Some Books Just Have More Chapters -- Michael Knoedler, Former Player at FSC

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” This Chinese proverb has been given to Confucius erroneously, but that is not really important. The quote hung on the red wall of my little office for years with a racket almost broken in half beside the picture quote. Moments can have meanings that differ to each party and the moment the racket wrapped around the net post meant something different to the player, the teammates watching, and me as the coach. That moment characterizes the player that is in the highlight tonight. Hey Michael, this is for you.

Before I took over at Florida Southern they had a bad ass team. A bunch of hard working athletes driven by an even harder driving coach, Scott Lynn. He crafted a team that had a work ethic that was relentless, masterful at their craft, and on the verge of national greatness. When I took over some of those players were still there. One such player was Michael Knoedler. He was a German, and I had a lot of experience with that culture and was prepared for what was to come. When the players arrived back on campus after the summer break, he and Roman Schirmaier were the first two players that came by to make introductions. I knew who they were because the year prior they had annihilated my former team at Webber in a very business-like fashion. Michael and Roman made themselves at home and began discussing what the team would be like, how we would train, what my expectations were, and many other things. I found out they were human when they found my M&M dispenser. This would be a savior and basically, human catnip for the next few years. Stops to the office to talk about things and to eat a few M&M’s.

As the fall pre-season began I was amazed at the talent and work ethic that I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to coach. Relentless, the word epitomizes the way they worked on the court, in off the court conditioning, and in the classroom. There were no shortcuts, no half-ass days, and no excuses for not being able to accomplish the task at hand. If there was ever a player that wasn’t doing what was necessary I didn’t have to say anything. Michael and others took that role without any direction. If you couldn’t do it, more than likely you sucked. Sorry, that was the brutal truth. If you were bad at something, well, why don’t you practice more. At one practice in particular, Michael addressed the team with this little speech. “Many of you say you are going to be great players, take my position, or make the top six. Well, if I practice 2-3 hours a day and you do the same this is never going to happen. If you want to be better than me, and currently you are not, then you are going to have to practice more each day than I practice. I don’t see any of you doing that, so maybe you should change your goals.” Simple, cruel, truthful, and poignant. It was also a bit arrogant but with a caring tone. Yes, this was my introduction to this team and the ride was unforgettable.

In the first paragraph I started with the quote and the broken racket. The biggest tournament of the fall season is the ITA Regional. This particular year we were hosting at the Lakeland City Courts. Michael was seeded high, he was ranked number 3 in the country, and one of his goals was to qualify for the national ITA in Mobile, AL. This was a dream that he hadn’t yet accomplished. The dream almost ended on court number 2 in the first round. He was playing an up and coming freshman who didn’t know who he was and really didn’t care. After much internal strife, a few outbursts, and finally putting his champions mentality in the front of his brain, he pulled out a three-set victory. This was not the start he or I had hoped for. The next few rounds were a blur and then it was the semifinals. I don’t know if the thoughts of grandeur were rolling through his head, but I knew that in the other semifinal the two players that were battling to make it to the finals would give him a great chance to accomplish his goal. There was only one problem, he had to get through the semifinals first. When players of this level play one another, there are no surprises. They know each other’s games inside and out and most of the time it just depends on who makes the least amount of errors or who can poke out their chest the most and go for it when needed. There is no cracking because that is why they are the best of the best. Playing matches at this level is what they live for. Michael was well on his way to making it to the finals. It was a close match and the titans battled. As the match progressed his teammates sat in the bleachers ready to explode with excitement considering they were only a few points from having their teammate in the finals of the toughest ITA in the country. Fans gathered as the match neared its conclusion. Moments, they can define us, shape us, or create us. The quote on the wall and the racket that joined it are about to be created. Michael fought for and gained a match point. As he had done throughout the match he went for his first serve in hopes of getting a free point or an easy transition ball. He missed the big bomb and got ready to hit his equally effective second serve. He had a nice second serve with a good amount of spin that would not allow his opponent to gain the upper hand. Most of the time. Whether is was nerves, caution, or simply a lack of belief in a huge moment the serve didn’t have the pop needed and his opponent teed off on a forehand that gave Michael no chance to return. We were all square again. The match wasn’t over, but the match was over. Opponents of this caliber don’t allow themselves to be put in holes more than once very often, and when his opponent jumped out of the fire with a helping hand from Michael, he pounced and closed out the match. Dream extinguished that quickly. Here comes the moment. Tennis is a funny sport. You battle for an unspecified amount of time, fight with one another, maybe even yourself, but when the battle is over, you walk to the center of the stage and shake hands to honor the battle that has just taken place. These two warriors were no different. They shook hands, the teammates slouched their shoulders and started playing couch coaches and then the moment happened.

I had a very strict rule that there was no racket throwing. This would get you suspended. It would get you a penalty from the referee which could have repercussions for your teammates. This was a stern policy. I also had a heart and a soft spot for passion and failing. There is nothing more heart wrenching than watching a guy give everything he has only to fail in the long run. I guess this comes from growing up in an era of Wide World of Sports on ABC and watching that guy fly off the ski jump in the Winter Olympics. Who knows the reason, but it was there? Well, Michael graciously shook hands and began the short walk to the bench on the side of court 9 at the complex. As he approached the bench he paused, grabbed his racket like a battle ax and proceeded to beat it into submission against the net post. I knew why, and I will explain that in a bit. However, his teammates immediately snapped their necks around to me and knew that I had seen the crime of crimes. It was up to me to decide how this was going to play out. Would we lose our leader for a crime of passion? Here is the explanation to the team the best I can remember. “Yes, he destroyed his racket. This is not acceptable under most circumstances. This, however, is not normal circumstances. When you have a dream that you work for and want so badly, and things don’t work out the way you anticipated there is a moment of realization that occurs, and you must release that pain in one of many ways. This was not done out of anger, this was done out of the passion to be the best, be on the verge of being the best, and letting the nerves of success cause failure. Everything you have fought against your entire career collapsed in the span of five seconds.” I don’t know if it worked but Michael concurred when we met to discuss the outcome. It was during this meeting that he opened up to me how important it was for him to accomplish the task and how deeply it hurt when he took it away from himself. We discussed how we would move forward as a team and it was during this meeting that I requested the racket. He didn’t know why, but the answer would hang on my wall until my career ended last year.

He was a true warrior as a player and a leader. He was also a pain in the ass to coach. More than once I had to have conversations with him when he was playing a lesser opponent that it would be humiliating if he lost to this player. There were even a few times that the referee and I had conversations where I would cajole the referee to give Michael a point penalty so that he would calm down and return to his dominate self. He just wanted to play against the best and if the opponent on that day wasn’t, he wasn’t satisfied. He would screw off and get himself in holes. He was so mentally strong when needed but when he felt that the player wasn’t worthy of his best the battle raged in his head. Most of the time he would prevail with some firm coddling and a few choice words. He demanded excellence from himself, his teammates, and from me as his coach. He also demanded that I participate in many of his matches as the shrink from time to time. His records speak for themselves though. He was a four-time ITA All-American which means he finished the season ranked in the top twenty in singles and/or top ten in doubles in the nation. He was chosen as the ITA Player to Watch two years in a row which is unheard of. During the 07-08 season he was the Sunshine State Conference player of the year. He was all conference all four years he played at FSC. The Sunshine State Conference is one of the toughest, if not the toughest tennis conferences in the country and he was named the conference player of the week seven times during his career. He was a four-time ITA Academic All-American and was the FSC men’s tennis MVP for four years as well. In 2016 he was named to the FSC Hall of Fame. One of the main reasons this occurred was because he holds the record for most victories, 67, throughout his college career in singles. He also holds the record for most doubles victories at 74 throughout his career. Over his four years at FSC he played number one and had records of 15-9, 18-2,18-3, and 16-3. This was at the top spot, against the baddest of the bad, day in and day out. On top of that, twice he held the number one spot in the nation in doubles with two different partners. For the four years he had records of 18-8, 19-5, 19-5, and 18-5. Those numbers speak for themselves, but he also led by example each and every day.

Germans, by nature, are very set in their ways and I have had the privilege of working with some great ones while at Webber and Florida Southern. They are demanding but also very caring. Michael wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but he owned it when his bed was messy. There were no excuses and he and his teammates have carried their relationships on to this day. He is married now and just recently became a new father. This role will challenge him more than any second serve ever did. His class showed through during his Hall of Fame induction. He wanted to make sure that my wife was able to be a part of it, which meant the world to me, but he also made sure to include Scott Lynn, his first coach at FSC. This class, from such a stern and direction-oriented guy was something that just completed the package. Not only was he a warrior on the court, which made me be at my best, he was a warrior in life. His home is back in Germany with his wife and new daughter, but I think, or at least hope, a little piece of him is still back here in Florida and the players that continue to pass through the gates to the courts feel his presence and attempt to beat his records. Of course, they will have to practice more to get there. Thank you, Michael, for your time, your friendship, and your highest quality of thought and caring towards all that you did and have yet to do.

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Awesomeness, Spring, Read it All, and Moving Forward

Before I get started tonight I just wanted to throw a shout out, can’t believe I uttered that phrase, to the FSC athletic department. The sports are killing it so far. Men’s and women’s basketball are deep in the conference tournament, softball has its new complex, women’s and men’s lacrosse are playing in their new complex and the women are ranked numero uno early in the season, baseball is tearing it up, and men’s and women’s tennis are battling on the asphalt non-stop. I do miss that comradery, but I am keeping up from afar and it is impressive.

Onward and upward. There are some cool things going on these days. Literally, we are going to catch a break from the winter heat we have been baking in and enjoy the last bit of cool down before the truly oppressive spring starts up. It is Spring Training time and the ballparks are filling up with the smell of peanuts, hotdogs, and cold beer. The seasoned citizens are out watching the young whippersnappers attempt to chase their dreams on the clay diamond. High school basketball is in the playoffs and parents and scouts are all watching to make sure the meal ticket performs like he/she is supposed to. Multiple festivals and events are popping up all over the area and there are things to do every night and through the weekend. Forget productivity, let’s go eat food, hang out with friends, and have a few drinks. I think there are 1200 5k’s in the next couple of weeks. We are doing one as a family tomorrow night. It will be fun. I had someone ask me how they thought we would do and I responded that we all would finish. He asked, “No, your time.” I answered, “As long as they will let go.” It’s for a worthy cause and I will treat it like I play golf. I tour the golf course and take in all aspects of the beauty that surrounds me. Tomorrow, we are “running” through downtown Winter Haven. If I was to run “fast” I might miss some of the great improvements, they have made in the area. If I slow my pace a bit, by occasionally walking, stopping to talk to people I might know, or grabbing a cool drink, I figure I can better take in the sights that will be available.

I was perusing through the multiple social media platforms the other day and it hit me at how quickly we go from post to post, picture to picture, and event to event. How many times do you actually just take the time to digest what is coming across your feed? Do you really read what is being posted? Click links to read the story? Probably not, right? Yeah, me neither most of the time. There was a time that I spent a lot of time just looking for cool things across the platforms, saving things I might want to use later, and then watching videos and reading articles. Nowadays, I scroll as fast as my fingers will get through most of the minutia that comes across. I know it won’t go away but I wonder if there will be a time that social media has become so tiresome that we will rebel a bit against the bullshit that is posted so frequently. Don’t get me wrong; I love seeing the cool stuff. Unlike many of the reports you get from the news, it doesn’t offend or affect me at all when I see cool pictures from awesome places that people share while traveling. I think it is great because maybe I will never have the opportunity to see those places and I am seeing it from a traveler or a tourist and not from a media campaign office. Seriously, how shallow are we that we would get jealous that someone is getting to have a beautiful trip? They may be independently wealthy, maybe they have saved for years for this experience, or heck, maybe they just said screw it; I want to see the world and don’t care about my future finances. It is not for us to judge but boy do we. Social media also let’s me know where everyone stands with their political, religious, sexual, and any other belief that someone can post about. Entertaining, eye opening, but never really offensive. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and now they have multiple billboards to post it on whenever they want to do so. Go for it!

To wrap it up for tonight I will finish with this bit of life and loss. If you were part of the Webber family at any time in the past 35 years or so you knew Lois. She was the switchboard operator, front desk guard, and mother to many who were away from home. If there was an issue, she was aware and if you had a problem she had a solution. She knew if you were going to get in trouble and there were times she was able to get you out of said trouble. I know she made great marks on my family. She was my dad’s first line of defense for many things on the campus, his travel coordinator, and eyes for him when he wasn’t around. She was all that for her family at Webber and but even more for her direct family. The love was apparent today during her Memorial service that I had the privilege to attend. It was a great service and was a chance to catch up with some long-lost Webber associates and alumni. Her loss will sting for a bit, but it was comforting to hear the stories from those there today to celebrate her life and from those across the world who posted their thoughts throughout the Facebook feeds that had popped up. Lastly, my dad and I were talking about Lois with her granddaughter, Holly. The consensus was that Lois was a bombshell in her younger days. We all new her as the grandma who took care of us, but none of knew her or saw evidence of her in her younger days. I am guessing she broke many a heart in her time. Holly was pretty funny discussing that part of her grandmother that she wasn’t even aware of until they found the pictures of proof while making the video montage. I guess that goes back to learning about people versus just scrolling through. Oh well, on to the next page.

Have a great weekend, do something that scares you, and go see something that makes you think out of your comfort zone. Have a blast and we will talk again on Sunday.

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Enjoy Each One and Then Use It

Experience and experiences. Two words that get tossed out in conversation on a regular basis. One evokes thoughts of a person with a great portfolio built up from time in the trenches and the other brings about memories we have created from travels or events we have participated in. The experiences we have help us gain the experience we need to succeed at our chosen endeavor.

This weekend at the Supercross we had the chance to see and feel both. We witnessed true professionals with varying levels of experience attempt to master and succeed on an ever-changing track that claimed many victims. The experience they have allows them to handle obstacles that we found hard just to walk up and over. Even with all the experience these outstanding athletes have, occasionally they have new experiences that they add to their portfolio to help increase their ever-growing book of experience. Watching them manipulate the bike around the track, handle the media and fan responsibilities, and stay focused with the non-stop drama from qualifying through the mains can only be accomplished with years of work to put towards their experience package.

Since I was a little boy I have been at the races. Whether it was my dad and granddaddy at their SCCA races, my BMX races, the off-road races I competed in, or the multitude of NASCAR, IMSA, or motorcycle races I have watched over the years have given me so many incredible experiences. Because of the travel associated with each of these events there were just a multitude of experiences that have brought some incredible joy and even sometimes a bit of sadness. Those great times made such an indelible mark on my life that I wanted to share those with my wife and my daughter. They have traveled the country watching races, being a pit crew, a sounding board, and amazing traveling companions. The places we have seen, the things we have done, and the people we have met have only allowed us to have some of the greatest experiences a family can share. Those experiences have also given us a pretty good book of experience to call up when needed. Michelle and Brianna travel all over the southeast having their own experiences now with the horses. They have so much experience with their own travels and that is amazing to watch.

Get out and have some experiences. My next experiences will include watching little league baseball at the Eagle Lake Sports Complex, training for the next race, and watching my daughter train her horses for her adventures yet to come. Go have the experiences so you can gain experience.

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I Didn't Know What To Write About

What a week. There are a lot of things going on all over the place. It feels like late spring here in Florida and people are taking advantage of the great weather we are experiencing. There are festivals, concerts, races, and many other events happening all over the place. People moving to and fro having a fun time enjoying the particular event they chose to attend and enjoying the people they are doing the event with. These annual festivals, rites of spring, and other smile inducing events are reason enough to enjoy the sunshine in this great state.

I just wanted to start off with some great positives because we have endured so much negative the past few weeks. We have a deranged kid shooting up a school, which is terrible, but even worse are the ass hats who are trying to gain some ill-advised attention calling in other threats while caring parents panic about sending their child to school. A week or so ago I was really pissed about something our legislature wanted to try and introduce as a bill, but the tragedy occurred, and it went bye-bye in the news. I am sure it is being bantered about somewhere in the House along with the by the seat of our pants emotion that is pouring out regarding gun control, mental health, and arming Mrs. Cuddlekids in her first-grade classroom. I know, I overstepped, there will be great controls and I am not here to discuss those issues. Just pondering the pro’s and the cons on each side. Everyone yells at one another, so it is hard to disseminate the information from each side. It’s like a bunch of kids on the playground playing “Your momma” from back in the day.

It is amazing how many things happen that are bad throughout each week. Some cycle through pretty quickly and others get much more press. Who heard that Tiger missed the cut last Friday? What about Roger Federer retaking the number one player on the ATP? Who could have missed all the drama from the Olympics? One of the Olympic Athletes from Russia wore a shirt that said she didn’t do drugs and ironically, she tested positive for drugs. Oh, the irony. Also, I am not a huge fan of curling, not that I don’t like it, just that I don’t watch any of the sports, but that is not the point. I don’t feel that it is the most demanding sport of these Winter Olympics but nonetheless, one of the Olympic curlers tested positive for the same drug that cost Maria Sharapova two years on the WTA. Wow, I guess it doesn’t matter the sport, someone is always looking for an advantage.

Our lives are full of ups and downs. Some affect us straight away and others we just worry about because everyone tells us we should even though they don’t affect our day to day lives. There are some awesome things happening this weekend. Watch the news tonight, pick your channel, and count how many cool thing stories they show you. One at most. It doesn’t sell. Tragedy is easy to watch, angers us, we yell, and then wait for the next story we need to feel angry about. Stop watching the bad stuff and get out and go do some of the cool stuff. Go to the Chain of Lakes Eggfest, get over to Tampa and watch the baddest ass motocross racers do their thing at the Monster Energy Supercross, go eat at the Frostproof FFA auction dinner, go watch the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa, get out on the water, pick a project around the house, or come to the Kiwanis’s Annual Pancake Breakfast tomorrow morning.

You see, there are a multitude of things that are good. Start focusing on those and stop watching the negative crap that is fed to us like feed-lot cattle on the way to slaughter. Also, there truly are some terrible things that happen and being passionate and wanting change is commendable and necessary but yelling and screaming at the people who oppose your opinion isn’t really the best way to evoke that change you are wanting. We have lost all semblance of discussion and just holler with no tangible results occurring. Don’t believe me; look at all the events over the past few years and tell me how much change has actually happened from all the anger.

Have a great weekend, get outside, enjoy your friends, hug your family, and for God’s sake; stop yelling against and start cheering for your side. Cheers and good thoughts to all.

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A Story About TJ, A Former Player --- This One's for You Miguel

It is Monday and this little ditty was supposed to be written last night. All I can say is YouTube and Supercross. I guess I will say a little bit more. On Sunday nights we have family night and watch the Supercross that occurred on Saturday night. It is a big deal. One, we love racing and two, a lot of times it is pizza night. On top of both of those things there are occasions that we wander off into YouTube land. Last night was one of those nights. Pizza, YouTube, and Supercross meant that family night went late and the Blog, as important as it is to me, got postponed.

This weekend was pretty epic though. It started on Friday night. The girls had this endurance competition scheduled for awhile so that meant that it was party time for me. Party time just means being alone or finding something to do that normally I wouldn’t do when they are here. This Friday night it meant going back to Florida Southern to see the dedication of the Chris Bellotto Softball Field. What a magnificent event. I got to catch up with a lot of people I truly appreciate. I also got to catch up with the women’s tennis coach during a match. She is also appreciated but I know that sounded weird grammatically. After the events on campus I headed to dinner with some of my former players. It was an impromptu get together and it was awesome to see so many of them. They are doing great, I expect nothing less, and they are still having great experiences. Some of the guys said they were enjoying the Blog but one, not mentioning any names but he does have a zoo at his house, said otherwise. I asked him why he thought it sucked and he said it was because I don’t write about players anymore. Well, tonight animal lover, this one is for you.

Have you ever met someone that was so eat up, old Southern expression, with something that they become a bit obsessed? Yeah, me too. Tonight, that person is TJ Krishnan. The crazy Indian, he was actually from India, scared me, amused me, concerned me, amused me more, and now impresses me with his drive. TJ, his real name was Tejas, came as a walk on freshman and stayed for the entire four years to graduate. He had his downs and then his ups along the path but in the end of this journey he had a bit of direction. His path wobbled, and even upon graduation it wobbled, but it appears he is living the American dream these days, or maybe the Bollywood dream, I am never really sure.

When TJ came as a freshman he appeared that he didn’t have a pot to piss in. This was a farce he created so that no one would know that he was financially okay. He loved tennis and I thought that maybe he would be a good addition to the disciplined roster we already had. The weirdness started early when we would catch him sleeping on the benches between the courts at all times of the day and night. He just wanted to be that close that he freaked people out by sleeping at the courts. He would watch professional tennis anytime he could which meant that he was tired at inappropriate times of the day. Like, when it was time to practice. He was not a bad player but not quite at the level needed to be one of the top six guys.

Things started getting weird when he started posting lines from Criminal Minds on his Facebook page. Players were coming to me and stating that he was getting weirder and weirder with each passing day. I thought that he was trying to get attention but did have a bit of apprehension as the posts became deeper and darker. The moment things took a serious turn was when the team was at Embry-Riddle. We were hanging out in a gazebo by the courts when one of the players brought me his phone. The post from TJ was haunting considering what we had seen previously. “I guarantee I will be in the top six next year no matter what.” It doesn’t sound bad. Actually, it sounds inspiring when taken at the raw, emotional, and wanting to succeed level. Sometimes, emotions send the wrong message and this team had witnessed enough to know they were worried about their teammate and their own well-being.
Once we got back home I scheduled an appointment with our school psychologist. You know, I just wanted to know what I was dealing with. He was a great guy, appeared to want the golden ring, but there was this piece that kind of freaked me and the other guys on the team out. The meeting was set, and the diagnosis was doled out. Attention, only attention, no true worries. Really, come on, all that shit on Facebook, the mood swings, naps on benches, and lack of personal care and it was just for attention? Great, then we are all good and that was that.

In an astonishing twist, it was over. TJ became one of the guys. He still was quirky, but he found his role on the team and flourished as a human being. The attention he craved came to him in a very positive manner. Another cool thing happened after this as well. TJ found his muscles. He began to shape them, sculpt them, and find who he wanted to be. He still played tennis but that wasn’t the dream anymore. Dreams are fleeting, especially when they don’t have substance. TJ had a dream but the belief to achieve it wasn’t strong. When he started lifting, he saw results, and realized this dream was attainable. He could be the best at it because the arduous work would pay off. The results could be seen in the mirror. Like I said, he still played tennis but during the day he would play in a long sleeve shirt to protect his skin. I used to tease him about the lights not giving him a tan, because at night he would play with his shirt off.

TJ went through his junior and senior year at FSC on the team as a support person. He was on the team, but he was really just interested in the friendship and the gym time. He started looking at modeling and acting as his future. He graduated on time and went and chased his dream. He got his MBA, worked a bit in the tennis industry, floated back and forth from India, to Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. He is still chasing the dream but with a clear head, a fabulous physique, and an outstanding mane of hair. The kid that scared the hell out of me at the start of his time at FSC became a man that I admired for chasing the unicorn dream. His direction is not one that I would have traveled but the journey is one that he will never forget. His teammates still think he is crazy but love when he visits them. Thanks TJ for the memories and we can’t wait to see you on the big screen, magazine cover, or that underwear ad you so desperately wanted to be in when we thought you were doing porn. Dude, you’ve had one heck of a ride. Keep dreaming and don’t forget your pre-workout.

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Keep Looking Forward

It is Thursday night and the ladies of the house are planning their adventure for the weekend. With their absence, I will have an evening to fill. The comfort of them being around makes scheduling day to day easy. When they are gone, as cool as it might be to have the freedom, there is an emptiness. Don’t tell them because I often tell them they are pains in the butt but I really like having them around. I’m such a whiner. They are only gone for a day. I am complaining, and I used to travel for days at a time and they just did their thing without a second thought. When I was gone it was fine, but when they are gone that is just wrong. I guess I can put on my big boy pants and go check out the new softball complex at FSC and watch a legend get her due.

Once upon a time, there was no social media or a twenty-four-hour news cycle. Major events happened, and we saw them on the six o’clock news and the paper the next day. Technology occurred, and we gained access to stories moments after they happened. With even more advances we could start posting our opinions about these stories and our feelings became stronger with each post. We stopped listening to the other side at all and even found news sites that fit our position. Yesterday, we again had a big event that caused massive trauma. Many of us are now besides ourselves and want justice. We want change. When it happened last time, the time before that, the one before that, and on and on, we wanted change. Then, this weird thing happens, we forget. Okay, maybe forget is a strong word, but it isn’t at the head of the conversation. Issues like this cannot be forgotten if you really want to change them. When you start working out, you must continue even after the thought of it being a clever idea has worn off. The diet you started only works if you continue to do it. The point is, if we want to effect change the fight for that change must be continuous even when the story is only still emotional for the families involved.

Dammit, I wasn’t going there tonight. The positive stuff going on is still out there. It may be frivolous, but it is what keeps us from going insane with the constant barrage of negativity that sells ads on the TV and talk radio, sorry Dr. Anderson. This weekend the great American race happens in Daytona. There are some outstanding storylines to be followed. Golf is having a mini-major out in Riviera, F1 is doing introductions of their new masterpieces for the upcoming season, and Roger Federer is one win away from being the eldest number 1 in men’s professional tennis since Andre Agassi did it awhile back. I recently just finished reading the book The Alchemist, a fable that chronicled a young man’s desire to find his personal treasure. He chased it far away from his homeland and only after a great journey did he find it again once he returned. Through the journey he had some great times and fought through some great tribulations. He never lost sight of his goal and in the end found his happiness.

There is some serious stuff happening in our state, the nation, and around the world. How do you make changes and not get lost? Take care of yourself, your family, and your friends. Be the light when it is dark. Be a friend. Listen more than you spout and don’t forget that we are all allowed to our opinion. We used to disagree and go have a beer. Now, we can’t even be seen with an opposing figure or our position may be compromised. Good lord, we all need to get over ourselves. When we have our politicians trying to worry about what time we are going to use as the pressing issue for the session what chance do we have that they will do something real important; like make sure our infrastructure is secure. Be important to your family, friends, and community. Set the example that is worthy of being followed and for goodness sake; stop yelling. Let’s talk to each other and realize that there is more than one way to cook a steak.

I am looking forward to this weekend. Visiting some old friends’ tomorrow night, hanging with the family on their return Saturday night, and Supercross rewind on Sunday night. The days are mine to fill with the stories I will share each evening. What stories will you be able to share during your evenings?

Photo by Cristy Zinn on Unsplash
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Insert Bad Word Here

You see, there is a lot that (insert bad word here) me off. Tonight, I was going to write about the increasing stupidity I see from dumb (insert bad word here) who think they are awesome at texting, or whatever in the (insert bad word here) they are doing and driving but realized it won’t make any difference. I guess these are the same people that are eating Tide Pods. Yes, I think you fall in the same category. If it was okay to text and drive, they would have movie screens on your dash, so you could watch 50 Shades of Grey or Talladega Nights while you took the kids to soccer practice or the million of other things we do, so we can say we are busy and look at our stupid phones. Everyone thinks they are so (insert bad word here) important that the data streaming across that glass screen is more important than any other thing that they may destroy while looking at that little miracle of modern technology.

That’s what I was going to write about tonight, but as you can tell the passion and angst towards those stupid (insert bad word here) people would not allow for a good feeling piece of text on a beautiful Monday night. Instead, I think I’ll stay in the same mode and just (insert bad word here) about the other things that (insert bad word here) (insert bad word here) me off. First, how in the (insert bad word here) do we get anything done in today’s society? Every time I meet someone they are “so tired”. Come on, really, how in the world can everyone be so tired? I don’t mean the people who have 6-10 kids from ages 1-12 but the people who don’t have a child living at home, have had the same job for a gazillion years, or literally go to work from 8-5 five days a week for 50 weeks a year. Those people that (insert bad word here) about how tired they are really needing to get out and do something and that tiredness would just go, poof, and disappear. How boring must their life be that they are so tired from the lack of life that they live? We live in the greatest country in the world, have beaches an hour and half from us in either direction, are the amusement park capital of the world, and you are tired. Seriously, it is exhausting getting up, going to work, coming home, cracking a beer or pouring a glass of wine, turning on the television until the Tonight Show comes on, and then getting up and doing it all over again. I know, I don’t understand. You’re right, I don’t understand. I had a really good coach during college and he would tell us constantly, “You are only as tired as you tell yourself. There is physical tiredness and mental tiredness. If you tell yourself you are tired, you guessed it, you’re tired.” It is truly personal, but I believe this wholeheartedly.

Don’t get me started on being busy. For God sake, everyone is also so busy. How in the (insert bad word here) are we so busy? What about being productive instead? Why are we busy? Maybe it is simply because that’s what all the other lemmings do so we think we need to do the same thing. Are you really busy or just bad with your time management or determining what’s really important to you? We spend so much time doing things that aren’t important, like looking at Facebook posts while driving, but I digress, that we don’t take the time to handle the things that are truly important to us. So, when that happens we become too busy. We become so busy that we then become tired. We get so tired that we are so busy that we cannot get the things done that we need to do to actually better ourselves, so we then spend the time off from our work doing the things that needed to be done so we can go do the things again the next week that steal our time. The circle goes around and around so we get to tell everyone how busy and tired we are. Don’t believe me, just listen from tomorrow through Friday, keep a tally and you will be shocked.

Lastly, I think I will discuss the lack of customer service. I wish I had enough working capital because I believe I could be a multi-millionaire in so many industries. There are a few I wouldn’t touch but I don’t have to. Machines will take those jobs from them, we will pay for them to be out of work, and they will fuss that if they got paid $15/hour they would do better. Really, how hard is it to look at a large screen, a piece of paper, and then fill a bag with the proper food ordered from the establishment. Forget smiling, I’ll take the proper order and deal with your frumpy attitude. In my small town it is hilarious what is going on. There is a fast food establishment that is pushing the use of kiosk ordering machines. The hilarious part of it is that the company is using the current employees to train the customers on how to use it. “We want more money”, is the mantra and the company has decided that they are willing to invest in machinery instead of the human. Who can blame them? How many phone calls must they get, along with every other service industry, regarding the lack of customer service. Our family spends a lot of time out and about so the convenience of quick food is more important than the clogging of the arteries that occurs from eating it. We spend multiple minutes at these places of business and it is shocking how many times our order is incorrect. We are not driving a tour bus through the drive-through, we are simply a small family. Good lord, can you imagine the average American family these days? There must be big question mark on the bag when it is received through the window. The funny thing is, when there is an error the workers get (insert bad word here) that you have brought it to their attention. Oops, I’m sorry that I am asking you to do your job properly. I know, you are so busy and tired that you just can’t do your paying job correctly. It isn’t just the fast food world but most industries, excuse my French, suck at customer service these days. Any outgoing entrepreneur, if they can deal with firing many workers until finding the right ones, can make an absolute fortune in the industry they choose. There is a group of consumers that still cares, or at least I think there is, and would love to have great experiences while shopping in true retail locations.

Wow, I feel so (insert bad word here) good now. That was refreshing. I wish you all the best tomorrow while commuting to work. Oh yeah, one last thing. A few years ago, I met with the school psychologist just because I wanted to make sure I was healthy. We sat down, but I didn’t have to lay on the couch, and started talking. I asked him how he felt about this story. It goes a little like this: “Whenever I see someone texting while driving I want to take them and push them off the road with the bumper of my truck. Actually, I wish I had a big rig, so I could destroy them before they have the ability to hurt anyone else.” “Hey Doc, is this an issue?” The doc sits back in his high-backed chair, smiles, and then says, “Have you ever done any of those things?” “No” I say. He then leads forward and says, “You are completely normal. We all have those thoughts but unless you actually act on them we don’t have a problem.” I left satisfied and to this day I have such a sense of normalcy when I get so (insert bad word here) off seeing some dumb (insert bad word here) staring deeply into their phone while cruising down the road. I never hope they are injured but the day I watched a man text and drive, at highway speed, into the bumper of a large F150, I am not going to lie, I smiled like a guy who just got acquitted because a glove didn’t fit. As I said, good luck tomorrow. I hope you get to see the stupidity that surrounds you, the tiredness and busyness that is rampant, and that when your Big Mac in your bag isn’t a Quarter Pounder.

Photo by Damir Kotorić on Unsplash
Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash