Give Me Some Peanuts and a Blackjack

This past weekend, my son and I sat down to our favorite sporting event in all of sports—the Little League World Series. The Little League World series, televised for years, has always been known for the high expectations it has for the players. They have rules governing players, parents, and coaches and expect all to show be superlative in sportsmanship manners and etiquette during the competition. Usually, the participanting teams comply and display true and pure sportsmanship values—that is until this year.

The championship game pitted West California against Japan. The Japanese team has made it to the final game to play The United States eleven times since 1998. The teams from Japan have always displayed a sense of respect and love for the game.  Additionally, they consider the opportunity to play sacred, and hardly show anger, or any emotion for that matter, until the game is over when they run out to pay homage to the bust of Babe Ruth—they consider him the God of Baseball. It is just a joy to watch them play. (Japan went on to win 6-4)

I appreciate and admire when I see the teams give their best and show respect for each other and for the umpires and officials. After spending an entire year dedicating every idle moment to this one goal, I can see and understand the competitiveness on the field. However, it also pains and embarrasses me to see the American team choke their bats, stomp off the field, cry in anger in the dugout, and glare at their opponents.

What has happened to youth sports in America? Between coaching and observing the news, we have seen: overzealous parents stomping up and down the sidelines; relentless trash talking; obscene gestures; intimidation; fights; and deaths from violence, and all of this is for you sports. (Insert irony and sarcasm here.)

Youth sporting event violence has been on the increase in recent years and it is widely believed to be the result of role model mimicry. When this behavior is accepted and encouraged among adults, whether it is parents or professional athletes, is it a wonder that the young do it too?

It is now fashionable to be a jerk to society as long as you are supporting a sports team. Mama and papa bears are at the games and are protecting their kids. In the heat of the moment they often will simply go too far. I would love to always root for the home team, but when I see athletes acting like babies, I can’t help but to secretly root for the other guy. I am only speaking for myself, but I’m sure I’m not alone. 

What is your opinion on sports and bad sportsmanship in America?

Angels Among Us

Angels Among Us

        First let me say that I have a certain fondness for nostalgia and sentiment. This past week I read an article about nineteen-year-old Katie Lentz who had been in a car accident on her way to Jefferson City, Missouri. The car, completely destroyed, was upturned making it impossible to extricate Katie. The decision was made to upright the car. This had the potential of changing the pressure on Katie’s body, which could end her life. Katie asked for someone to pray with her before the righting the car.  
        Here is where the story gets exciting: seemingly from nowhere, a priest walks to the car and offers to pray with Katie. Katie was extricated, and the priest disappeared. No one at the scene recognized the priest, and of the 70+ photos taken at the scene, the priest was not present in a single one. Those at the scene believe the priest was an angel who had materialized and then vanished.
        I had hoped so too. After reading the article, I excitedly showed it to my wife: “Jennie, you have to read this.” I then shared it with Mr. Glen Gill, my colleague and living encyclopedia of seemingly everything: “Glen, you have to hear this!” My body tingled with excitement, imagining that Michael Landon’s Touched by an Angel could possibly be true. I told them both how I hoped they never found out the identity of the priest. I mean, I want to believe in angels.
        What is an Angel? The etymology of the word suggests that it comes from ancient Greek meaning messenger.  Primarily, Christians are aware of three: Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer; however, there are many more. With a little research it is evident that there are nine main angels (Wikipedia.com is the easiest and fastest place.). Each angel has a specific purpose. My favorite is Michael, always has been, the defender/fighter of God. Maybe it’s a spark of my adolescent admirations of the Lone Ranger, the Duke Boys, John Wayne, or Superman, but to me an Angel that is a designated fighter is just cool.
        Much to my dismay, the priest turned out to be a real priest. Reverend Patrick Dowling is a Catholic Priest who arrived at the scene and walked up to the accident to pray and help. In my opinion, this is even better. We expect an Angel to be merciful and, well, angelic. But, a human who is angelic, what can be better? I cannot express how thrilling and inspirational it is to me to read about leaders like Rev. Dowling and Pope Francis and the non-judgmental messages of love, humility, and good works. These, we can all achieve.

What are your thoughts on angels--do you believe in them?
       

Indiana Snakes: The Truth

I’m not sure why, but I have feared snakes. Dogs? Yes. Snakes? No. Most of my friends fear snakes. My brothers, one in particular, are terrified of them. Actually, most all of the population has an instinctual fear of snakes. Fear of snakes is the number one animal phobia in the United States driving people to run them over with their cars, throw rocks at them, shoot them, and do many other countless things to what is really an eco-important and unassuming part Mother Nature.  On a side note, most species are protected by the State of Indiana and should be left alone.

Here is a quick quiz for you. 1) How many species of water moccasins do you think we have in Indiana? Two. One is the Copperhead and the other is the Cottonmouth. 2) Are snakes poisonous or venomous? Venomous.  3) How many venomous snakes are in Indiana? Four.

There are very few venomous snakes in Indiana, about ten percent of the total species. Oh, and we really do not have “moccasins” as most people describe them. Most of the snakes that people like to call moccasins are only water snakes.  The copperhead and the cottonmouth are the only two “moccasins” we have. As long as I have lived in the state, and as much as I am outdoors I have only seen one copperhead and I have never seen a cottonmouth. We just do not have cottonmouths around here; though, I am sure that you or someone you know would swear up and down that you have.  According to the DNR, there is only one county in the far south central part of the state that has a cottonmouth population.

My wife, Jennie, and I were recently walking around Shakamak State Park. As we walked, a car passed us, stopped, backed up, sat for a few minutes, and then left. Jennie and I both wondered what they were doing. As we walked it became obvious: there was a snake in the road and the driver saw this.

The snake was a Black King Snake. The snake was about three feet long and black from head to tip with a white belly. It was warming itself on the pavement of the road and looked to be dead when we walked up to it. I easily could have grabbed it, but decided to agitate it instead. I wanted to video tape this encounter, so I could show it to my students this upcoming school year. Jennie recorded with my iphone while I first moved it with a stick.

The snake’s appearance quickly changed. The ashy black snake had yellow bandings on its back that brightened as it coiled around. The snake took a defensive posture, quickly flicked its tail to sound like a rattler, and coiled to strike. I knew it wasn’t poisonous— Indiana’s only poisonous snakes are the occasional Copperhead, the virtually nonexistent Cottonmouth, and the almost never seen Timber rattlesnake and Massasauga rattlesnake—and I also knew that the snake was only biding time until it could slither away. After I recorded enough for a good classroom discussion, I moved it into the ditch where it quickly disappeared.

Here is a link to a video I uploaded of this encounter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Tb79mYHnY