Play Ball! Wage Peace!

The New York Yankees. 

The Bronx Bombers.

The best team money can buy. (Mostly Red Sox fans, critics of the Yankees, throw that one out there.  And there is no doubt that pro ball players of all sports make waaaaay more money that most folks think they should.  The system behind them getting all that money implicates every pro sports fan who watches on TV, listens on the radio, or buys a ticket to go to the game...that's not the point of this posting.)

Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Berra, Maris, Kubek, Nettles, Williams, Ford, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter!
And "The Mick."  #7, Mickey Mantle.

You got your favorite team and players.  I got mine.  The Mick has been, since I was a kid, my favorite player of all time...but Jeter is now running a close second.

I re-read the following from David James Duncan recently.  Check this out:

"I cherish a theory I once heard propounded by G.Q. Durham that professional baseball is inherently antiwar. The most overlooked cause of war, his theory runs, is that it’s so damned interesting. It takes hard effort, skill, love and a little luck to make times of peace consistently interesting. About all it takes to make war interesting is a life. The appeal of trying to kill others without being killed yourself, according to Gale, is that it brings suspense, terror, honor, disgrace, rage, tragedy, treachery and occasionally even heroism within range of guys who, in times of peace, might lead lives of unmitigated blandness. But baseball, he says, is one activity that is able to generate suspense and excitement on a national scale, just like war. And baseball can only be played in peace. Hence G.Q.’s thesis that pro ball-players—little as some of them may want to hear it—are basically just a bunch of unusually well-coordinated guys working hard and artfully to prevent wars, by making peace more interesting."

That's #2, Derek Jeter playing at short, ready for one of his patented go-to-the-left, field-it-cleanly, jump-in-the-air-and-do-a-180-to-throw-the-runner-out-at-first moves.  Yeah, that's great stuff.

I doubt, however, that Jeter thinks he is artfully preventing war by making peace more interesting.  In fact, there are far too many dang wars going on everytime he takes his position on the field.  But, I did like that piece by Duncan, if only to wish-it-were-so.

Play Ball!  Wage Peace!  They don't go hand-in-hand, but wouldn't it be nice if they did!

Take a Chance...or Else...

The biggest chance you ever took?
Or, how about the dumbest chance you ever took?
Or, if you could've seen forward in time a day or two, what is the one chance you would have refused to take?

Celine Dion sang these words:
"...what do you say to takin' chances?
What do you say to jumpin' off the edge?
Never knowin' if there's solid ground below
Or a hand to hold or hell to pay
What do you say?  What do you say?"

And there is this wisdom from some unknown source: "The only trouble with resisting temptation is that you may not get a second chance."

I don't know which one I would list as the biggest chance I ever took?  Maybe parenthood.  Maybe my profession.
Sitting on the loveseat across the front room from me, Pretty Lady says the biggest chance she ever took was driving cross-country with three kids under ten years of age.

The dumbest chance I ever took?  It was pretty dumb trying to hike across the Grand Canyon for the third time.  I wasn't really in the best shape to do it and had to be airlifted out by helicopter when my body began shutting down on me.  Thank goodness my sons were there to make the important decisions necessary to get me the heck outta there.  If I thought about it long enough, I could probably come up with something even dumber...mine has been a full life in that regard.
Julia Soul says, "If you are never scared, embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take chances."

If you could see forward in time a day or two, what is the one chance you would never take?  Well, that's just silly.  None of us can see forward in time.  And to stop taking chances based on what we think we can see down the road is to stop being fully alive.  Don't ya think?

Never knowin' if there's solid ground below
Or a hand to hold or hell to pay
What do you say? 
What do you say to takin' chances?

Here's a big chance to take: "Our lives only improve when we take chances and the first amd most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."  (That comes from Walter Anderson.)

So, hey there, go ahead, tear off one of those "A Chance" tabs in the picture above.  Yeah, for real, take one.

Take a chance.  Or else.  Or else you'll never be fully alive.  You don't want that.  Really, you don't.

Times Away

The normal, usual, predictable, day-to-day routine of life is where most of us live most of our lives.  Mostly, we folks do today what we did yesterday; and we will do tomorrow what we did today.  Monday-thru-Friday has its routine.  And, if we are honest about it, more often than not, the weekend, even though it appears different on the calendar, has its own sameness-routine.

Since June of 1974 I have been employed as a United Methodist clergy-person, and so, the weekend having its own sameness-routine makes perfect sense to me.

Times away from the routine can be valuable life-enriching experiences.  Necessary, even. 

That's a picture of my daughter and me in an airboat on vacation in the Florida everglades two years ago.  That was a great time away from the routine of daily work and school and family life in Bloomington, Indiana.  On that vacation we also went to a Yankees spring training game in Tampa.  And, we spent time on the beach of Estero Island.

This one is a picture of me surrounded by grandchildren at a minor league baseball game in Chico, California during a vacation to my son and daughter-in-law's ranch.  That time away was a break from the routine of daily life, even though it included most of our family sharing time and space together for a week or so.

And this is a picture of Elizabeth, Hannah, and me in Chicago...reflecting on that giant "bean" in Millennium Park.  On that Spring Break time away we visited museums, ate at some unusual spots, and enjoyed fairly decent weather, considering it was springtime in the Windy City.

That's my Honda Shadow above.  I get on it for times away when the weather is nice.  Sometimes its Elizabeth and me, sometimes its Hannah and me, sometimes its just me...but rides on the bike are always excellent times away.

Times away from the routine can be valuable life-enriching experiences. Necessary, even.   Find a way for time away occassionally.  It will do a body good.  Your body.  Your good.

The Permanent Campaign and No-Compromise...

It has become dang near impossible for national elected officials to govern!  There are several reasons for this, and I am not savvy enough nor expert enough to address all of those reasons.  I mean, this is just an amateur blog-post for goodness sake.

Here are two reasons why it has become dang near impossible for national elected officials to govern...two reasons that are very easy to identify.

One reason that has become blatantly obvious in recent years is that most elected folks refuse to compromise.  How crazy this is to try and govern a country based on a constitution born of compromise...by refusing to compromise!  There is plenty of blame to go around, of course, but the most obvious example of this is the fellow elected as the Republican candidate for U.S. Senator in the Indiana primary.  His name is Mourdock, and here is what he had to say about compromise: "Bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view."  That's just crazy-talk.  But, the fellow was elected, evidently by folks who believe this is the way to govern.

Another reason why it is dang near impossible for national elected officials to govern is because they are in permanent campaign-mode.  No sooner will someone be elected and they will be engaged in their next political campaign to be re-elected!

The Permanent Campaign...the never-ending need to raise millions and billions of dollars to do what, these days, must be done to keep your job as an elected official...is just killing us.  "Killing" because if an organism or an institution stays frozen-in-its-tracks long enough, it will cease to be a living thing.

Its easy to point a finger or two at the problems of non-compromise, and the permanent campaign.  Its not so easy to offer solutions.  However, I am gonna do just that.  Everybody has solutions they would suggest if they were just asked or allowed to offer them...why not me.  Here.  Now.

First off, it is impossible to govern in our society without the ability to, and the willingness to, compromise!

So, why do we voters keep electing men and women who tell us they ain't-a-gonna see somebody else's point of view, and will not work toward compromise?

Secondly, it is impossible to govern in our society while you are continually running to be re-elected!

So, why not longer elected terms-in-office...with maybe a two-term-limit, or something like that?

You probably have some thoughtful answers to these two obvious problems, too. 

Looks Like We is Stuck...

I didn't go to Tampa for the Conference.

I only watched it via Live-Streaming on my computer from time-to-time.  Never did I watch an entire session.  Except for once.  Bishop Michael Coyner had the misfortune of being in the leadership position for what may have been the shortest United Methodist General Conference session...ever.

Bishop Coyner presides over the Indiana Area of the UMC.  He is my Bishop.  He is a good and fair man...perhaps it was only fitting that he would preside over a Conference session hijacked by protesters, agitating for a more open position as regards the matter of homosexuality...allowing gay and lesbian persons to be ordained, and pastors to officiate at gay and lesbian Unions or Weddings.  For about 18 to 20 minutes the Bishop tried, calmly, to conduct business; but it was impossible to do so with protesters shouting him down, standing on tables, etc.  True to who he is, Bishop Coyner remained cool, calm, and collected...maybe not inside, but certainly on the outside.

I am in favor of folks protesting.  I am also in favor of a conference moving peaceably through its agenda.  I don't have a side to take in what happened at the session Bishop Coyner presided over.  I do, however, think he was the right person for that time and place.

We UMCs have been debating and arguing over this matter for some 40 years!  We couldn't even come together in Tampa over inserting language in our Book of Discipline (that's right up there with the Bible...not really; but you get the point: its our book of rules, positions, polity, governance, etc.) that would state that we agree to disagree on this volitile matter.  No language to the effect that "we disagree" on things at all!

There was actual business conducted in Tampa.  Nothing I will delve into here...except for the matter named above.

I read reports from friends and others who actually attended the Conference...some as delegates, most as observers.  I found this:
"An 18th Century structure cannot sustain a 21st century global organization."  A very interesting blog-observation from a Conference attendee, Maria Dixon Hall. She continued: "While as a denomination, we will not disappear over the next 4 years, I believe that the Fat Lady has taken off her kaftan and is looking through sheet music and for an evening gown."

I paid attention when one friend, Mark Dicken, a delegate, posted on FaceBook that he was discouraged...or maybe it was disheartened...or angry.  At any rate, he was not feeling overjoyed as he returned to northern Indiana from Tampa.

I should point out that, as relates to the matter mentioned earlier, Dixon and Dicken would come down on opposite sides of the debate.  Discouraged was the one thing they shared in common.

The preacher at my church yesterday, talking about Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and how his view of things opens new windows for us to see through...said that we should never make our fold the prototype for the whole flock. All the sheep in one fold might look (and think, and smell, and act...my words, not her's) alike, but that one fold of sheep is in no way the whole-world's worth of sheep that make up the flock Jesus calls his own.  Look out the window, the preacher was suggesting, there's more to the world than your little corner of it!

That preacher, she knows her stuff.  But that ain't easy "stuff" to wrestle with.  Some of the folks on either side of the matter are downright nasty!  Each believes they are correct (who is gonna hold on to a belief they think is incorrect?). 
 
I do have a dog in this fight (a phrase I learned from another Indiana Bishop, Woodie W. White).  I have taken a side in the matter.  I think folks on the other side should see it my way.  They think the same thing over there on their side.
 
The dog in the picture above seems to me to be the United Methodist Church at this point in its history.  I could be wrong...but I could be right.  I don't know who the "some kind soul" will be to pull our UMC butt out of the bind we've gotten ourself into...maybe God's Spirit; maybe some lightning-flash of new truth; maybe some wise Bishop, or wise clergy person, or wise lay person.  Maybe it will take something more dramatic and drastic.
 
But it sure do seem like we is stuck!