B is for Baseball!

 Baseball.

If antiques are my hobby, baseball is my mistress.  My love for the game goes back to childhood but one could argue that it is genetic.  My grandfather was in major league camp with a team that plays in St. Louis when he slid into second base and broke his ankle.  This was in the 20's I believe.   He went back home to recover and his mother, my great grandmother became ill.  Him being the only one available, his baseball career ended when he had to take care of his mother. 

My mother grew up on baseball.  My brother and I learned our love of the game from her.  When we went on vacation, we always went somewhere that had a major league team.  We would spend our summer vacations going from one amusement park and ballpark to the next.  

My first memory of baseball is Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs.  I spent my summers watching day games from Wrigley and we finally took a trip to the ballpark when I was about 9.  I loved the game and the place.  

Finally, when my mother decided to relocate from Indiana, one of the things she made sure of, was that we had a baseball team to cheer.  This is how I went from being a Chicago Cubs fan to a Texas Rangers fan.  For years my joke was that between the two clubs I had 150 years of pointless baseball. 

That all changed in 2010 when my Texas Rangers went to the World Series for the first time and I went with them.  I had never experienced anything like a World Series game and so in 2011 when the Rangers went back, I was at every game played in Arlington.  After the collapse in game 6 and eventual lose in game 7 of that season, I assumed a fetal position for about 6 months.  The thing about giving yourself over to a team, a game, is that you eventually end up living and dying with the game. 

Last year I got to share playoff baseball with my husband for the first time.  That was amazing for a few reasons, first is that he is a Dallas Cowboy fan and only watches baseball when he has nothing better to do.   Also, he takes a football approach to baseball which has caused marital strife more than once.  Finally, I came to the conclusion that I could not talk with him about baseball so I would just enjoy some games with him and let him have his own opinion.   This wasn't easy.

Many people don't actually understand the lure of the game of baseball.  There isn't the constant action like football.  There isn't the fast pace like basketball and hockey.  There is a soft and gentle torture to baseball and the season itself.  On opening day the season seems endless but before you know it, September rolls around and the mad dash for playoff spots begins.  My football fan husband will tell you that there is no point to 1 game of 162 game season but again, that is because he doesn't understand.  The game won in May means as much as the game won in September.  Baseball is a marathon not a sprint.  If you lose a game in May and lose a playoff spot by one game, that game means as much as any loss.   The problem is the casual baseball fan doesn't understand, can't comprehend the importance of a single game.  The truth is, each game matters just as much as the rest but, like a good mystery novel, you don't know everything until the end of the season. 

But baseball is slow for other reasons.  It is the only game without a clock.   Nine innings may be played in an hour and a half or it could take five hours.  There is no overtime in baseball, we have extra innings.  I have been to a game that lasted over 18 innings.  By the time that game ended, I didn't care who won, I just wanted the game to end.  The Rangers won but not before I was red as a lobster from the hot Texas sun.  Rules are rules however and in baseball, you play until you don't.

Baseball rules don't change, they remain the same basic rules that have existed for over a century, in organized sport.  Speaking of organized baseball, it is the oldest sport.  The National League was founded in 1876 and is known as the senior circuit.  The American League came to existence in 1901.  They play by the same basic rules except one, the American League has the designated hitter and the National League does not.  This means that the pitcher hits in the NL and you will rarely ever see a pitcher hit outside of interleague play in the AL.  Did you know however, that the DH rule didn't start until 1973?  Up until that time, both leagues had pitchers hitting.

To put in perspective how old baseball is in comparison to other sports, the NHL started in 1917, the NFL started in 1920, and the NBA didn't begin until 1946.   It isn't a surprise to find out that baseball began as America was celebrating it's 100 year anniversary.   There is no sport more tied to our past and part of our present than baseball.  Oh, I know many people will argue (my husband among them) that America is a country of football fans.   Believe me, I live outside Dallas Texas.  I understand people love football.  I would argue however, that baseball is the true sport of this country. 

Baseball is the only sport playing on July 4th and what holiday is more American than July 4th? American's are proud of our romantic history from the founding fathers to the victories of World War II and beyond. Baseball is a romantic love affair between a team, players and fans.  Obviously it is played on a diamond.  What is more romantic that a diamond?  Baseball is a long haul.  It starts in the spring and ends in the fall and along the way are many lazy, warm or in the case of Texas Rangers baseball fans, very hot and sometimes miserably hot, summer nights.  Baseball is not played in a stadium, it is played in a park.  Parks are friendly, unique and welcoming, stadiums are big, bland, and uniform.  No two baseball fields are the same, unlike the rest of the sports who have the exact same playing field no matter what stadium you visit.    Baseball and hot dogs go together and add a beer and you have America.  Americans are loyal and no fans are more loyal and true than baseball fans.  Think about it, they have to commit to at least 6 months for their team and longer if they make the playoffs.  I have really never met better people than baseball fans. *Yankee fans are excluded from this, naturally.

In the end, baseball is as much a mental game as anything else. I like football, especially college football, but I don't have to watch the game and think.  Mostly I just sit back and see what plays happen.  In baseball I am constantly thinking about offensive or defensive plays.  To bunt or not to bunt, that is the question.  To hit and run? To sacrifice fly?  What is the best strategy?   Baseball fans are constantly thinking about the game.  Some need an intervention, it's true.   Loyal and smart fans, that is baseball.

What is your favorite sport or team?  Do you have  a love affair with them?

Bullying an American Epidemic

It seems like every time I turn on the TV lately there is someone bullying someone else or being bullied by someone else.   It may be because we are in the middle of an election year like no other and tempers are flaring faster than politicians and fake politicians can pounce on the latest one liner for the headline.  Sadly, I look around and see a nation of bullies from the potential top down.

I realize, hope, pray there are more good, honest, loving Americans in this country than what we see on television but as time marches on, my faith in the people of this country is waning.  Somewhere in the advent of the social media age, it became okay to think whatever you want and say it to people you don't  know.   It became okay to advocate violence and punching people who don't agree with you.   Somehow, in the last decade or two, we have become so desensitized to other people's suffering that we flock to watch videos of people dying online or people being hurt or destroyed by catastrophes and war.  We just don't care.

It is interesting because I have tried to pinpoint when we became a country that was both overly sensitive to silliness and under sensitive to our fellow human beings and I can't come up with the exact cause. When exactly did we become a nation of pissed off asshats?  When did being the biggest jerk on 3 continents make someone the potential leader of the free world?

 America during 9-11 wasn't like this.  Oh, we were already on the ridiculous PC-bandwagon,  but we were not hateful toward our fellow Americans.  We knew that our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and the people we worshiped with, believe in and bought into the American dream.   Even when those towers came down and people were hurt, shocked, and angry, most of us didn't blamed the random Muslim in the streets.   That isn't to say there weren't violent outbreaks because there were.   A crazy person here or there did something horrible.   I like to believe the rest of America was like me and tried to reassure the people who were from the Middle East originally, as best we could that we didn't blame them. A friendly smile and a 'How is your day?' and a 'Thank You' went a long way to bringing us back from the brink of despair and relating to each other as humans.

But the bullying goes beyond a Middle East hate.  Suddenly, our TV is inundated with certain candidates who seem to dislike every culture imaginable including our own.   When did it become okay to bash China, Mexico, Canada, people of other faiths, people of another sex, and/or people of another sexual orientation in public, on TV, and all the while encouraging your supporters to punch people?  When did that become funny?  When did that become acceptable?  When did that become a symbol of leadership in this country?   When did we become so damn angry?   When did we start to hate everyone who wasn't exactly like us?

Worse than that, people from other countries are watching US and believe their opinions of American's as brash, superficial, boasting, arrogant, ignorant, and vulgar are being proven in this election year.   Thanks in large part to a certain candidate who preaches hate in every form and every chance he gets, we are becoming a nation known for lacking culture, civility, and sense.   Sadly, I just look around and feel blessed that I don't have more children to worry about learning the wrong moral compass from the people who should know better, our leaders.

Oh, and don't get me wrong, there aren't any leaders on the other side who are any better.   Our choice is rapidly becoming a choice between two people who lie and take advantage of other human beings for fun.   Believing that any politician and that is what they are, outsiders or not, actually cares about us....well, that is a false hope that died with me when the current president took office.  It just doesn't happen.  Every person in office has their own agenda and at the top of that agenda, is their own personal interests and gain.  

So, what can we do?  What can I do?   Well, the first thing I intend to do is teach every child I come in contact with that this behavior of bullying is unacceptable.   I intend to stress to those kids in my life that getting to know people is the only solution to the problems.  Really getting to know them.   I will do what I have tried to do since I was a teenager (way, way, way back in the horse and buggy days) and that is keep an open mind and heart and be willing to talk reasonably with people from all sides about how we fix things.   Until a time comes when we can all stop being so angry and start communicating, we are going to continue repeating the mistakes of the past and continue bullying one another.

Let me be clear on this, I have lost friends because I refused to listen to them hate on another race, gender, culture, or religion.   I have walked away from people spewing garbage in my presence.  I have been on the receiving end of the hate and I have never turned it back on people.   I have tried to treat everyone exactly the same irregardless of how they treated me.   Don't retaliate, rise above.  That is what I have tried to do my entire life.   Apparently, I am a blast from the past, a person that is becoming extinct, an anomaly.

The buck stops here

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I was watching a story on how ISIS became a threat (CNN) and they had a quote from President Obama from about 7 years ago where he called ISIS the JV team dressed up in Lakers uniforms pretending to be Kobe Bryant.   Move forward about 5 years and in an interview he is asked if he underestimated their power.   President Obama spends a good flustered moment trying to blame his National Security Advisers for giving him bad intelligence.  

No, Harry S. Truman you are NOT, Barrack.  It hit me like a sucker punch at that moment, the biggest problem with this President is the same problem in society. Lack of accountability and responsibility.   

Obama blames the other guy.  In this case, bad intelligence even though his retired advisers indicate he failed to properly address their warnings at the time.  Everyone in bad situations seems to have taken an "it's not my fault" pill.  Nobody is at fault for their actions or decisions because someone made them do it. 

"It's not my fault, the cop was bullying me." 

"It's not my fault, I was abused as a child and I killed/rapped someone." 

"It's not my fault, I had a bad day at work." 

"It's not my fault, I grew up in the ghetto." 

"It's not my fault, the ______ man is caused this." (Insert any race you want here.) 

"It's not my fault, look at the mess the world is in." 

"It's not my fault.." has become the rallying cry of a generation of Americans to misbehave and break the law.  It has become the excuse of rapist and murders.   It is the reason people protest the unfair circumstances and bigotry they experience while become hateful bigots themselves.  It is the excuse that seemingly absolved everyone of everything.   It is as if these bad things are unique or special.  The problem is we ALL have things in life that happen to us that are not fair or right and we don't all seek to blame society for robbing a store or beating up a cop or getting hooked on drugs.  

Let's step back a moment and examine Ben Carson who grew up in the ghetto of Detroit with a single mother and a missing father.  His friends were in gangs, a lot were on drugs and many died young.  By societies standards, if Dr. Carson had gone that way, it wouldn't be his fault.  He didn't go that way however because he had a mother who believed in him and he found belief in himself.  It is his fault that he went to college and medical school.  It is his fault that he became a successful surgeon and head of neurosurgery at John Hopkins.  It is his fault that he has scholarship programs set up for inner city kids.  It is his fault that he is a successful author.  It is his fault that he is now running for POTUS.  It is exactly his fault that he is the honorable man that he is today.   This isn't a pitch for his campaign, just a reality check.  Dr Carson had a choice and he chose to go the path less traveled.  He chose to pull himself up by the bootstraps and overcome.  He chose education.  

But that's not society.   Everyone today wants something for nothing.   Free money and a free ride. People just don't seem to understand, nothing is free, even freedom itself.  There is no free in life. Everything requires sacrifice.  Everyone pays a price. 

Do you know how many friends have told me their son isn't going to college because he aspires to be the next great white rapper?   Reality check, aside from Eminem is there a decent white rapper?  (I don't listen to that kind of music but my husband does and I couldn't tell you a soul.)  I don't know much about rap music once Slim Shady and Vanilla Ice are removed from the equation but it seems to me the theme is about inequality, unfairness, and of course women.  Now, tell me what an 18 year old white boy from a middle class area knows about that stuff (girls aren't women, BTW).  These boys all end up bartenders and waiters because nobody is going to buy a record about the hard life in Allen, TX. 

We have problems.  There are bigots running wild in all the races and inflaming hate.  There are people who need jobs and hope.  There is rampant drug abuse.  Women are becoming victims of sexual violence in places they should be safe; home and school in record numbers.   Domestic and foreign terrorism is frightening and real.  All of these problems result in a lack of hope for the future and for the next generations.  

We need hope and we need people to stop making excuses.   We all have a sad story, trauma, struggle, but not all of us give in to the pain. Some of us said "The buck stops here.  I have a choice.  I can let this beat me or I can rise above.  I can take the easy way or the hard road.  I can be a victim or I can make something of myself."  Will it be easy? Nope.  Will it be worth it?  Yes!  

God gave us life and then He gave us free will.  We can live in denial and blame our circumstances, friends, parents, teachers, police,  or someone who hates us because of our race.  Heck, we can even blame our National Security Advisers if we want to, but the truth is,  we have the choice. We have free will.  We are not all victims and it does a disservice to all actual victims who find a way to rise above when anyone blames bad behavior on victimization.  

Americans need to grow up.  Americans need to take responsibility.  Americans need to stop blaming others.  It can start with the President admitting he screwed up with ISIS and race relations and discounting the military and police.  It should start there.  Harry Truman would do it.  Barrack Obama never will.  

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I can't help thinking about Sept. 11 when I look at this country today.   Do you remember Sept. 11? Do you remember how this country came together?  Do you remember seeing American Flags flying in all the neighborhoods, shops, and city streets?   Do you remember how we came together?  Do you remember the Fire Engines flying flags and how people applauded when they saw firemen, police, and military personnel?  Do you remember how we were united?  Do you?   

This country is more divided than I can recall in my 45 years.   History will tell us that things like Pearl Harbor and 9-11 bring us together.  We have a sense of pride and patriotism.  We, as a nation, refuse to surrender.  If we are attacked again what will happen?  Do you know?  I can't even fathom right now this nation pulling together as fractured as it seems.   I can't imagine the catastrophic event that would be required to shake this country up and make us understand again that United we STAND but divided we FALL.  We are simply, that divided.   

Yes, I blame the President for a lot of these problems.  In the history of the USA, nobody has had the chance to UNITED this country the way Mr. Obama has.  Nobody has ever had the ability to stand in the middle between the Caucasian race and the African American race and say, I am you.  Nobody has had the unique circumstance of being both before.  Nobody has ever had that chance and nobody has ever failed as miserably as Obama.   

I wish I could see into the future and know what is to come.  I wish I could say "it will be okay."  I wish there was an easy answer, a quick fix, and a better understanding of how to heal.   The truth is, nobody in the forefront of our problems has a clue what to do and this, more than ISIS, is the worst threat facing the US today.   This will be our greatest victory in history or our most catastrophic collapse.   This, more so than any moment in the past from the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the fall of the Twin Towers, will be our day of reckoning.  

But first we have to take responsibility for ourselves.   First we have to remember we are ALL Americans.  First we have to accept that there is only one race of people in this country, the American Race.  First we have to become color blind and see individuals.  First we have to stop making excuses.  First we have to accept that injustice happens to everyone, everywhere. First we have to understand that LIFE is NEVER FAIR.   First we have to stand up and say "It is my fault and I will do better."  First we have to be adults. 

*I know this is a strange pre-Thanksgiving Day post.  I did not intend to write another blog this week. I am praying for this country in a way I never have before.  I ask that if you pray, you pray for the USA too.   If you don't pray, I ask you to consider starting now.   This will be my final wish tomorrow before I thank GOD that we are at peace, for now. 

The Feel Goods have moved in

Live Life Happy

Have you noticed how super sensitive we have become as a society?   Every day on the news there is some group protesting something.  Yesterday it was Starbucks taking Merry Christmas off their cups. Today it is Hello Barbie stealing children's privacy.  

Here are my thoughts on these issues.  I say Merry Christmas.  I believe in Christmas.  I believe in Jesus, God, and yes, I believe in Santa Claus.   If someone else doesn't believe and they respond to me Happy Holidays I am not offended.  That's their choice.  I hate that businesses are forced to be super sensitive to everyone too but I also hate seeing Christmas decorations up in stores in August.  In other words, it's just not that big of a deal.  Nobody dies if Starbucks cups have no saying on them. If your faith is that fragile you don't have much faith anyway.  Tell them Merry Christmas (when it's time.  It's not yet, save it for after Thanksgiving). If you really hate this that much, don't go Starbucks, pay them money for a drink, and tell them your name is Merry Christmas.  You do realize that you support their company when you buy coffee.  It's still your choice.  You don't have to buy Starbucks if it bothers you that much. 

Now about Barbie.   Hello Barbie is being protested by a group worried she steals the privacy of the kids who play with her. Why?  The child says something to the  doll, the comment is sent to the cloud, the computer processes it for a response and sends the answer to the doll.   "Hello Barbie! How are you today?" Barbie "Hi! I am good thanks.  Want to play?"   Now what exactly is your child of Barbie playing age saying that is so significant their privacy is at risk?   Parents who are actually worried about it, just don't buy the doll.  It's not protest worthy.  You have the choice.  

Somewhere along the road in the touchy-freely 80's we started raising a generation of complaining, protesting babies.   

Seriously,  before we got on the 80's psychotherapy train, when we were all told we were "co-dependent",  nobody worried about all this super sensitive stuff. Nobody cared in the 70's that the General Lee had a confederate flag on the roof.  People were too busy enjoying Daisy Duke and Bo and Luke to care.  

Imagine what would have happened in World War II if we had a nation of overly sensitive children going off to fight the war or work the factories.  We would have had people protesting the unethical killing of civilians in France or Germany?  I live about 5 miles from a prisoner of war camp.  Would we have been protesting that as being unfair?  Here is the thing, war isn't fair or kind or pretty and people die. The Germans sure we're not worried about being kind in the concentration camps.  Our soldiers had enough to worry about without a bunch of cry babies protesting the loss of copper for their bracelets to bullet making.   That generation did not complain, they got things done.  They picked themselves up when they fell.  They didn't worry about saying "Merry Christmas!" to someone.  They said it and moved on and they sure didn't care what was on the paper coffee cups.  They were probably Styrofoam anyway because nobody had started protesting that yet....for the environment.   Save a tree people, make your coffee at home and take it with you in a reusable cup that says "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Easter, and God Bless America!" 

I believe....

It seems like lately whenever I turn on the news, there are so many bad things happening that it is easy to get lost in the negative.   So today I am doing something different.  I am doing an I Believe post and putting it all out there.

I believe: 

-In God and that He is in control.  We worry too much about things we can't control and we need to have more faith that He has this.

-That religion is not the same as faith.  I have a Christian religion but it does not define my faith.  More terrible things are done hiding behind religion than probably anything else in the world.  Sometimes religion is wrong and sometimes people use the Bible, Koran, ect as an excuse to act and behave in a hateful way.  That is not about faith that is about inhumanity.

-In the United States of America.   I see a lot of posts on my Facebook (and ignore them) about how nothing has changed since the 1960's.  I don't know what country these folks live in but everything has changed.  There is an African American first family.  We are more aware of individual freedom and rights to choose their path. People are coming out more and more and discussing topics we never would have discussed like being Gay, Lesbian, and transexual.   Alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are completely different.  There are warning lables on cigarettes and alcohol and they have legalized marijuana in some states.  We are fighting wars with terrorists who play by no rules.  This country isn't perfect, it is a work in progress but it is a great country.  Work to change what isn't working and stop making excuses for other people's bad or criminal behavior.

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-That love is too hard to find to define it for someone else.   I don't pretend to know everything but if two people who love each other want to marry, regardless of my religious beliefs, I am nobody to stand in their way.   Let them marry and let God deal with the rest.  It isn't my business.

-In the designated hitter.  I hate watching pitchers bat and even though watching Shin Soo Choo right now is about like watching a pitcher hit, I would still rather have the DH than deal with National League Baseball.

-That STRESS kills.   This morning I walked into work and had already delt with more stressfull situations than I will probably deal with all day.   Finding a way to relieve stress is huge.  I paint.  Figure out what  your thing is and do it.

-That people drive like crap.   Cars are not islands.  People should try to be polite behind the wheel because people die when you are careless and stupid.  Texting, alcohol and speed are the main reasons behind accidents today.  I am terrible about putting the phone down but I am going to try to get better.   Everyone should.

-That there are way more good, honest, non-racist police officers in this world than there are bad cops.  These men and women put their lives on the line everyday (and some die) for average citizens of all kind.  This country would fall apart without those willing to sacrafice.  Labeling all police as bad is a very dangerous and broad sweeping bit of ignorance.

-That the media in this country is ridiculous.  They seem to enjoy showing only the worst side of humanity and do everything possible to flame the fires.   The media has a responsiblity to report everything fairly.  If you are going to report every single bad thing that happens from the worst possible light then you are irresponsible and inciting riots.

-That if you are going to break the law you deserve to go to jail.  Being angry at the world is not an excuse to break the law.  Feeling like you deserve more than someone else is not an excuse to break the law.  The world doesn't owe you anything.  You got life and you get the choice to do with it what you will.  If you do the crime expect to do the time.

-In individual responsibility.   Make changes not excuses.  If you want to change the system you must work within the system.  Excuses and pity are going to get you exactly what you have.  If you want or need to change, then work to change.  If your situation is not a positve then work to make it better.  We all have our own struggles, nobody is unique in this.  You can pick yourself up and fix yourself or you can stop living.

-in being there for people who have been there for you.

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-In cutting ties with toxic people.  Some people do not deserve to be in my life.  For those people, I have no time or energy left.  I make no excuses for their bad behavior and I owe them no apologies.  I simply don't care to deal with their drama, selfishness, and self pity.

-That step-parents are overlooked and unappreciated members of a family unit.  We deal with all of the same problems as a birth parent but the respect and appreciation is half.  I love my (step) daughter the same as I would if I had been her birth parent and I worry and want the best for her.  The responsibility is something I took on as part of marrying her father.   Nobody gets to define me as "not a parent" because I didn't give birth to her.   I am a parent, I just got there a little late. 

-I believe in planting trees, composting, and  growing your own food.  Taking care of your little piece of earth is an important part of being responsible. 

Finally, I believe that politics suck and no party is right.  I believe politicians lie and are out of touch.  I believe that it is up to all of us to work to make OUR communities better and stop expecting the politicians to change our county.

Baseball Talk: Josh Hamilton: Yes I said it

For the last 5 years I have gone to anywhere from 20 to 40 games a year not including post season, parking, concessions, and T-shirts (which I have spent a lot of money on, admittedly) you have to figure I spent somewhere around $600 a year on baseball, minimum)  That's a lot of money for me, I don't  know about you.   When you add post season, parking and the rest in you are in to a few thousand dollars a year for some of those years and maybe more.

During a good period of that time I spent my hard earned money on merchandise with the number 32 on it.  The number 32 at the time belonged to Josh Hamilton.  Hamilton as you may know is a super star with a long history of problems.  He had an epic rise and fall and rise from the number one overall draft pick to drug problems to coming back big with the Texas Rangers.  His last year with the Texas Rangers was filled with struggles, injury, and fan perception that he quit on the team.   However, in the 5 years that Hamilton played for the Rangers I do not believe you would have found a group of fans more in love with a player or more accepting of a man's failures and apologies.  Not when he fell from grace in a local bar and not when he struggled during his contract year.  Not until his final at bat with the team did it finally hit this fan that he truly gave up on this team and the group of fans and did I call him a quitter.   I was done with Hamilton when he walked off the field without trying that last at bat and I have never regretted it.

So why am I writing about him now?   Today Major League Baseball was forced to reinstate Hamilton, with pay by an arbitrator even though he admittedly used drugs.   Hamilton who is forced to take drug tests due to his prior drug history, went to MLB and told them he was going to fail because he used drugs.  Okay.  Whatever.  Here is my problem, we glorify atheletes to a point that is so insane that we make excuses when they repeatedly fail and we let them get away with it.  In no other profession except 'professional athlete' is it okay to repeatedly break the law and still have a job.  If a school teacher, police officer, insurance agent, electrician, truck driver, or plumber failed a random drug test they would be fired.   They would not be give 3 chances to redeem themselves.  They would not be suspended with or without pay and sent to a rehab clinic.  At least not in most cases.  They certainly are not making millions of dollars a year.  Stressfilled, back breaking, agonizing jobs that most Americans have and get paid miniscule amounts for especially relative to athletes and yet repeatedly you see all-star athletes in trouble with the law and nobody cares.

NFL players who have sexual assualt charges that 'disappear', physical abuse charges that are 'misunderstandings', and then there is Hamilton.

Now we get to the Angels statement that Hamilton deserved better than a public trial.   I don't think anyone judged him really but honestly given the amount of money I have spent on his merchandise over the years I have every right to speak my opinon on the matter.  My money spent on tickets to watch him play.  My money spent on his T-shirts when I thought he was being honest about who he was.   My money supporting his book.   I feel duped by him.  I feel lied to by him.  I have a right to express the fact that I do not believe that Josh Hamilton is who he pretends to be and while I hope that someday he does truly find Jesus and someday he truly does get the monkey off his back, I also wish he would stop using his faith as a crutch and stop using his illness as an excuse.   In my opinion, he has used up all my sympathy I had left a long time ago.    I don't honestly care if he plays or not as a fan because he isn't on my team but as a person I think it is a terrible message to send to kids everywhere that it is "OK to do bad things if you are a good athlete."

So if the Angels and certain writers want professional athletes to be treated fairly by the American public, then they need to be treated just like all the rest of us.   Just like the plumber who breaks his back every day and maybe has one joint with his friends for the first time ever on a friday night and fails a random drug test on Monday morning and loses his job and can't support his family.   That would be an actual tragedy.   That would be something to feel a little bit sympathetic about.   Feeling sorry for a rich, athlete who is a repeat offender and falls on his faith as an excuse everytime he fails.  Well, the era of TV televangalism and Tammy Fay Baker is over.  I don't need the fake tears.

Never, Ever, Ever: Oh, say can you see those bombs bursting in air?

Linking up with Neely
Stephanie and
Shelley for Never, Ever, Ever week 5!

Never, Ever, Ever:

*Have I never been so glad to see a month gone as I was June!  It was a beast.  I feel like I lived a lifetime in June.  I learned a lot about myself last month.   I am glad it is over.  I grew a lot.  I am glad that is over too but I found out how strong I really am.  I am kind of shocked actually. I thought I was going to crumble. I didn't. I found my fight and God help anyone who gets in my way again.

*Will I never try to work through anything without God again. What WAS I thinking?

*I never will be sad for a 4 day weekend.

*I won't ever apologize for being a history geek.  

*Never will I understand the love for Whataburger Ketchup.  Sorry Texas.

*I will never get tired of spending the 4th of July at the Ballpark.

* I won't ever complain about 90 degree weather in Texas in July.  I feel like we have hit the weather jackpot!

*I won't ever give up on my dreams again.  No matter how unattainable they seem and how impossible the future seems.  I have a new plan of action from now on.  Pop some Matthew West on, grab some water,  take the dogs for a walk, and let God do His thing.  It will all work out without the tears.

*You will never see me walk away from a glass of lemonade.  Since I started back on my migraine medicine I can't drink carbonated drinks and because I am now paranoid about water and I save all my bad drinks for coffee.  (I have only had a half an alcoholic beverage in an entire month.  Who have I become?) Crystal Light Lemonade is my go-to water based drink! 

*I may not always agree with the politics of the right and left. I may not always agree with the way people pick to go about arguing  points again and again especially when the arguements don't make sense.  I may ignore them on Twitter and Facebook most all of the time but I will always believe that even when I think the points are wrong and stupid, they have a right to be wrong and stupid.

*I will always love fireworks, the Star Spangled Banner, my Uncle Sam,  and the United States of America.

Always

If for some reason I get too wrapped up in baseball and biking to write anything until after the 4th everyone have a beautiful and happy holiday and eat lots of yummies and drink lots of yummies and STAY SAFE....and hydrated....you didn't think I was going to leave that out now did you?

XOXO


Simply,
Laura