1.) I don't agree with RR's assessment that the Little League coach was self-absorbed. It was a split second decision, that really probably had no thought involved, that he now has to repeatedly justify in the face of criticism. How difficult would it be to have to explain why you picked the socks you wore to work in the morning, and the pat "I just did it because it is what I normally do." wouldn't cut it. If anything, he wasn't going through the mental adulation RR describes, although he may have been thinking about his kid, and the kids of his friends, on the team he selflessly volunteered to coach, when he could have been on the couch watching TV, with his kid whittling away at a Playstation. The extreme minority of egomaniac youth coaches has let us forget the overwhelming majority of outstanding youth coaches who volunteer out of the goodness of their hearts. Give this guy a break.
2.) As an FYI, in hot weather it is common practice for graphite shafts to strain and partially melt (I did not realize), so leaving your bag in the trunk isn't the best of ideas.
3.) I started listening to classical music on the morning drive to the office. It is extremely relaxing and I recommend. I am surprised by the number of pieces that I recognize (maybe 1 in 10). It proves how classical music floats on the borders of our everyday lives (in elevators, restaurants, etc.).
4.) There is a guy on our client site who is named Dusty Rhodes. I can't see his name on a Cc: list without snickering.
2 comments:
Boy, I was torn when I read this.... but I have to side with the coach that walked the slugger.
My comments:
1) First, I do not buy the fact that the coach did nor realize the cancer kid was coming up. I'm sure the scorebook had stars and circles next to the kid's name.
2) Where is the criticism of the other coach? To have these two right next to each other in the lineup suggests that:
a) the slugger was batting 10th and the cancer kid was 11th;
b) the slugger was batting 4th and the cancer kid batted 5th.
EITHER ONE MAKES NO SENSE!
3) if this was a regular season game in a local 9-10 league (run by Bruce Peck), then I'd have a problem. But this seems to be a very competitive league of traveling starts playing in the CHAMPIONSHIP game.
Are we going to tell our kids not to try to win in a championship game? Not a good message. If the goal is to win, then you try to win, without doing anything immoral. And this is baseball strategy he is employing.
4) Seriously, the biggest winner seems to be the cancer kid himself - did you see his quote at the end? "I just have to work harder so that I'm the kid they walk. instead of the easy out."
That almost made me cry. That's exactly the motivation he should take from this unfortunate situation.
If it wasn't for RR, this would have quickly blown over. It grates me how he cherry picks stories where he can take the moral high-ground, and will drag this out.
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