Tuesday, November 29, 2011

"A Midlife Crisis"


Recently Roger Wright at Ed Co won his 300th game as a basketball coach. Coach Wright is truly a gentleman of the game. He has changed his philosophy drastically, and his friends are asking him if he is going through a “midlife crisis”. Click on Ed-Co and read the online story from the Cedar Rapids Gazette about this "crisis".

Monday, November 28, 2011

Mark Twain



"Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry."

--Mark Twain

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Traveling

"Planes and trains and boats and busses characteristically evoke a common attitude of blue, unless you have a suitcase and a ticket and a passport and the cargo that they're carrying is you."

Tom Waits

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

One Cent


"We were washed up. We were stranded...I was depressed, and confused, and I had to be alone. I kept telling myself that something good always happened every time I hit bottom. But I didn’t believe it.


...As I walked, a long-forgotten voice came out of my past. Miss Flatto. Miss Flatto, wiggling her finger at my nose and saying, ‘Some day you’ll realize, young man! Some day you’ll realize!’...

I was startled to find I was standing watching an auction sale... I was careful to keep my hands in my pockets, so I could resist any crazy impulse to make a bid, and blow my entire capital of seven cents.

The shelves were nearly emptied out and most of the crowd had left, but I still hung around, having nothing better to do with myself. Finally everything was gone except for one scrub brush, the former owner, hovering in the background, the auctioneer, myself, and an elderly Italian couple. The elderly couple had been there all the time. Either they had no money or they were too timid to make a bid on anything. Whichever it was, they exchanged sad looks now that the auction was winding up.

The auctioneer was tired. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘Let’s get it over with and not horse around. I have left here one desirable item. One cleansing brush in A-number-one, brand-new condition, guaranteed to give you floors so clean you could eat off them. What am I offered?’

The old Italian guy and his wife looked at each other, searching for the key to the right thing to say... they held on to each other like they had done something wrong. I said quickly, ‘One cent.’

The auctioneer whacked his gavel.

‘Sold-thank-God-to-the-young-American-gentleman-for-one-cent.’ I picked up my brush and handed it to the old lady. She was as touched as if I had given her the entire contents of the store. The old man grabbed my hand and pumped it. They both grinned at me and poured out a river of Italian that I couldn’t understand. ‘Think nothing of it,’ I said, and added, ‘Ciao, eh?’ ... which was the only Italian I could remember from 93rd street. They thought this was pretty funny, the way I said it, and they walked away laughing. I walked away laughing too... I couldn’t explain it, but a lousy penny scrub brush had changed the whole complexion of life."

Harpo Marx (Early Days)

Thanksgiving


"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving."

 ~H.U. Westermayer

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Eccentric


“I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond of goldfish.”


― Edith Sitwell

Parents


“When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.”

― Rodney Dangerfield

Monday, November 21, 2011

"Eight More Miles"

Here is a great song from Kieran Kane about returning home after a long trip.Click on "Eight More Miles" and get home.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

He's A Shooter

Lentsch shatters NCAA D-III record with 89-point explosion against Principia, read more at the Grinnell Basketball Website

Friday, November 18, 2011

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Leadership


"To lead the people, walk behind them."

Lao Tzu

A Book


“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”


 Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho

Thursday, November 10, 2011

General Hailston

From The Simple Truths Newsletter


"On March 5, 2003, I turned on Good Morning America while eating breakfast. Charlie Gibson was interviewing General Earl Hailston, the commanding general of Marine Forces Central Command.

The general was waiting with his troops just a few miles off the border of Iraq...waiting to go to war.

Toward the end of the interview, Charlie asked him if he had any hobbies.
The general said, "Yes, I love photography, especially taking photos of my men." He shared
that while he had been waiting for the past few days he took photos of his men, and at night he would email the photos with a brief note to their mothers back in the USA.

Charlie asked if he could see a sample of a letter, and the general walked into his tent, turned on his computer, and read the last letter he had sent. It said:

Dear Mrs. Johnson,

I thought you might enjoy seeing this picture of your son. He is doing great. I also wanted you to know that you did a wonderful job raising him. You must be very proud. I can certainly tell you that I'm honored to serve with him in the U.S. Marines.

General Earl Hailston

Wow! I had goose bumps as I watched Charlie randomly interview a few of General Hailston's men, and without exception, you could feel the genuine love and respect that every one of them had for their leader.
You may have heard the quote..."They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Well, here's a man who truly understood what caring, kindness and leadership is all about."

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Goals


"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them. "


Denis Watley

Joe Frazier


"I don't want to knock my opponent out. I want to hit him, step away and watch him hurt. I want his heart."


Joe Frazier

Monday, November 7, 2011

Delmar


"We thought you was a toad."


Delmar- From the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou"

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Service



"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth".


Muhammad Ali

The Big Rock Candy Mountain

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable movies of all time, "O Brother Where Art Thou" has good music, and good clean humor. It was built roughly around Homer's The Odyssey. It had a very special sound track, that even young people of this generation have come to enjoy. Click below the picture on Rock Candy and enjoy some yourself.



Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Alone

“We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and -- in spite of True Romance magazines -- we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely -- at least, not all the time -- but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”

― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Triumph



“For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.”

― Hunter S. Thompson

The Sniper

For you basketball fans, a video of two of the greatest shooters of our time. Click under the picture.