The last year has been something of a roller-coaster for the Fat Kid. About a year ago, my life was pretty bad. It was about as low as you can get, actually. While I will not belabor the point (those who know me can e-mail me privately, and ask anything) I will simply say that I was being ruled by something paralyzing, something horrible, and something altogether unreasonable: Fear.
Fear is a strange thing. It's based upon our perceptions, our prior knowledge (automatically biased) and our desire to always know "what's going to happen next?" No one really understands it. Social scientists have been trying to figure it out for years, as have many others. So far, all we pretty much know about it is how to scare ourselves silly. Just as Wes Craven. Of course, it would help if we all had the same fears, but we don't.
This past year has been a lot of me facing my fears, and a lot of searching inside to find the guts, the chutzpa, the cajones, the stones, or the wherewithall to look at Fear straight in the eyes and let it know, in no uncertain terms, that I am not Fear's bitch.
I find that there are fears in just about every facet of my life, to some degree. Afraid of the winter weather, afraid of going grey, afraid of this, and of that...and particularly for me, afraid of riding up the steep hills of southwestern Pennsylvania. When the Fat Kid first fell in love with riding his bike, it was on the flatlands of Central New York. There were only a few hills in the region, and only a few of those were really very steep. So I never learned to ride them effectively, or efficiently. I still have doubts as to my efficiency, but the effectiveness...well...I made it over them, so I guess that counts.
In conquering these hills this weekend, I realized something: I looked at them, and I wasn't afraid. From the base of each hill, I stopped, looked up it, assessed it, and knew that I was going to torture myself incredibly. But for the first time ever, I was not afraid of them. I was slow, I had to stop halfway up some of them...and sometimes, stop again...and each time that my legs screamed out at me for putting through this torture, I was still not afraid. Four months ago, I would not have attempted such things. Four months ago, I lived in fear of those hills...of ANY hill.
I don't know what it was that changed. Is it because I know I will have to face these hills on an upcoming Charity Ride (The local MS 150, for those who want to know)?? Is it because I've been trying to work on hills, and finally have some confidence? Is it something larger? It got me thinking - let's face it, when you're out riding alone, you have lots of time to think - about the fears in my life, and why they do or do not make sense. For example, WHY was I afraid of those hills? It makes no sense. It's a hill. It doesn't care about me, it doesn't even know if I'm climbing it or not. It's not out to get me. It's just a hill, and the road I'm on goes over it. So must I.
The only thing to be afraid of is...what someone else might think??? Really? Is that what I've been afraid of all this time? That someone I don't know might see me on the side of the road, and say "Poor guy couldn't make it up the hill." Or worse, that someone I might know might realize just how bad a climber I am? WHO THE HELL CARES? I'm out there on a bike, dressed in spandex! Seriously, a fat kid in spandex!!! And NOW, when I'm climbing I'm concerned about DIGNITY???? As if I have any left? You know who cares?? I care. I care about looking up at that hill, and saying "This is gonna hurt, and it may take me forever, and I'm gonna look bad doing it, and I may even have to stop a time or two, but I'm going to climb up it, come what may, because I'm not going to let fear rule me any longer!"
You know what, Fear? You're my bitch, now.
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
Monday, May 30, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The National Football League, explained.
The recent years of the National Football League, aka NFL, aka No Fun League, have been marred by incidents of every kind, and an umprecedented crackdown on players for a myriad of reasons. These are all, "in the best interest of the sport," if those in charge can be believed. According to the offices of the NFL, these incidents have not increased in frequency, the league has just finally decided to enforce the rules it's had in place for many years. Among those rules is apparently fining James Harrison because the glare off his shaved sweaty head made an opposing player on the other team's bench HAVE to look towards a cheerleader, and that was too tempting for the poor fellow to take, and he was FORCED to cheat on his wife. So sad. James, your fine is all the alimony the dude would have paid for his 6 children, all age 11, and curiously living under one roof with a woman who knows she's not their mother. But she felt cheated on, too.
The latest round of lunacy from the No Fun League proposes a 15-yard personal foul penalty for a player who: “leaves both feet before contact to spring forward and upward into an opponent and delivers a blow to the helmet with any part of his helmet.” (took this off my friend's blog www.moxiebird.com) But what about springing sideways and upward??? Oh, that's still good? OK then. It wasn't enough that they already had a rule about no helmet-to-helmet contact, noooooooo - now players REALLY can't do what they've been training to do since they were 12!!!!! Really?? Currently, there's a labor dispute over money and profit-sharing, and the NFL has nothing better to do than make idiotic rules??
But wait - I know what half of you are saying here: "Well, that does take player safety into account, and that's important." NO. Flat out, NO. The NFL is doing this so that they can guard their own backsides against the possibility of a lawsuit by some guy who, later in life, decides that his career was cut short and it was his employer's fault (aka, the NFL) for not putting a stop to it. That's what these "rules for player safety" are about. It's not about making the sport better, or safer. It's about protection from class-action lawsuits and (and this is my favorite part) making offensive players untouchable to increase the amount of touchdowns scored in each game.
YEP - that's the other half of the equation. If you can't hit the quarterbacks, the receivers, or the runners who are still on their feet (even though your job is to take said runner off his feet) the end result will be more scoring, and this is the best EVER. It will make the game more exciting. It will make sure people don't leave early. It will improve the sport. It will continue to support the bullshit we're spewing forth at an unbelievable rate! I hear it will also change the weather patterns in the Gulf Coast and the atomic weight of cobalt, but this has yet to be proven.
Mr Goodell: Your tenure as the head of the NFL has been marred with more scandal, more stupidity, and more asshattery than any other administration in the league, and now you are in a labor dispute that more than likely could have been avoided if you simply let the players play the game. You, Sir, are a complete and utter moron for taking a business which had been brilliantly laid out for you and ruining it. There is only one place this path can lead, and it is the ruination of a sport that used to be fun to watch, because teams won on talent, not on penalties or sob stories.
But how to fix all this mess??? Oddly enough, it's very easy. See, my second favorite lycra-wearing sport (football) can take a lesson from my first favorite lycra-wearing sport (cycling) - what, you didn't know that? This page is called "BIKING with the Fat Kid," not "Tackling with the Fat Kid." Deal with it. USACycling makes each and every rider in its races sign a form - it's called a waiver (legal term, for all those in the offices of the No Fun League - but you don't have to be afraid of it.) Now, this is a form that MUST be signed IN INK, for EACH event a rider participates in. Here is an excerpt from it - the MOST important excerpt, actually:
"I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CYCLING IS AN INHERENTLY DANGEROUS
SPORT AND FULLY REALIZE THE DANGERS OF PARTICIPATING
IN THIS EVENT, whether as a rider, official, coach,
mechanic, volunteer, or otherwise, and FULLY ASSUME THE
RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH PARTICIPATION..."
See how easy this is?????? Full link to the waiver, should you want to read it: http://www.usacycling.org/forms/rider_release.pdf
So all you have to explain to players is that butting heads with one another can result in injury, and they need to sign this form that says they "get it." Since it can be illustrated in pictures, even those who fail the Wonderlic Test should be able to figure this out.
Now, as to the whole point of wanting every game to be decided by the last posession and whomever can get the final chance to score - THAT IS WHY YOU INVENTED ARENA FOOTBALL. It's "football light." Leave the real league alone!!! We want to watch grown men hit one another hard and press on anyway. It's fun. It's violent. It's dangerous...AND WE LOVE IT THAT WAY!!!
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
The latest round of lunacy from the No Fun League proposes a 15-yard personal foul penalty for a player who: “leaves both feet before contact to spring forward and upward into an opponent and delivers a blow to the helmet with any part of his helmet.” (took this off my friend's blog www.moxiebird.com) But what about springing sideways and upward??? Oh, that's still good? OK then. It wasn't enough that they already had a rule about no helmet-to-helmet contact, noooooooo - now players REALLY can't do what they've been training to do since they were 12!!!!! Really?? Currently, there's a labor dispute over money and profit-sharing, and the NFL has nothing better to do than make idiotic rules??
But wait - I know what half of you are saying here: "Well, that does take player safety into account, and that's important." NO. Flat out, NO. The NFL is doing this so that they can guard their own backsides against the possibility of a lawsuit by some guy who, later in life, decides that his career was cut short and it was his employer's fault (aka, the NFL) for not putting a stop to it. That's what these "rules for player safety" are about. It's not about making the sport better, or safer. It's about protection from class-action lawsuits and (and this is my favorite part) making offensive players untouchable to increase the amount of touchdowns scored in each game.
YEP - that's the other half of the equation. If you can't hit the quarterbacks, the receivers, or the runners who are still on their feet (even though your job is to take said runner off his feet) the end result will be more scoring, and this is the best EVER. It will make the game more exciting. It will make sure people don't leave early. It will improve the sport. It will continue to support the bullshit we're spewing forth at an unbelievable rate! I hear it will also change the weather patterns in the Gulf Coast and the atomic weight of cobalt, but this has yet to be proven.
Mr Goodell: Your tenure as the head of the NFL has been marred with more scandal, more stupidity, and more asshattery than any other administration in the league, and now you are in a labor dispute that more than likely could have been avoided if you simply let the players play the game. You, Sir, are a complete and utter moron for taking a business which had been brilliantly laid out for you and ruining it. There is only one place this path can lead, and it is the ruination of a sport that used to be fun to watch, because teams won on talent, not on penalties or sob stories.
But how to fix all this mess??? Oddly enough, it's very easy. See, my second favorite lycra-wearing sport (football) can take a lesson from my first favorite lycra-wearing sport (cycling) - what, you didn't know that? This page is called "BIKING with the Fat Kid," not "Tackling with the Fat Kid." Deal with it. USACycling makes each and every rider in its races sign a form - it's called a waiver (legal term, for all those in the offices of the No Fun League - but you don't have to be afraid of it.) Now, this is a form that MUST be signed IN INK, for EACH event a rider participates in. Here is an excerpt from it - the MOST important excerpt, actually:
"I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CYCLING IS AN INHERENTLY DANGEROUS
SPORT AND FULLY REALIZE THE DANGERS OF PARTICIPATING
IN THIS EVENT, whether as a rider, official, coach,
mechanic, volunteer, or otherwise, and FULLY ASSUME THE
RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH PARTICIPATION..."
See how easy this is?????? Full link to the waiver, should you want to read it: http://www.usacycling.org/forms/rider_release.pdf
So all you have to explain to players is that butting heads with one another can result in injury, and they need to sign this form that says they "get it." Since it can be illustrated in pictures, even those who fail the Wonderlic Test should be able to figure this out.
Now, as to the whole point of wanting every game to be decided by the last posession and whomever can get the final chance to score - THAT IS WHY YOU INVENTED ARENA FOOTBALL. It's "football light." Leave the real league alone!!! We want to watch grown men hit one another hard and press on anyway. It's fun. It's violent. It's dangerous...AND WE LOVE IT THAT WAY!!!
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Get off the track, Quack...
Sometimes, strange things happen in life, and each person's number gets picked to deal with the strangeness. There's no rhyme or reason to it - it just happens that way. Some of the strangeness I have encountered in my days is responsible for some of my better moments, and some is responsible for my worst moments - but I better not follow that thought too far, lest this be confused with a Dickensian novel. And I am no Dickens.
Among the strange things I have encountered, however, is that I have once played the part of a duck on stage. No - this was not some silly elementary school production of 'The Farmer in the Dell' or something - that would not be called strange, merely child-like. No, this was in a college production, where they needed ducks. Rather than try and work with live creatures, they had the Three Ducks: Autistic Duck, Retarded Duck (you could still use that word in those days), and Angry Duck. I was Angry Duck. They gave us our choice of feather dusters to use as our "wings," (I took the matching yellow ones - the others got pink and blue)and crouching, we made duck noises and did various things. I caused "duck fights" which involve a lot of quacking and flapping of featherduster-wings.
But what is the point of this?? Well, my substantial experience in duckhood has thus prepared me for the latest and greatest of strange moments of the Fat Kid. I went down to the track last night to rip off some miles before the races started, and then hang out and watch some friends race. Good stuff, always fun. Props to the Steel City Endurance squad, by the way (www.steelcityendurance.com). So there I am, getting ready to watch the races, and ACA guru-of-many-things Jack looks at me and says, "Bill, could you possibly go get a broom or something and try and get those two ducks down there off the track? I think they're trying to get out, but they can't seem to find their way."
How does one respond to this strange twist of silliness? Clearly, the ducks NEED to be removed - racing with ducks, while it may sound like fun...it pretty much makes a crazy, dangerous sport even moreso. Cyclists are crazy, yes, but there's a line between "crazy" and "just plain nuts" that even cyclists won't cross. So I look at Jack, and realize what he's asking me to do. "Jack," I said, "Are you asking me to herd ducks?" Jack responds with, "well, yeah, I guess I am." It seems that participating in a play in which I played a duck back in Spetember, 1995, carries with it an innate skill which shows through to this day as being "the guy who can herd ducks." Of course, I say yes, but not without the prerequisite "I am more powerful than herding ducks" comment, and telling Jack that he owes me for this one.
Grabbing the broom, I head down to where these two waddling waterfowl have set their camp, having no clue what the heck I'm going to do should the ducks decide they REALLY want to stay right where they are. I have never actually fought a duck before - and I cannot tell the attack ducks from the non-attack ducks. But I know there are attack geese, so I'm prepping for the worst, just in case. I'm also prepping for Fred Jordan ( http://www.fjordanphoto.com/blog/)to be taking photos of this....I really hope he didn't get any, but you never can tell about these things. I cautiously approach these two creatures, and I realize something else: One is male, one female, and they are just out for an evening waddle after a marvelous algae dinner. I don't know if they got a sitter for the ducklings or not - we didn't chat much. But I get to about 10 feet from the critters...mind you, it should be noted that people have been within THREE FEET of them whizzing by on bikes and the ducks HAVE NOT FLINCHED...But a guy on foot with a broom??? Suddenly, they rediscover their wings, and fly 30 feet away, off the track and into the surrounding habitat. Like it was no big deal.
And while I am no Dickens, Paul Simon wrote the following lyrics:
You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
I will add a line:
"Get off the track, quack!"
Thanks for reading.
The Fat Kid
Among the strange things I have encountered, however, is that I have once played the part of a duck on stage. No - this was not some silly elementary school production of 'The Farmer in the Dell' or something - that would not be called strange, merely child-like. No, this was in a college production, where they needed ducks. Rather than try and work with live creatures, they had the Three Ducks: Autistic Duck, Retarded Duck (you could still use that word in those days), and Angry Duck. I was Angry Duck. They gave us our choice of feather dusters to use as our "wings," (I took the matching yellow ones - the others got pink and blue)and crouching, we made duck noises and did various things. I caused "duck fights" which involve a lot of quacking and flapping of featherduster-wings.
But what is the point of this?? Well, my substantial experience in duckhood has thus prepared me for the latest and greatest of strange moments of the Fat Kid. I went down to the track last night to rip off some miles before the races started, and then hang out and watch some friends race. Good stuff, always fun. Props to the Steel City Endurance squad, by the way (www.steelcityendurance.com). So there I am, getting ready to watch the races, and ACA guru-of-many-things Jack looks at me and says, "Bill, could you possibly go get a broom or something and try and get those two ducks down there off the track? I think they're trying to get out, but they can't seem to find their way."
How does one respond to this strange twist of silliness? Clearly, the ducks NEED to be removed - racing with ducks, while it may sound like fun...it pretty much makes a crazy, dangerous sport even moreso. Cyclists are crazy, yes, but there's a line between "crazy" and "just plain nuts" that even cyclists won't cross. So I look at Jack, and realize what he's asking me to do. "Jack," I said, "Are you asking me to herd ducks?" Jack responds with, "well, yeah, I guess I am." It seems that participating in a play in which I played a duck back in Spetember, 1995, carries with it an innate skill which shows through to this day as being "the guy who can herd ducks." Of course, I say yes, but not without the prerequisite "I am more powerful than herding ducks" comment, and telling Jack that he owes me for this one.
Grabbing the broom, I head down to where these two waddling waterfowl have set their camp, having no clue what the heck I'm going to do should the ducks decide they REALLY want to stay right where they are. I have never actually fought a duck before - and I cannot tell the attack ducks from the non-attack ducks. But I know there are attack geese, so I'm prepping for the worst, just in case. I'm also prepping for Fred Jordan ( http://www.fjordanphoto.com/blog/)to be taking photos of this....I really hope he didn't get any, but you never can tell about these things. I cautiously approach these two creatures, and I realize something else: One is male, one female, and they are just out for an evening waddle after a marvelous algae dinner. I don't know if they got a sitter for the ducklings or not - we didn't chat much. But I get to about 10 feet from the critters...mind you, it should be noted that people have been within THREE FEET of them whizzing by on bikes and the ducks HAVE NOT FLINCHED...But a guy on foot with a broom??? Suddenly, they rediscover their wings, and fly 30 feet away, off the track and into the surrounding habitat. Like it was no big deal.
And while I am no Dickens, Paul Simon wrote the following lyrics:
You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
I will add a line:
"Get off the track, quack!"
Thanks for reading.
The Fat Kid
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Fat Kid, 2.0
Well - I was thinking today about something: This blog is called "Biking with the Fat Kid," and I rarely talk about biking, riding, anything of the sort. I spend plenty of time doing a lot of other stuff on here, but biking - rarely mention it. Seems kind of funny, huh? I think it's about time I made a change in that department. I mean, WHY NOT? What have I got to lose, but that maybe a few people who previously didn't "get" this crazy obsession I have with riding might be left without thinking I'm crazy...well, without thinking I'm crazy for liking a sport that otherwise might be called "spandex-clad clowns on bikes."
To that end, I went and did something crazy: I joined up with a team to ride in the local version of the MS 150: The Escape to the Lake. Basically, as a way to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research, the National MS Society organizes rides throughout the country. The distance: 150 miles over two days in June. I have a month to get ready to ride this beast.
Right about now, all my cycling friends reading this are saying: "Dude, so it's 75 miles a day. So what?" Well, to all of you racers and friends, I say this: the longest distance I've ever done in a day is 50 miles. And then I think I took the next week off. Yeah, there's a reason I don't race with you, and usually ride alone. It's because I'm slow at this sport I love. But I love it, and I want to be better at it. Clearly, unless I can come up with a good reason to get better at it, I doubt that my schedule of "eh, I feel like riding today/don't feel like riding today" is going to get me very far.
So now I have a month to get ready for this event. There are three things that I need to do:
1) get in shape, particularly for riding hills.
2) raise a minimum of $250.00 - But hey, why stop there??? Besides, I've already had my first donation, thanks to a good friend who wishes to be anonymous (or I'd give the person credit).
3) BLOG about this new and crazy journey, where it takes me, and what happens along the way.
So today, I came home from work and spent an hour on the bike, killing myself on the local hills around the house. My legs are almost recovered to the point where they are in no more pain, now, and I am plenty rehydrated. See, as I stink on hills in particular, I figure that I better figure out how to ride them, lest I become embarrased on this ride. So, I will embarrass myself NOW, rather than when it counts. HUZZAH! I can't and won't guarantee that I will blog every day, ut hey, if I put it out there in the open, sometimes it works a lot better for motivation for me.
Besides that....I need your donations!!!!!!!! Seriously, kids, it doesn't take much - $10. If all my facebook friends donated $10, I would have almost $5,000 to donate to this cause. all you have to do is follow this link: https://secure3.convio.net/nmss/site/Donation2?idb=1441522407&df_id=33122&FR_ID=15151&PROXY_ID=9772313&PROXY_TYPE=20&33122.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=tdk0ol3201.app323b and you, too, can help find a cure for MS.
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
To that end, I went and did something crazy: I joined up with a team to ride in the local version of the MS 150: The Escape to the Lake. Basically, as a way to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research, the National MS Society organizes rides throughout the country. The distance: 150 miles over two days in June. I have a month to get ready to ride this beast.
Right about now, all my cycling friends reading this are saying: "Dude, so it's 75 miles a day. So what?" Well, to all of you racers and friends, I say this: the longest distance I've ever done in a day is 50 miles. And then I think I took the next week off. Yeah, there's a reason I don't race with you, and usually ride alone. It's because I'm slow at this sport I love. But I love it, and I want to be better at it. Clearly, unless I can come up with a good reason to get better at it, I doubt that my schedule of "eh, I feel like riding today/don't feel like riding today" is going to get me very far.
So now I have a month to get ready for this event. There are three things that I need to do:
1) get in shape, particularly for riding hills.
2) raise a minimum of $250.00 - But hey, why stop there??? Besides, I've already had my first donation, thanks to a good friend who wishes to be anonymous (or I'd give the person credit).
3) BLOG about this new and crazy journey, where it takes me, and what happens along the way.
So today, I came home from work and spent an hour on the bike, killing myself on the local hills around the house. My legs are almost recovered to the point where they are in no more pain, now, and I am plenty rehydrated. See, as I stink on hills in particular, I figure that I better figure out how to ride them, lest I become embarrased on this ride. So, I will embarrass myself NOW, rather than when it counts. HUZZAH! I can't and won't guarantee that I will blog every day, ut hey, if I put it out there in the open, sometimes it works a lot better for motivation for me.
Besides that....I need your donations!!!!!!!! Seriously, kids, it doesn't take much - $10. If all my facebook friends donated $10, I would have almost $5,000 to donate to this cause. all you have to do is follow this link: https://secure3.convio.net/nmss/site/Donation2?idb=1441522407&df_id=33122&FR_ID=15151&PROXY_ID=9772313&PROXY_TYPE=20&33122.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=tdk0ol3201.app323b and you, too, can help find a cure for MS.
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
Monday, May 2, 2011
The unpopular side of things...
I've been toying with posting this since the capture/death of Bin Laden, but hesitated because I thought people would react poorly in a time when this country really needs something to hold us together. What good could that possibly bring? But now, not even a week later, the press is already starting to die down about the topic. Now, I think that people have been back at work and largely gotten on with living again, it's ok to post the unpopular point of view on this topic.
I, like millions of other world-wide, have wanted justice for the attacks on 9/11/01 since the day it happened. And I wanted Bin Laden run to ground and captured, where, most likely, he would be sentenced to death, and then, justice would be meted out. As someone who values life - be it of unborn children AND hardened criminals - it's difficult to admit, but I, too, believe that Bin Laden deserved death. Unfortunately, it simply was not safe for the rest of us to let him continue to live. In this case, the needs of the many far outweigh the needs of the few.
And it was, as the President said, "a good day for America," but it was not an example of the goodness that can be American. It simply was not an example of the USA being good, it was an example of how this nation has become fueled by revenge. In watching the videos of people gathered in crowds in Washington, New York, and other parts of the country, and hearing the chants of "USA! USA!" - one thing became perfectly clear: we were "celebrating victory" by reveling in the fact that we killed one man. It was not our finest hour.
In those images, we showed the world that we do not value all life - just the lives of those who agree with us. We showed the world that on that day, we were no better than a schoolyard bully: someone hit us, and so we had to hit them back, damn the consequences. If the land of freedom no longer values life - ALL life, be it foreign, domestic, criminal, saint, or any other qualifier you wish to put on it - then how are we really free?
By now, I'm sure that anyone reading this is saying, "But how do you justify the deaths of so many on that day? What about the atrocities committed against America? We deserve justice!" I can't. There is no way to justify the deaths of so many in such a horrible fashion. We should be angry, hurt and confused. Those are normal human emotions and they are beyond our control. What we CAN control are our actions that we take based upon the emotions we feel. A military response to go after Bin Laden was appropriate. A chance to capture him and bring him to justice was also appropriate. To be happy to know the man is no longer a threat - very appropriate and natural. To take to the streets, cheering the greatness of a nation who just killed a man - not so very appropriate.
The War on Terror is not over. It did not begin with one man, it will not end with one man. It can only end when all of us choose to let go of hate, anger, bitterness and most importantly, fear. How can this happen? I don't know. But I know that our best days - the days when we look to our country and are proud to be Americans - are the days when we show love, compassion, support, unity and brotherhood.
I love America. I regret the loss of lives - American or other - that we have experienced in this conflict since it began, including that of Bin Laden. Remember the dead, mourn them, and celebrate their lives. But let's not do it through more killing.
Criticism is welcome, but keep it constructive, or your responses will be deleted. This is just my opinion - I do not ask that you share it, just that you accept it as AN opinion - even if an unpopular one.
Thanks for reading.
The Fat Kid
I, like millions of other world-wide, have wanted justice for the attacks on 9/11/01 since the day it happened. And I wanted Bin Laden run to ground and captured, where, most likely, he would be sentenced to death, and then, justice would be meted out. As someone who values life - be it of unborn children AND hardened criminals - it's difficult to admit, but I, too, believe that Bin Laden deserved death. Unfortunately, it simply was not safe for the rest of us to let him continue to live. In this case, the needs of the many far outweigh the needs of the few.
And it was, as the President said, "a good day for America," but it was not an example of the goodness that can be American. It simply was not an example of the USA being good, it was an example of how this nation has become fueled by revenge. In watching the videos of people gathered in crowds in Washington, New York, and other parts of the country, and hearing the chants of "USA! USA!" - one thing became perfectly clear: we were "celebrating victory" by reveling in the fact that we killed one man. It was not our finest hour.
In those images, we showed the world that we do not value all life - just the lives of those who agree with us. We showed the world that on that day, we were no better than a schoolyard bully: someone hit us, and so we had to hit them back, damn the consequences. If the land of freedom no longer values life - ALL life, be it foreign, domestic, criminal, saint, or any other qualifier you wish to put on it - then how are we really free?
By now, I'm sure that anyone reading this is saying, "But how do you justify the deaths of so many on that day? What about the atrocities committed against America? We deserve justice!" I can't. There is no way to justify the deaths of so many in such a horrible fashion. We should be angry, hurt and confused. Those are normal human emotions and they are beyond our control. What we CAN control are our actions that we take based upon the emotions we feel. A military response to go after Bin Laden was appropriate. A chance to capture him and bring him to justice was also appropriate. To be happy to know the man is no longer a threat - very appropriate and natural. To take to the streets, cheering the greatness of a nation who just killed a man - not so very appropriate.
The War on Terror is not over. It did not begin with one man, it will not end with one man. It can only end when all of us choose to let go of hate, anger, bitterness and most importantly, fear. How can this happen? I don't know. But I know that our best days - the days when we look to our country and are proud to be Americans - are the days when we show love, compassion, support, unity and brotherhood.
I love America. I regret the loss of lives - American or other - that we have experienced in this conflict since it began, including that of Bin Laden. Remember the dead, mourn them, and celebrate their lives. But let's not do it through more killing.
Criticism is welcome, but keep it constructive, or your responses will be deleted. This is just my opinion - I do not ask that you share it, just that you accept it as AN opinion - even if an unpopular one.
Thanks for reading.
The Fat Kid
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Poetry Project v 2.0...the end...
oh boy, I make it all the way to the end of the month and then almost don't finish! ok, well, these area couple days later, and I need a two-fer in here, I think. But first, a little reflection on this past month.
Thank you to all who read along. I didn't receive too many comments on things - less than I did last year - so I really have no idea how many of you there are - but thank you. I hope you enjoyed taking this little trip. I know that I found it a nice outlet, and, while different than last year, still rewarding.
Thanks for those who took the challenge - which is pretty much just my mom...so Mom, a big hug and shouts of thanks to you!
On a final note, send me your ideas for themes for next year! Maybe eventually this will become something larger than one month every year. I have no idea, but send me your thoughts anyway!
OK, so let's finish this thing!
Rain
One. One-two.
One-two. One. One-two-three.
One. One-three-one.
Two. Two-one-one. One.
One. On-two-three-one-four.
Two-four. Four-seven-one-five.
Etc.
Flood.
One. Two-one.
One.
And just because it's kinda the opposite.....
Sun
Sneaking,creeping,
up over the horizon it comes,
turning cold night into warm summer morning.
the world aglow, basking, radiant,
new and fresh in the kiss of light.
A warm embrace, constant, sure,
as with a lover.
warming as the day grows longer,
waning as evening approaches.
Beginning again tomorrow,
a new and fascinating discovery.
Thanks for reading.
The Fat Kid
Thank you to all who read along. I didn't receive too many comments on things - less than I did last year - so I really have no idea how many of you there are - but thank you. I hope you enjoyed taking this little trip. I know that I found it a nice outlet, and, while different than last year, still rewarding.
Thanks for those who took the challenge - which is pretty much just my mom...so Mom, a big hug and shouts of thanks to you!
On a final note, send me your ideas for themes for next year! Maybe eventually this will become something larger than one month every year. I have no idea, but send me your thoughts anyway!
OK, so let's finish this thing!
Rain
One. One-two.
One-two. One. One-two-three.
One. One-three-one.
Two. Two-one-one. One.
One. On-two-three-one-four.
Two-four. Four-seven-one-five.
Etc.
Flood.
One. Two-one.
One.
And just because it's kinda the opposite.....
Sun
Sneaking,creeping,
up over the horizon it comes,
turning cold night into warm summer morning.
the world aglow, basking, radiant,
new and fresh in the kiss of light.
A warm embrace, constant, sure,
as with a lover.
warming as the day grows longer,
waning as evening approaches.
Beginning again tomorrow,
a new and fascinating discovery.
Thanks for reading.
The Fat Kid
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