HE'S BEEN WITH THE WORLD..!

WHOLLY PERSONAL UPDATES

Last weekend was a signal that I was tired!  Fell in such a deep sleep on Friday night that when I rose Saturday morning that I was sure it was Sunday!  I went as far as adjusting my watch, disbelieving the display, so certain I was that I had slept through an entire day!

Of course I LOVED the State game!  Could not have been more dramatic and it was a game ended on a call that justified the use of instant replay.  The Lions looked strangely lethargic (and I still am not sure why we get so many Lion games in Omaha… would think the Bears, Packers and/or Vikings would get ‘first dibs’ here.  Maybe it is because former Nebraska hero N’domakong Suh plays for them, who knows?)  What I do know is that I am a little surprised at his developing reputation.  But cats like Dick Butkus and Ray Nietzsche did not exactly come to their reputations by showing gracious manners on the field.  And the malevolence in this, one of  what for me is one of the most memorable photos ever of a hit in football, is fairly palpable.  If Mike Tyson used to punch with ‘bad intentions’, what did Charley Connerly approach golden boy Frank Gifford with as he went for a high pass across the middle of the field?

The Lions may be improved but they are thin.  And one of the important pieces of the offense, Javid Best, risks his health whenever he plays, more than the average player does.  He suffered a few concussions in college and that liability is why he fell in the draft, and the Lions took a chance and made a deal for him.  Though I don’t think that having a concussion mean you need to give up the sport, what I don’t think is that players like Javid, for instance, don’t take the time off to recover from the injury.  John Madden many years ago made the reference that in boxing, you get knocked out and you are done for at least 30 days.  In football, you suffer a concussion and you are in the game next week.

This week, Sparty comes to Lincoln and I am going to wear my Spartans hoodie and hat!  Since it is a noon game, I will likely watch it at home.  Besides, unlike an ‘associate’ team like Michigan or Wisconsin, when it comes to ‘heart’ teams like State or Ohio State, I cannot hide my emotions.  Sparty on!

Also the woman that I had the meet with a couple of weeks (or whenever it was) did call back, which is always a good sign!  We’ve spoken a few times but have not made any plans as of yet.  Who knows what may happen..?  Talk about that ‘may happen’ stuff another time.  But now, not only have I been with the world…

AND I’M TIRED OF THE SOUP DU JOUR

One of my ‘appropriated maxims’ is Donald Rumsefeld’s quote about ‘…things that we know that we don’t know…’ in regards to a question he was asked during the ‘W’-era Iraq War.  The reason that I liked it and I believe that he made sense that he is not the only one who has read ‘On War’ or know about the strategy of Carl Von Clauswitz!  Anywho, another of the theories that CVC has and I dig enough to put into my ‘Rules to Live by’ alongside the ‘..things we know…’ quote is this gem;

The minute we begin carrying out our decision, a thousand doubts arise about the danger which might develop if we have been seriously mistaken in our plan.  A feeling of uneasiness, which often takes hold of a person about to perform something great, will take possession of us, and from this uneasiness to indecision, and from there to half measures…

When I was back in the Motor finishing up my business with (no one’s!) Friend of the Court, I saw what I loved about Detroit and why I am so proud of my hometown.  I had to ask myself if I was running FROM something as much as I was running TO something.  When my step-sister’s beau asked me for help on his script, I started feeling something… it wasn’t exactly an ‘uneasiness’ about moving to Omaha but it was the nagging question of whether or not I was running from something.  Had someone made the observation that is what I was doing, I would not have been surprised.  But unless they could also detect what lurks in the heart of men, this was of no great concern.  I know how I felt about my motivations to make this move, just as I knew about my motivations for nearly all of the major decisions in my life.  So I ‘staged’ my arrival and it turns out that was for the best, considering ‘other’ circumstances.

It has been a challenging year for me, with a ‘low’ for almost every ‘high’ but I feel triumphant nonetheless.  There were ‘the things that I know that I did not know’ to account for some lows, just as there were some things that ‘I know that I did not know’ that played a part as well.  But there is a ‘rest of the story’ to this rule of mine:

We must therefore, be confident that the general measures we have adopted will produce the results we expect.  Most important in this connection is the thrust which we must have in our lieutenants.  Consequently, it is important to choose men on whom we can rely and to put asid all other considerations.  If we have made appropriate preparations, taking into account all possible misfortunes, so that we should not be lost immediately if they occur, we must boldly advance into the shadows of uncertainty.

There were plenty of things that I had to leave up to ‘my lieutenants’ and have confidence that they will come through, as I have done throughout my life.  Reaching nearly all of my objectives, I am beginning to consider ‘what is next’ from here as well as other more ‘serious considerations’.

A lot of my processing (for which I have borrowed from ‘The Eclectic Method’ to describe) draws fire because to the uninitiated, a lot of my philosophy is counter-intuitive.  And that is cool, as I have said before, if you are on the outside and uninvolved.  But if you call yourself ‘down’ and ‘got my back’, then either offer support or stand clear.  There is no ‘kinda sorta’… especially when you are ‘playing a road game’ and you have done all you can about getting ‘an understanding of the environment’.  But even my old buddy Carl conceded that at the point of execution, you enter the shadows…

…AND I’M AFRAID THERE’S NO ONE AROUND HERE… WHO UNDERSTANDS MY TOMATO..!

Standing alone with my beliefs and my philosophy has never once concerned ‘me’, on the personal, inner kernel level of my consciousness.  Mistakes and flaws, I think that I am a hell of a nice guy!  I don’t run from challenges (and that factored in to why I had to ask myself about the Motor v. another move while I was there) and I promise every decision, good or bad, had what was best for everyone involved at its heart.  I do have some questions about my choice (Frankie sang it: “Regrets… yeah, I’ve had a few”…) but I own every one of them.  And from here is where my ‘formula for my happiness’ gets its legs.

Whenever I would talk about not having another relationship, it was because I could not make a formula that satisfied both my hypothesis and the ingredients at hand to be used to construct said formula.  Now, do I still think that another relationship isn’t possible..?  Well, imagine the difference between the theories of dark matter and quantum physics and compare them with the theories of Galileo and Einstein…

I don’t know if I am making sense to whoever has read this far or not… what I do know is that what I have written makes sense to me!

Still have not been able to find a number for the Notre Dame Club… on the website it doesn’t say when they are going to have a ‘game watch’ in November.  Still have time but I don’t like cutting things this close… that isn’t how I do my personal logistics..!  Anywho, see everyone later (unless I see you first!)