Friday, August 21, 2009

The New Chosen People?

A couple of months ago, I rode down to Austin for the ROT rally. A friend and I rode down I-35 on Friday night. The skies threatened to dump a deluge on us for most of the last 2 hours we were on the road. As we neared Austin, traffic was really starting to get heavy as well. Road construction had the pavement very uneven, wind gusts were near 30 mph and the traffic lanes were shifting randomly.
Just north of Georgetown, there is an exit for a new toll road that runs parallel to the interstate. My friend Jennifer had told me about this road before I left and it seemed like a perfect option right when we neared it. We slid onto the exit ramp for it and the world changed.
There were no cars on it for the 20 miles or so that Ardy and I rode south on it. Ok, the liberals in Austin are fundamentally opposed to paying tolls, so that wasn't so surprising. But the rain showers stopped as soon as we got on it, too. We saw lightning bolts descending from the skies on both sides of us. Sheets of rain were pounding down there as well; we could see the curtains of them illuminated by distant city lights and the sun's rays beyond the horizon. But not a drop of water fell on us until we exited the toll road and got on the free portion of Mopac below 183 in north Austin.
This morning, there was heavy rain all around Dallas/Fort Worth. I could tell that it had rained on the Bush Tollway just a few minutes before the other commuters and I were traveling down it. But not very much rain was falling on us. It actually only began to rain south of Belt Line Road, which is the free portion of Hwy 161. Hmmm.
In the Old Testament, the story of the Jewish people is told. Commonly referred to as God's Chosen People, this is really a messed up bunch of people and the stories are those evidence of it. Incest, infraticide, adultery and warring factions are all laid out right there. Most of them involve a single disfunctional family. I believe they were so messed up that God figured they REALLY needed His help.
Which brings me to the new ones....
Claiming a special relationship with God that makes their position uniquely rightgeous, maybe the right wing fundies of the Republican Party are the new messed up people needing His intervention. Evidence? Well, riding on their favored toll roads I didn't get wet.
Enjoy your day.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Where's your bling?

I have arrived at 50 years of age with an urge to begin measuring things in my life. I know that many people have been keeping score far longer or earlier than that but I often get to parties late.
I have told myself forever that I prefer to use a different yardstick to measure. On many levels I know this to be an cop out, a method of insuring I can't be failing if I am not playing by the same rules. It also is a way to mask my laziness!
But on other levels, the older I get, the more I realize that perhaps the way I have been measuring things around me is an appropriate measure of how one uses a lifetime. For isn't that what ultimately it comes down to? What did you do with your time here?
I am never going to be rich monetarily. I don't have the drive to put the effort into that. I admire those that do in many ways. The people that know how to make money usually are very good at getting things done. They complete things. They have self discipline and use it.
Many people that haven't reached my age seem to look at the stuff which surrounds one as a measure of how they are doing. Car parked outside. House bigger than you need. Really nice designer clothes. Lifestyle. Accessories such as the iPhone or pretty jewelry.
It has become fashionable to not speak about such things since the current economic downturn began. People are competing now to see who can be least conspicuous in the display of wealth. But they are still looking and measuring.
I have so many blessings around me that it is difficult to not fall into the trap of taking them for granted. I look at the men I know that are nearing the end of their lives (over 80). Most of them have been retired for quite a while now but have not stopped living. Almost all of them now treasure time as much as anything. Especially time spent with family, friends and doing things they love. There is a peacefulness that surrounds them. I know not every moment of their day is perfect. Many have illnesses or other conditions which could easily stress out someone. Rarely do I hear those I admire most complaining about it. Instead, their bling is in the intangibles. It shows and it gives me hope that perhaps I can learn from them. Maybe I can achieve a level of contentedness that rivals theirs. In fact, I would say that overall I am pretty happy with waking up everyday.
So, my question for you is, are you happy? Where is your bling?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Pudge is back!

I was around when he arrived as a fresh-faced 18 year old with a love of picking lazy baserunners off first base. He had a cannon for an arm and was awesome against would be base stealers. When his bat got hot, he could carry the team for a few games. Unfortunately, he was prone to chasing sliders and curve balls low and away.
But Ivan Rodriguez was one of the key components on the Ranger teams of the late 1990s that made the playoffs and won division titles. His return to the team shouldn't hurt the chances of that happening again this year. Pudge has agreed to be a back up player on a team full of rookies and thin at catcher (since the starter is now on the disabled list). Taylor Teagarden and many others can learn alot about the game from him. When Houston played in Arlington earlier this year, Pudge set the record for most games caught all-time. I remember during an interview with him that aired locally, he spent some time talking about how good players like Nolan Ryan and Charlie Hough were to him when he came to the Rangers. He spoke about doing the same for the young players he was around in Houston. I hope that he is sincere and takes that role seriously.
It would be a big change from the man that left Texas so many years ago. I mean, seriously, who has an 8 foot tall statue of themself in their yard if they aren't a little cocky?
Welcome back, Pudge. Now let's go catch some Angels.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

That was soooooo cool.

My first memories of really following a baseball team is back in 1967. I'm not sure why, but in a house full of NY Yankee fans (the team was terrible at the time), in a town full of Boston Red Sox fans, I became a fan of Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Roger Maris, Orlando Cepeda, Mike Shannon, Tim McCarver, Javier Javier, Del Maxvill and a pitching core anchored by Bob Gibson. Those Cardinals mangaged to win a 7 game World Series that October, postponing the joy of Red Sox Nation yet again. Oh, wait. THAT must be why I was rooting so hard for the Cardinals....
Anyway, last night the Texas Rangers faced that same team from Boston. The night before, the Rangers had blown near-certain victory by allowing 6 runs in the ninth inning; 5 of them came after 2 were out. With rookies playing catcher, pitcher, shortstop and left field, the game hinted at the future for the Texas team.
Leadoff hitter Pedro Borbon singled, then stole second. It was the first of a team record tying four steals in the game for the young outfielder. In the second inning, his two out single scored shortstop Elvis Andrus, who stole 3 bases himself. Andrus stole third base in the fourth inning as the Red Sox played tight on the corners anticipating a Borbon bunt. Borbon later drove him in with a single, one of his four hits on the night.
Ian Kinsler stole the other base for the team.
Derek Holland was able to throw all of his pitches for strikes and pitched into the seventh. Another rookie, Neftali Feliz, who is setting major league records with his outings, pitched the eigth and ninth innings.
All the rookies on the field will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2014 season. Good times could be in Arlington for awhile. And it reminds me of those old Cardinal teams, with Brock getting on and stealing second...