser) – It actually is about GIVING!
6. Older people have NO value – We are losing our history, plus people are living longer. We need to make sure we continue to give them value
7. Science has more authority than faith and scripture – It is that awesome connection to faith that gives us strength
8. You can have it all at one time – If it is too good to be true, then it is too good to be true
9. There is no absolute truth – Read the bible!
10. Only the strong survive – Remember those less fortunate!
April 30, 2008
I wrote this in 2004
My parents used to say the dumbest things. I remember when my dad would yell at me and my brothers, while we were in the car, “Don’t make me pull this car over!” We would just look at each other and laugh. “Dad you’re not gonna pull the car over. You’re trying to beat last year’s trip time!”
Or my mom would say, “Who do you think you are?” I would want to yell back, “Mom, Do I need a name tag? I’m Cam, your son!”
I love it when a parent says, “If you fall out of that tree and break your leg, don’t come running to me!”
I heard Mike Breaux, a Pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, mention that he wondered if Joseph ever said to Jesus when Jesus would leave the back door open, “Boy, were you born in a barn.” “Well yea, I was actually,” Jesus would laugh.
Parents really do say some stupid things. Like when a parent says, “You are just worthless.” “Why aren’t you more like your brother?” “I’ve never seen anyone as stupid as you.” “You’re no good.” “What did I do to deserve you?”
Parents do say some stupid things.
I love little league baseball, and your Y has a great baseball program. Over 1000 kids play every spring and another 500 kids play fall baseball. There is something basic and good about youth baseball. This summer during the Y Coach Pitch league, my son Brooks stood on second base with his glove on his head striking the Karate kid pose! You just have to laugh at that. That is how he garnered the nickname “Mr. Miyagi.”
But baseball parents have a reputation as some of the worst. Early in my Y career I was watching a game with a dad, when the dad said, “I wanted to have a ball player, but it looks like I’ve raised a sissy.” Parents say some stupid things. I just cringed when I heard him say that. I wish I would have had enough guts to say, “You didn’t raise a sissy. You have a raised a beautiful, funny, articulate, smart and inquisitive kid who not only loves life, but for some odd reason he loves you!”
I hope as parents we can start saying things like, “I’m proud of you.” “Way to go.” “You are good.” “I love you.” Kids need building up. They get beat down and degraded enough everywhere else in their life. My personal challenge as a parent is to every day communicate to my kids that even if they lined up all of the children from around the world, I would pick them.
David Chadwick, who led our prayer breakfast a few years ago said it like this, “By the example of how I am parenting my kids today, I am also parenting my grandkids and great grand kids.” Whether your children are infants or fully grown adults with their own children, you still need to set the example. Your Y phrases it as Developing Assets in your kids.
I love this poem by Mary Korzan.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I knew that little things are special things.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I felt you kiss me good night, and I felt loved.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it’s all right to cry.”
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I looked…and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn’t looking.
Or my mom would say, “Who do you think you are?” I would want to yell back, “Mom, Do I need a name tag? I’m Cam, your son!”
I love it when a parent says, “If you fall out of that tree and break your leg, don’t come running to me!”
I heard Mike Breaux, a Pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, mention that he wondered if Joseph ever said to Jesus when Jesus would leave the back door open, “Boy, were you born in a barn.” “Well yea, I was actually,” Jesus would laugh.
Parents really do say some stupid things. Like when a parent says, “You are just worthless.” “Why aren’t you more like your brother?” “I’ve never seen anyone as stupid as you.” “You’re no good.” “What did I do to deserve you?”
Parents do say some stupid things.
I love little league baseball, and your Y has a great baseball program. Over 1000 kids play every spring and another 500 kids play fall baseball. There is something basic and good about youth baseball. This summer during the Y Coach Pitch league, my son Brooks stood on second base with his glove on his head striking the Karate kid pose! You just have to laugh at that. That is how he garnered the nickname “Mr. Miyagi.”
But baseball parents have a reputation as some of the worst. Early in my Y career I was watching a game with a dad, when the dad said, “I wanted to have a ball player, but it looks like I’ve raised a sissy.” Parents say some stupid things. I just cringed when I heard him say that. I wish I would have had enough guts to say, “You didn’t raise a sissy. You have a raised a beautiful, funny, articulate, smart and inquisitive kid who not only loves life, but for some odd reason he loves you!”
I hope as parents we can start saying things like, “I’m proud of you.” “Way to go.” “You are good.” “I love you.” Kids need building up. They get beat down and degraded enough everywhere else in their life. My personal challenge as a parent is to every day communicate to my kids that even if they lined up all of the children from around the world, I would pick them.
David Chadwick, who led our prayer breakfast a few years ago said it like this, “By the example of how I am parenting my kids today, I am also parenting my grandkids and great grand kids.” Whether your children are infants or fully grown adults with their own children, you still need to set the example. Your Y phrases it as Developing Assets in your kids.
I love this poem by Mary Korzan.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I knew that little things are special things.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I felt you kiss me good night, and I felt loved.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it’s all right to cry.”
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I looked…and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn’t looking.
April 13, 2008
Read My Letter to the Editor of Sports Illustrated
I bet you think it concerns the swim suit issue but that will be another letter!
Dear Editor,
I couldn’t help but be inspired by the Lee Elder story. All of golf owes Mr. Elder a huge debt of gratitude. In 2006, Paul and Margaret Porter donated a wonderful 18 hole golf course to our YMCA. Shortly before Mr. Porter’s death in 2007, he and I stood out front of the Club House and watched a dozen African American girls from the YMCA Girls Club hit off the driving range. They were part of the Y’s First Tee program. He told me that watching those kids made him proud. I am positive that these young girls are the direct beneficiary of the bravery of people like Lee Elder. I get excited thinking that in the decades to come, the combination of the values taught by our First Tee program, the wonderful golf course from the Porters and the opportunity created by people like Lee Elder will allow these young girls to possibly open the wonderful sport of golf to other minorities. Lee Elder’s trailblazing will ripple on for generations to come.
Look for it to hopefully show up in future issues.
Dear Editor,
I couldn’t help but be inspired by the Lee Elder story. All of golf owes Mr. Elder a huge debt of gratitude. In 2006, Paul and Margaret Porter donated a wonderful 18 hole golf course to our YMCA. Shortly before Mr. Porter’s death in 2007, he and I stood out front of the Club House and watched a dozen African American girls from the YMCA Girls Club hit off the driving range. They were part of the Y’s First Tee program. He told me that watching those kids made him proud. I am positive that these young girls are the direct beneficiary of the bravery of people like Lee Elder. I get excited thinking that in the decades to come, the combination of the values taught by our First Tee program, the wonderful golf course from the Porters and the opportunity created by people like Lee Elder will allow these young girls to possibly open the wonderful sport of golf to other minorities. Lee Elder’s trailblazing will ripple on for generations to come.
Look for it to hopefully show up in future issues.
April 5, 2008
My Fab 5 Movies
1. Brian Song - Everyone remembers this story of one of the first roommates of different color in the NFL. It is a wonderful movie about Gayle Sayers and Brian Piccolo and how their friendship developed in the face of Brian Piccolo’s cancer fight. And there is not a man in the world that doesn’t get misty when that music plays. Da Da Da Da Da…. “I need to go get some duct tape.” There is something powerful about Best Friends.
Do you have a best friend? Do you have that friend who keeps you accountable? Its funny, Brian Piccolo and Gayle Sayers were competing for the same position. The same job. Yet they became “brothers.” You know when the relationship took the turn? It happened when Gayle Sayers hurt his knee and when Sayers got home from the hospital, Piccolo had set up a rehab station in Gayle Sayer’s basement. Piccolo said when he won the position battle he wanted Sayers at 100%. And they trained together. A best friend saddles up beside you in times of crisis. Just as Sayers did to Piccolo when he fought cancer.
2. Rudy – Most of you know that I love Notre Dame, so I can’t share movies without talking about Rudy. My favorite scene is when he sees that he will not dress for the final game so he quits and his friend, the maintenance man, talks him into going back and all the players clap for him as he comes to the practice field. But even better than that is when the seniors all walk into the coaches office, lay down their uniforms and say, “I want Rudy to play in my place.” “You’re our captain and an All-American, Act like it.” “I think I am coach.”
If you have never played team sports then you have really missed out some great learning’s. Like in Rudy, do you model that teamwork around the office, in the neighborhood, in your church? Are you ready to lay down your uniform, your position, and your success so your teammate can have the honor? Are you modeling that authentic Christ like relationship to those people around you?
3. Ice Age - The cartoon story of the journey of a Wooly Mammoth, Saber Tooth Tiger and a Three Toed Sloth, and a baby. The three animals are risking their lives to return the baby who ironically will grow up to hunt them. And the Saber Tooth Tiger is really just playing along until he can kill them all. My favorite scene is after the Wooly Mammoth saves the Tiger from falling in this volcano the Tiger asks, “Why did you do that.” And the Mammoth replied, “That is what you do for a member of the herd.”
The human mind is hard wired to want relationships. I have been reading a few books this past year. One is called “Bowling Alone” by Robert Putnam. The entire focus on the research of this Harvard Professor is how we want deep and meaningful relationships yet we are less engaged with neighbors, co-workers, and even family than we were 30 years ago and we continue in a downward spiral. His research even proves that people with a poor diet but in a supportive group dynamic and stronger health gains than those with a good diet and working individually. I like to characterize this by saying, “It is better to eat Krispy Kremes with friends than broccoli alone.”
Putnam also states that connecting to a different race is called bridging social capital. This bridging is very difficult and out of the norm. We have always been taught by our grandmothers that Birds of a feather flock together so it is easy to focus on relationships with people like us, which is called bonding social capital. But we need to be like Sayers and Piccolo, like the Mammoth, the Tiger and the Sloth. Our communities will succeed when we bridge the gaps between us. And how to conquer that gap is taught very explicitly through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
4. Forrest Gump – I am a little embarrassed to say this but I loved the movie. All of the subtleties and era specific pictures, but I especially loved the scene where he is talking to Jenny, the girl he has always loved and he tells her about the beauty of the Sunset as he ran through the desert, and the way the reflection of the Rocky Mountains looked on a this lake at sunrise, and the way the stars looked on a clear night when he was in Viet Nam. Jenny looked up at him and says that she wished she would have been with him, and Gump says, “You were.”
Have you ever loved someone so much that you took them in your heart everywhere?
Man I have written about too many mushy movies I might get kicked out of the Man Club. I could have shared Brave Heart and William Wallace challenging his army that “All men die, but very few rarely ever live.”
Or the Magnificent Seven when the 7 gun fighters go protect the small village in Mexico. I love it when James Coburn straps his pistol to his leg and says “no body throws my guns on the ground and tells me to run.” Man I stand up and get Brooks’ gun and cowboy hat on and I am ready to ride off with them.
And finally
5. Dreamer – When this movie came out my daughter Ryanne and I went to see this it. The little girl writes a story for school about a king (her father) and a castle (the barn) and their horse. And the story seems to be about how the re-training of this injured horse brings together a father and his young daughter. And late in the trailer the father reads the story. The daughter says, "it’s a stupid story about a stupid king." And Kurt Russell says, "I like the stupid King" and the girl responds, "I love the Stupid King." Right there in the movie theater I just busted out crying and grabbed Ryanne and she’s about punched me in the nose.
Do you have a best friend? Do you have that friend who keeps you accountable? Its funny, Brian Piccolo and Gayle Sayers were competing for the same position. The same job. Yet they became “brothers.” You know when the relationship took the turn? It happened when Gayle Sayers hurt his knee and when Sayers got home from the hospital, Piccolo had set up a rehab station in Gayle Sayer’s basement. Piccolo said when he won the position battle he wanted Sayers at 100%. And they trained together. A best friend saddles up beside you in times of crisis. Just as Sayers did to Piccolo when he fought cancer.
2. Rudy – Most of you know that I love Notre Dame, so I can’t share movies without talking about Rudy. My favorite scene is when he sees that he will not dress for the final game so he quits and his friend, the maintenance man, talks him into going back and all the players clap for him as he comes to the practice field. But even better than that is when the seniors all walk into the coaches office, lay down their uniforms and say, “I want Rudy to play in my place.” “You’re our captain and an All-American, Act like it.” “I think I am coach.”
If you have never played team sports then you have really missed out some great learning’s. Like in Rudy, do you model that teamwork around the office, in the neighborhood, in your church? Are you ready to lay down your uniform, your position, and your success so your teammate can have the honor? Are you modeling that authentic Christ like relationship to those people around you?
3. Ice Age - The cartoon story of the journey of a Wooly Mammoth, Saber Tooth Tiger and a Three Toed Sloth, and a baby. The three animals are risking their lives to return the baby who ironically will grow up to hunt them. And the Saber Tooth Tiger is really just playing along until he can kill them all. My favorite scene is after the Wooly Mammoth saves the Tiger from falling in this volcano the Tiger asks, “Why did you do that.” And the Mammoth replied, “That is what you do for a member of the herd.”
The human mind is hard wired to want relationships. I have been reading a few books this past year. One is called “Bowling Alone” by Robert Putnam. The entire focus on the research of this Harvard Professor is how we want deep and meaningful relationships yet we are less engaged with neighbors, co-workers, and even family than we were 30 years ago and we continue in a downward spiral. His research even proves that people with a poor diet but in a supportive group dynamic and stronger health gains than those with a good diet and working individually. I like to characterize this by saying, “It is better to eat Krispy Kremes with friends than broccoli alone.”
Putnam also states that connecting to a different race is called bridging social capital. This bridging is very difficult and out of the norm. We have always been taught by our grandmothers that Birds of a feather flock together so it is easy to focus on relationships with people like us, which is called bonding social capital. But we need to be like Sayers and Piccolo, like the Mammoth, the Tiger and the Sloth. Our communities will succeed when we bridge the gaps between us. And how to conquer that gap is taught very explicitly through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
4. Forrest Gump – I am a little embarrassed to say this but I loved the movie. All of the subtleties and era specific pictures, but I especially loved the scene where he is talking to Jenny, the girl he has always loved and he tells her about the beauty of the Sunset as he ran through the desert, and the way the reflection of the Rocky Mountains looked on a this lake at sunrise, and the way the stars looked on a clear night when he was in Viet Nam. Jenny looked up at him and says that she wished she would have been with him, and Gump says, “You were.”
Have you ever loved someone so much that you took them in your heart everywhere?
Man I have written about too many mushy movies I might get kicked out of the Man Club. I could have shared Brave Heart and William Wallace challenging his army that “All men die, but very few rarely ever live.”
Or the Magnificent Seven when the 7 gun fighters go protect the small village in Mexico. I love it when James Coburn straps his pistol to his leg and says “no body throws my guns on the ground and tells me to run.” Man I stand up and get Brooks’ gun and cowboy hat on and I am ready to ride off with them.
And finally
5. Dreamer – When this movie came out my daughter Ryanne and I went to see this it. The little girl writes a story for school about a king (her father) and a castle (the barn) and their horse. And the story seems to be about how the re-training of this injured horse brings together a father and his young daughter. And late in the trailer the father reads the story. The daughter says, "it’s a stupid story about a stupid king." And Kurt Russell says, "I like the stupid King" and the girl responds, "I love the Stupid King." Right there in the movie theater I just busted out crying and grabbed Ryanne and she’s about punched me in the nose.
March 16, 2008
Boring reading for you, great days for me
After ESPN ran the contest on the best plays of all time, I started thinking about the significant sporting events in my life. So here they are.
Number 10 happened when I was 18 years old. I saw a sophomore named Michael Jordan dunk on Syracuse at the old Charlotte Coliseum. It was so awesome that Syracuse players cheered. That drew a stream of expletives from Jim Boeheim which made my dad want to leave!
Number 9 is not one game but the strike shortened baseball season of 1994. At the time of the strike my favorite team, the Montreal Expos, were in first place and had the best record in baseball. This killed the franchise and now they are the Washington Nationals.
Number 8 happened last year when I visited South Bend, IN to see Notre Dame play UNC in football. Seeing the campus and the stadium for the first time was very spiritual. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I felt like Rudy.
Number 7 was a college basketball game between Maryland and Clemson back in 1982. Both teams were strong but during warm ups the fans only whispered as this bass drum played a slow drum beat. During introductions the Clemson fans made cheering motions for their team but made no noise. They read newspapers as the Maryland Players were introduced. When the last Clemson player was called, Larry Nance, that place erupted for 15 minutes. Maryland won in double over time.
Number 6 was Florida State’s first ACC basketball game against UNC. I had a Y friend give me Dean Dome floor seats and a parking pass. Of course FSU won. Sam Cassell called UNC fans the wine and cheese crowd. Bobby Sura dunked and danced down the court in front of the Dean! And I never got those seats or parking pass again!
Number 5 is Michael Jordan’s shove to hit the game winning shot against the Utah Jazz. Even before that he stole the ball from Karl Malone. I love the Jazz because Pete Maravich was my hero.
Number 4. The Expos were three outs from going to the World Series. Rick Monday’s 9th inning homer killed the dream. During this week my parents went a way for a few days, leaving me home alone for the first time. And then heartbroken.
Number 3 was Notre Dame vs Colorado for the National Championship. It must have been 1990. Colorado pretty much had the game won when the Rocket Ismail returned a punt for a touchdown. Instantly my phone rang about 12:30am. I knew it was my brother calling. By the time I picked it up on the second wring they announced a bogus clipping call. I just picked up the phone and said expletive clip and slammed it down. That was before caller ID so I hope it was my brother.
Number 2 was the game where Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak. I just got my VHS tape burned onto CD for Christmas.
And my Number 1 sports memory was UNC beating Georgetown for the national Championship in 1992. My then 79 year old grandfather climbed a ladder and helped me cut my net down in the back yard!
Number 10 happened when I was 18 years old. I saw a sophomore named Michael Jordan dunk on Syracuse at the old Charlotte Coliseum. It was so awesome that Syracuse players cheered. That drew a stream of expletives from Jim Boeheim which made my dad want to leave!
Number 9 is not one game but the strike shortened baseball season of 1994. At the time of the strike my favorite team, the Montreal Expos, were in first place and had the best record in baseball. This killed the franchise and now they are the Washington Nationals.
Number 8 happened last year when I visited South Bend, IN to see Notre Dame play UNC in football. Seeing the campus and the stadium for the first time was very spiritual. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I felt like Rudy.
Number 7 was a college basketball game between Maryland and Clemson back in 1982. Both teams were strong but during warm ups the fans only whispered as this bass drum played a slow drum beat. During introductions the Clemson fans made cheering motions for their team but made no noise. They read newspapers as the Maryland Players were introduced. When the last Clemson player was called, Larry Nance, that place erupted for 15 minutes. Maryland won in double over time.
Number 6 was Florida State’s first ACC basketball game against UNC. I had a Y friend give me Dean Dome floor seats and a parking pass. Of course FSU won. Sam Cassell called UNC fans the wine and cheese crowd. Bobby Sura dunked and danced down the court in front of the Dean! And I never got those seats or parking pass again!
Number 5 is Michael Jordan’s shove to hit the game winning shot against the Utah Jazz. Even before that he stole the ball from Karl Malone. I love the Jazz because Pete Maravich was my hero.
Number 4. The Expos were three outs from going to the World Series. Rick Monday’s 9th inning homer killed the dream. During this week my parents went a way for a few days, leaving me home alone for the first time. And then heartbroken.
Number 3 was Notre Dame vs Colorado for the National Championship. It must have been 1990. Colorado pretty much had the game won when the Rocket Ismail returned a punt for a touchdown. Instantly my phone rang about 12:30am. I knew it was my brother calling. By the time I picked it up on the second wring they announced a bogus clipping call. I just picked up the phone and said expletive clip and slammed it down. That was before caller ID so I hope it was my brother.
Number 2 was the game where Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak. I just got my VHS tape burned onto CD for Christmas.
And my Number 1 sports memory was UNC beating Georgetown for the national Championship in 1992. My then 79 year old grandfather climbed a ladder and helped me cut my net down in the back yard!
March 2, 2008
My Daughters APGAR Score
My daughter turned 14 last week. On our way to her birthday dinner she was reading the classified ads to check out car prices. That is a sure sign of aging……hers and mine.
I knew she was special at birth. You know, I did the usual 10 finger 10 toes thing, but soon after her birth the doctor told me something much unexpected, “Your daughter had a perfect APGAR Score.” My wife tried to explain the APGAR score to me but what I heard was perfect. I knew that she was on her way to perfect SAT scores, entrance into Notre Dame Law School, and probably a future Nobel prize. That score was obviously an indicator to her recent Championship Middle School Basketball season where she was All Conference, All Tournament and her team’s MVP. (Is that considered bragging?)
Last week I also listened to a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called Cinderella. A modern day Cats in the Cradle song except it’s a father daughter song not a father son. I love the chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.
It seems that every night at midnight she grows up. It starts with her tuning me out by listening to her ipod. It is also the quiet giggles and text messages between friends. I cherish the quiet times where she still wants to sit in my lap. This weekend we lay on the bed and watched the Tar Heels beat Boston College. I’ll take it any way I can.
Because I know something that the prince never knew. Midnight is coming fast!
I knew she was special at birth. You know, I did the usual 10 finger 10 toes thing, but soon after her birth the doctor told me something much unexpected, “Your daughter had a perfect APGAR Score.” My wife tried to explain the APGAR score to me but what I heard was perfect. I knew that she was on her way to perfect SAT scores, entrance into Notre Dame Law School, and probably a future Nobel prize. That score was obviously an indicator to her recent Championship Middle School Basketball season where she was All Conference, All Tournament and her team’s MVP. (Is that considered bragging?)
Last week I also listened to a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called Cinderella. A modern day Cats in the Cradle song except it’s a father daughter song not a father son. I love the chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.
It seems that every night at midnight she grows up. It starts with her tuning me out by listening to her ipod. It is also the quiet giggles and text messages between friends. I cherish the quiet times where she still wants to sit in my lap. This weekend we lay on the bed and watched the Tar Heels beat Boston College. I’ll take it any way I can.
Because I know something that the prince never knew. Midnight is coming fast!
February 24, 2008
Random thoughts about my week.
* I had dinner last night with two great friends who April and I hadn’t seen in several years. Both Pastors, Kim and Eddie Ingram, are probably hoping that it will be another two years before we dine together again. I probably spent too much time challenging the Methodist Church. I hate to admit that I need to be somewhat entertained on Sundays, but I need something relevant in my worship experience and the Methodist Church just keeps banging out the same old same old same old….
* The headline on this weeks Time Magazine is Make Great Teachers. Most of the article discussed making teachers more accountable. God forbid we hold an employee accountable for their performance. One educator discussed that in teaching classroom management, our current system stresses rigor and resources but forgets RELATIONSHIP.
* Ryanne turns 14 on the 28th. Our car ride today had her thumbing through the want ads looking at car prices. I guess that is a sign of aging when the birthday presents get more expensive.
* Brooks and I are headed to Washington, DC in early March. A good friend got me tickets to the Wizards game vs the Bucks. I can’t wait for him to walk around that great city at night and see it all lit up!
* We took a personality test at work and I was labeled Wind and Fire. Surprising since Earth Wind and Fire are loaded on to my ipod. My coaching from the test says I should think before speaking – plan more and prepare earlier. I also need to slow down and learn to really listen. My response – everybody else needs to catch up and hold on!
* The Notre Dame hoops team won two big games this week. They came from behind to be beat Pitt and beat a more athletic Syracuse team. They seem to be hitting their stride at the right time.
* I loved SNL last night. I probably haven’t seen much of that in a few years but I wanted to see what they did in their first night back since the writers strike. The take off on CNN’s obsession with Barak Obama was hilarious. Also, Tina Fey is HOT!
* Brooks asked me who my favorite coaches were. My top 5 all time basketball coaches – Dean Smith, John Wooden, Larry Brown, Digger Phelps and Tom Izzo.
* ESPN is doing its all time greatest plays. Nothing should beat the Stanford – Cal game when they score with the band on the field. Doug Flutie’s pass to beat Miami, and the US Hockey team beating the Russians. “Do you believe in Miracles?”
* We have decided on what we will say on the family vacation t-shirts. “Festivus for the Rest of Us!”
GRACE and PEACE,
CAM
* The headline on this weeks Time Magazine is Make Great Teachers. Most of the article discussed making teachers more accountable. God forbid we hold an employee accountable for their performance. One educator discussed that in teaching classroom management, our current system stresses rigor and resources but forgets RELATIONSHIP.
* Ryanne turns 14 on the 28th. Our car ride today had her thumbing through the want ads looking at car prices. I guess that is a sign of aging when the birthday presents get more expensive.
* Brooks and I are headed to Washington, DC in early March. A good friend got me tickets to the Wizards game vs the Bucks. I can’t wait for him to walk around that great city at night and see it all lit up!
* We took a personality test at work and I was labeled Wind and Fire. Surprising since Earth Wind and Fire are loaded on to my ipod. My coaching from the test says I should think before speaking – plan more and prepare earlier. I also need to slow down and learn to really listen. My response – everybody else needs to catch up and hold on!
* The Notre Dame hoops team won two big games this week. They came from behind to be beat Pitt and beat a more athletic Syracuse team. They seem to be hitting their stride at the right time.
* I loved SNL last night. I probably haven’t seen much of that in a few years but I wanted to see what they did in their first night back since the writers strike. The take off on CNN’s obsession with Barak Obama was hilarious. Also, Tina Fey is HOT!
* Brooks asked me who my favorite coaches were. My top 5 all time basketball coaches – Dean Smith, John Wooden, Larry Brown, Digger Phelps and Tom Izzo.
* ESPN is doing its all time greatest plays. Nothing should beat the Stanford – Cal game when they score with the band on the field. Doug Flutie’s pass to beat Miami, and the US Hockey team beating the Russians. “Do you believe in Miracles?”
* We have decided on what we will say on the family vacation t-shirts. “Festivus for the Rest of Us!”
GRACE and PEACE,
CAM
January 27, 2008
I Love Chick Fil A
Have you ever wondered why you ever eat out anywhere but Chick-fil-A (CFA)? Are you like me and wonder why the other restaurants don’t try and replicate the Chick-fil-A (CFA) model? It never fails for the Corder’s, we will be traveling and don’t have time to stop so we want something fast just off the interstate and we idealistically pull into the drive through of a Wendy’s and we get…..well lets just say what we don’t get.
1. We don’t get “It’s a great day or welcome or thank you for choosing nor may I take your order.”
2. We don’t get a repeat of the order to ensure accuracy. And as simple as the Corder’s are, April always has a special order for her chicken sandwich. We take bets on whether the order is correct as we pull around. After all, for most fast food places the intellectually challenged pin heads running the drive through only have to push the picture of whatever you are ordering. God forbid they have to use the far reaching parts of their brain that calls for reasoning and common courtesy.
A few weeks ago I had a late flight into Charlotte and had not eaten dinner so I cruise into a fast food joint. In order to make a “pit stop” I go inside. After my visit to the palatial and ultra clean lavatories, I find 4 or 5 teens working the counters, having a great time while talking and laughing. One thinks it is cute to toss a piece of chicken at another staff. Two of the girls are at least 11 months pregnant, both pushing the ripe old fertile age of 17. The guys looked like they were trying out for rock bands. You have to love the nose and ear piercing but the chin and tongue piercing seem to clash. It also took so much out of me not to scream for the individual to find some day light. On second thought maybe it was Paul from the Wonder Years on the backside of some Marilyn Manson dream. Of course I told them that I would take a pass but they should continue to enjoy themselves.
3. We don’t get a pleasant hello and a prompt repeat of the price. Our local CFA offers the local paper.
I have a friend who visited the local CFA but forgot her purse yet had three wild and hungry boys in the back. The 16 year old at the cash register told her not to worry “that dinner was on them tonight.” I asked our local CFA operator about this and he says 98% of the people bring the money back and that they also tell untold number of people about the generosity. I would doubt the pregnant and pierced ghostly geniuses at the other places could figure out how to void the purchase. Can’t you hear them ask, “What is the picture for void?”
4. We don’t get good food. It is usually luke warm, old and slathered with too much of something.
All I ask from CFA is a few extra pickles and some warm waffle fries.
5. We don’t get a thank you or come back and definitely no My Pleasure.
It ain’t rocket science people, it is fast food. Hire normal people. Teach them to be courteous and give the customer what they want. Over 40 billion served? How many of those orders have been screwed up?
Shoot me if I ever pull into any other fast food place other than CFA. Unless it has a Hot and Now neon sign!
1. We don’t get “It’s a great day or welcome or thank you for choosing nor may I take your order.”
2. We don’t get a repeat of the order to ensure accuracy. And as simple as the Corder’s are, April always has a special order for her chicken sandwich. We take bets on whether the order is correct as we pull around. After all, for most fast food places the intellectually challenged pin heads running the drive through only have to push the picture of whatever you are ordering. God forbid they have to use the far reaching parts of their brain that calls for reasoning and common courtesy.
A few weeks ago I had a late flight into Charlotte and had not eaten dinner so I cruise into a fast food joint. In order to make a “pit stop” I go inside. After my visit to the palatial and ultra clean lavatories, I find 4 or 5 teens working the counters, having a great time while talking and laughing. One thinks it is cute to toss a piece of chicken at another staff. Two of the girls are at least 11 months pregnant, both pushing the ripe old fertile age of 17. The guys looked like they were trying out for rock bands. You have to love the nose and ear piercing but the chin and tongue piercing seem to clash. It also took so much out of me not to scream for the individual to find some day light. On second thought maybe it was Paul from the Wonder Years on the backside of some Marilyn Manson dream. Of course I told them that I would take a pass but they should continue to enjoy themselves.
3. We don’t get a pleasant hello and a prompt repeat of the price. Our local CFA offers the local paper.
I have a friend who visited the local CFA but forgot her purse yet had three wild and hungry boys in the back. The 16 year old at the cash register told her not to worry “that dinner was on them tonight.” I asked our local CFA operator about this and he says 98% of the people bring the money back and that they also tell untold number of people about the generosity. I would doubt the pregnant and pierced ghostly geniuses at the other places could figure out how to void the purchase. Can’t you hear them ask, “What is the picture for void?”
4. We don’t get good food. It is usually luke warm, old and slathered with too much of something.
All I ask from CFA is a few extra pickles and some warm waffle fries.
5. We don’t get a thank you or come back and definitely no My Pleasure.
It ain’t rocket science people, it is fast food. Hire normal people. Teach them to be courteous and give the customer what they want. Over 40 billion served? How many of those orders have been screwed up?
Shoot me if I ever pull into any other fast food place other than CFA. Unless it has a Hot and Now neon sign!
January 21, 2008
Pavlov
It is amazing what elicits a response. Maybe it is a smell that creates some Pavlovian drool. My wife wears this lotion sometimes called warm vanilla sugar. Once I was on an air plane and the lady beside me had some on. She probably thought I was a nut because that created a funny look. I can be changing channels and see a movie and it reminds me of where, when and who I originally saw that movie. Maybe it’s a taste that brings back some haunting memory. You have to love that new car smell. Whatever the catalyst, certain things can jog the memory.
Let me take you back about 27 years. It was Sunday night and a “teen night at this bar” which meant it was for 18 and under. Large crowds of teenagers would converge on this place. Of course I would hang around about 7 or 8 other guys, sitting in the corner and daring each other to talk to a girl. And there was this girl. She was gorgeous. She was also a year older than me. And she was a cheer leader at the rival high school. I can’t remember how, but somehow we knew each other.
But she was the girl that everybody loved from afar. Remember the show The Wonder Years? Well some episodes were taken directly from my life. So if I was Kevin Arnold, this girl was definitely my Winnie Cooper. Her name was Sadie DePolo. What a name. Has some kind of magical syntax to it. Say it while you read it. Sadie DePolo. See what I mean.
Any way, one Sunday night the planets must have been aligned in the correct order or God was having some fun but somehow I ended up dancing with Sadie. Now it was a fast song because she never danced slow with anyone. I don’t know the song but it was probably Rick James or the Gap Band.
After the song ended I said thanks and I turned to walk off the dance floor. And then she said those magical seven words. “Where are you going? Dance with me.” I don’t think I spoke. I am not sure I was breathing, because it was a slow song. Sadie DePolo wanted to dance with me to a slow song. The entire world stopped spinning for 3:55 seconds. My friends stood in the corner with this wide eyed, mouth opened gawk. I know I didn’t touch the floor.
For Sadie it was probably just a moment of weakness. Maybe her friends dared her to do it. But for me, every time I hear that song I think of those 3:55 seconds where I was the coolest guy on the planet and was dancing with the most beautiful girl in the world. Can you guess the name of the song? Don’t laugh! Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross’ Endless Love!
Let me take you back about 27 years. It was Sunday night and a “teen night at this bar” which meant it was for 18 and under. Large crowds of teenagers would converge on this place. Of course I would hang around about 7 or 8 other guys, sitting in the corner and daring each other to talk to a girl. And there was this girl. She was gorgeous. She was also a year older than me. And she was a cheer leader at the rival high school. I can’t remember how, but somehow we knew each other.
But she was the girl that everybody loved from afar. Remember the show The Wonder Years? Well some episodes were taken directly from my life. So if I was Kevin Arnold, this girl was definitely my Winnie Cooper. Her name was Sadie DePolo. What a name. Has some kind of magical syntax to it. Say it while you read it. Sadie DePolo. See what I mean.
Any way, one Sunday night the planets must have been aligned in the correct order or God was having some fun but somehow I ended up dancing with Sadie. Now it was a fast song because she never danced slow with anyone. I don’t know the song but it was probably Rick James or the Gap Band.
After the song ended I said thanks and I turned to walk off the dance floor. And then she said those magical seven words. “Where are you going? Dance with me.” I don’t think I spoke. I am not sure I was breathing, because it was a slow song. Sadie DePolo wanted to dance with me to a slow song. The entire world stopped spinning for 3:55 seconds. My friends stood in the corner with this wide eyed, mouth opened gawk. I know I didn’t touch the floor.
For Sadie it was probably just a moment of weakness. Maybe her friends dared her to do it. But for me, every time I hear that song I think of those 3:55 seconds where I was the coolest guy on the planet and was dancing with the most beautiful girl in the world. Can you guess the name of the song? Don’t laugh! Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross’ Endless Love!
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