February 4, 2018
Awoke this morning at 7:00 a.m. to warm weather (59 degrees here in Fort Myers Beach), and to a cloudless sky.
Got up, showered, made the bed, and ate breakfast…oatmeal, strawberries, almonds, and almond milk, and made breakfast for my wife—egg and strawberries, and coffee.
Got dressed for church and drove to church with a friend. Studied Celebration of Discipline in Sunday School and learned a lot about how “not” to direct other people’s lives . We talked about the 12 Spiritual Disciplines, one of which is not to judge others. Then we went to church, saw a 10-minute play on John Witherspoon and his role in the American revolution, and his sacrifice for being one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (the only preacher to do so)., and to hear a sermon on “Singing a New Song” from Psalm 40. Helped to remind us of how God is always with us, moment by moment, and how even when we are the end of our rope, He is there to guide us. Pastor talked about his uncle who had everything, health, family, automobiles, house, position, and respect, but was miserable, and decided on suicide, only to buy the best gun in the gun shop and then discover they didn’t have the bullets he needed for the gun. Not wanting to blow his cover, he went home. A friend invited him to a men’s gathering at his church, and his uncle went. Going to that meeting gave God a chance to change his life, something he had always mocked, and his uncle became a born-again believer.
This is when our pastor also became a Christian. So it was a fiery sermon, not one I will soon forget. He was really emphatic about the lessons he learned while watching his uncle and the progression of his life and the dramatic turn-around. Talked with our friends on the way home about my brother’s cancer diagnosis that we learned about yesterday, and what the ramifications for that were. He has Single-B cell Smoldering myeloma. We discussed the illness, its prognosis, and the symptoms. Obviously, don’t know the outcome now and won’t for an in determinant period of time. My brother is 76 and in reasonably good health, but has lost weight recently, and is having a pacemaker put in a week from tomorrow.
Now, I have to change clothes and help do a final clean up and prepare for the Super Bowl party when 11 of our friends from Muncie and from other parts of the country who are down here, will join us to cheer on the players and teams and watch the game together. This is an annual tradition for us for the past 8 years we’ve been coming here.
Will eat lunch first and then do what my wife tells me to do to get things in order so we’ll be able to have a nice party.
Well, several hours later, the house is clean, the Waste Management Open Golf tournament has been on and I have been watching. Went to neighbors and borrowed 3 folding chairs. We’re all set for the party that starts at 5:15 p.m. Having gluten-free pizza, salad, popcorn, and snacks will have water, iced tea, beer, & wine, though some of us don’t drink. Will also have fruit juice, diet-caffeine free coke, and whatever anyone brings that is not on the menu. Watching golf makes me want to go out and play, but I hate to take 6 hours out of my day and pay to play on courses that aren’t as good as the Players Club in Yorktown that is close to my home. Besides, it is 1/3 of the price of golf down here. Will get to play next summer, and it’s only 5 minutes away. So I’ll play down here, but not much… maybe a few times. But the courses the PGA plays on are gorgeous. I have played on a couple of them over the years, and though they are very expensive, they are very, very difficult for a weekend player like me. But it’s fun to watch their expert play and recognize that sometimes, they have some of the same challenges I have when I play. The competition is very stiff, though. And I do have my favorites. We are ready, so I’m just watching TV until everyone shows up. A beautiful day here with a high of 80 degrees and sun. We are very much blessed to be able to be here and enjoy this day and good weather with close friends in our free nation, with little worry about terrorism on our minds. Hopefully, nothing will happen at the Super Bowl in that regard, but we all know it’s possible for some crazy person to do something to hurt some innocent fans if they really want to do that. God willing, that won’t happen today. Boy, it’s cold up there in Minneapolis—it’s 3 degrees outside, and 70 degrees inside the dome. A very hard day on police and security personnel.
Woodland just tied it up at -17 with Reavie on the 17th hole. Just saw an ad for the Masters. We were fortunate enough to go to the Masters 4 years ago and got to see the fabulous historic Augusta course and all the greats were playing there. It was a memory for all of us. Six of us in all went together, and because 1 was handicapped, we got to park right outside the gate. Wow, what a week. So we always try to watch the Masters. We’ll never go again. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But it does make a lifetime fan of a person to get to go there, even once.
Well the Super Bowl Party has come and gone. It is now -2 degrees in Minneapolis. The New England Patriots lost 33-41 and the Philadelphia Eagles won the game, fair and square. Everyone at the party was pulling for the underdogs, the Eagles, and a great shout went up when the final play took place and the clock expired. What a great win for America. As we could see from the polls, the bulk of America, except for New England, wanted Philadelphia to win because New England had cheated twice and gotten away with it…the cheating Coach Belichick had done to intercept and use other teams on-field signals, and deflate-gate. We thought New England did not deserve to win, and most of American Football fans thought that Philadelphia should win and based on their talent, they did win. It seemed like a just and fair outcome. We all enjoyed the game and the outcome and the food and the fellowship. And no one at our party was cheering for New England. Isn’t that sad, and also a little bit of a surprise. All kinds of records were set tonight on that game, and we all checked the scores and the box scores on the Internet on our smart phones, even as the game progressed.
In the end, it was a great night and two great teams. Loved the game. It was the first NFL game I watched this year because of the kneeling by players during the National Anthem. I have not watched one NFL game in 2017 because of that, and I’m not sure I will start watching them again. I’d much rather watch golf or soccer or something else than to see those overpaid athletes disrespecting our flag and our National Anthem. I think that issue and the concussion issues that are clearly presented in Will Smith’s film, “Concussion” which we saw this week, tell us that the NFL as we know it, has seen its nadir and is on a downhill slide. Bob Costa refused to do the reporting again because he believes that the NFL football is a “house of cards”, about to fall apart of its own weight, greed, and excessive violence without regard for the players’ health. Even Dave Duerson of Muncie who was all-pro NFL player committed suicide when he was 50 in 2011. Duerson shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note donating his brain to research so scientists could discover what had destroyed his brain. They concluded that Duerson suffered from Advance CTE, the illness that is claiming many former NFL players’ lives. So I think professional football with the current rules, will soon be gone unless we change the game and make it less of a contact sport. Time will tell.
It’s 11;09 p.m., and I’m going to bed. It’s been a good day, and in spite of my viewing habits this last NFL season, it’s been a good night of football, all except the first helmet to helmet tackle early in the game when the Patriot player was knocked out with a helmet hit to the jaw. The announcers were careful never to mention the word “concussion” but the player never returned, nor did they comment on the player undergoing a concussion protocol as has so often been the case. Having worked it broadcasting, I am sure the announcers were schooled to NOT mention the word “concussion” because of the brewing controversy over that “elephant in the room” when discussion the NFL. If you look at the Internet and Google “Concussion and Bennett Omalu”, you will find numerous citations and stories because this issue will never go away now that we know what we are doing to our players.
Bob Costa decided not to do any more football coverage after the Maryland game last fall when he was on a panel and said that the game is destroying the brains of the players. On November 8, 2017, Bob Costas and Mark Cuban appeared on a panel where they concluded that the future of the sport is in big trouble. Costas said, “The reality is that this game destroys the brains of the people who play the game. The cracks in the foundation are there. It is the nature of the game. If I had an athletically gifted twelve or thirteen-year-old son, I would not let him play the game. “ Costas continued: Costas’ “… concern is not limited to the NFL, being that the entire game, including college football could collapse like a house of cards if people actually begin connecting the dots. “
That is our concern too, and the concern of most of those Muncie residents and a couple from Zionsville in the room tonight at our party. That is a grave problem for America and for those who love this game of passion and violence and strength and aggressiveness. What we know now is that as it is played today, football like we watched tonight, is not safe for our children and certainly not for the NFL players , most of which are having these problems as they reach retirement. We have to accept that. Watch the movie, “Concussion” released globally on November 10, 2015, starring Will Smith. It is available from Comcast from its “On-Demand” library and also from Netflix. Once a person watches this, he/she could never watch football in the same way again. Good night. It’s been a good day.