New short story about a dog who figures something out.
Just wanted to give you a heads up. onthegobaseball.weebly.com is now active. Starting to take sign ups for February. Come check us out.
Here's a little footage we have shot over the years. Go get the new album on iTunes entitled Alivenwell And one more for you. Parental Advisory Suggested. (Just a little though) There are moments in every parents' life when all you do is wonder. If I did this, will they do that? Such is the question that I had burning for many of my son's early years. I'm not a pushy parent, at least I don't think I am. As a child I was enamored with the game of baseball. I learned percentages by calculating batting averages. I learned distances based on 90 feet. And I learned teamwork and discipline. All of these things came naturally, because I was so invested in the game. I also didn't have much choice. As all parents will say, we Had to go outside. No question about it, I had actual people my age who would meet at a park and play a game of baseball. You just don't hear about that these days. So with all of the distractions around, how can a father's love of baseball compete? I never thought that a standard game of catch would hold as much meaning as it does. There's a scene in "Field of Dreams" when Kevin Costner's character asks his dad "Can we have a catch? I understood the reason for the emotion the first time I saw it. But, now I am beginning to understand it even more. I never hesitated playing catch with my dad. It was me who picked up his glove and handed it to him and said "let's go outside!" The desire wasn't there to play the game, so why push someone without passion? I hoped that maturity and a desire to connect would ultimately win out, and it seems to have. For the first time in 9 1/2 years, I am playing catch with my son. And I am doing it because he wants to.
Some of you may think I am crazy. Letting him go all this time. We've gone to games. Watched a few on tv. I mean heck, the kid has been around for 3 World Series titles by the Giants. But the attention to the details of the game are either interesting or they aren't. And now that he is finally interested, we will go "all in" on learning. No matter how long this lasts, I will always be ready with my glove and ball for my kid and I to play catch. As I sit here at my desk, leg shaking of course, I think about what my life would be like if I could just settle down. And I don't mean with a family, I have a great one of those. I mean calm myself, and stay there. Oh, I could do it for an hour, two at most (Titanic reference there) but I can't consistently stay still. Looking back at my childhood, I wondered why I was frequently told to go to the hall, "sit down", can't you just pay attention? Problem was, I got good enough grades for those "problems" to be a minor nuisance. Of course, teachers were more patient back then. Or maybe they had more power and weren't afraid of lawsuits. I know that I saw my teachers as demanding the same respect as my parents and any other elders you trusted. So if one told me to STFU and sit down, I did just that without running home and telling my mom that a teacher swore at me (How dare they?!). The underlying fact is that I was and to this day live with ADHD and now so does my son. Do we grow out of it? Absolutely not. We get better at understanding ourselves and how to react. What foods to stay away from, how to keep yourself calm, etc. Playing sports from a young age definitely helped keep me a little balanced, so I am thankful I had passion in that. I'd like to thank the people who "understood" me as a young boy. And those that didn't, I understand why. My son is going through similar circumstances. I need to continue to remember those early years so I can relate. I want to help him, help himself. I don't want to tell him how to live, I want to show him. These are the toughest years because you still don't know much about yourself yet, and adding a motor that runs 24/7 is like fuel to the fire. These are my first thoughts about an illness I never really knew much about, even though I have had it for 37 years. I never let it win, and I never used it as an excuse. If we let him be himself, my son will do the same. In the line at Raley Field Standing in line awaiting an opportunity to view the three, count em', three World Series trophies, I am compelled to write about the pride that I feel right now. The San Francisco Giants have gone from team I love unconditionally, to a team that finally loved me back. A die-hard fan of a team doesn't root for the team strictly for them to win a title. But when your team reaches the pinnacle and succeeds, its the same feeling as watching your child win a first place prize. You would love them either way, but damn it feels good to get the win. My "baby" is now being followed by many individuals who weren't sure, even a couple of years ago, that they were Giants fans. When they won in 2010, my most common reaction from other people was congratulations. Not that the Giants won. But that a team I had followed so passionately for all those years had finally did it. And I take major pride in the fact that I was there from the beginning. Over the years I have converted some to become fans. But my focus has always been on the team first. The sellouts help the team's finances, and could assist in improving the team. But the core fan still drives this team. There are plenty of fans here today. Many who are my age or older who never attended a game at Candlestick. I hold no ill will toward them. I just know deep inside that I should be ushered to the front of this line. The 2010 season, my family went to the fanfest at AT&T Park. We were able to walk right up, and see all the players, and have a great time. The following year, they stopped allowing people in because of the mass amount of people who showed up. Where were these people at the beginning of the year? I have 3 rings! And don't you forget it. I never say we when I talk about the team's I follow. But when it comes to winning championships, I have put in enough blood, sweat, and tears to say I have 3 championships. In fact, I feel as though I have put more work in than a guys like Dan Uggla. Yet he will probably be getting a ring. I deserve it more, so what do I get?
I get the feeling of completeness for at least a few months. Before spring training. Then this whole process starts over again. If you love your teams, you treat them like family. And all those fans are family too. Some just come to the party when things are going well. I hope this group will continue to follow the team in the future, even during the lean years. I will. With all the questions surrounding law enforcement in the United States right now, it seems as though solutions are being tossed around constantly. Most people understand that the percentage of incompetent police is actually very low. But one bad Apple can spoil a bunch. So how do we solve this current problem? How do we get the word trust in the same sentence as police? One solution may be Google Glass.
The technology is already there. A wearable device that has a camera. The camera can be live-streamed to a server and recorded so there is no question as to if the video is edited. The database that holds this content can be controlled by an outside company that has no affiliation with law enforcement. The glasses should be able to be prescription for those that need it. The marriage of this technology and this use seems like a no-brainer. Google gets a huge contract, and the police and public are protected. So what are the downsides? Well, cost for one thing. The gadget, which cost $150 to make, sells new for no less than $1500 on amazon. So how do we get that cost down for our police forces? A high volume contract will obviously bring the cost down and there would need to be some subsidies provided by the government. Would you be ok with a tax increase in order to help fund this type of project? These wouldn't be devices handed to an officer and then allowed to use at will. They would be handed in at the end of the shift. The company that monitors the video streamed would then view any questionable activity, and report the findings. This would lead us to "Let's just go to the tape". So the question about who, what, why, how, when would be answered immediately. The trust between the police and some communities needs to be rebuilt, and for some that can only happen when those that stretch the law are exposed. And ultimately, this protects the officers who are doing their job correctly. |