What Would Jimmy Do?

Usually around this time of year, I’m a little sad the football season is ending and there’s not really any more sports activity on TV that interests me and it’s too cold to get outside much. This year it’s same, not same. I’m sad because football season is ending but for the first time I can remember, I really have no interest in either team playing in the Super Bowl. I don’t particularly like either team. I don’t hate either team — it just doesn’t make any difference to me who wins. Most people seem to think I should be a Ravens fan, living so close to Baltimore, but there’s a lot of reasons that I kind of dislike the Ravens, starting with the Art Model fiasco of moving the team there from Cleveland. The 49ers just fall into the ho hum category.

Since the Redskins are usually out of the picture, I typically choose a team or two that I’d sort of like to see win. This year I would have been alright with Seattle or Atlanta — probably because neither has had a particularly good team over the years.

But this year, I’ll just plop down with a glass of wine and cheer for the best commercial. But just wait for this blog entry at this time next year….
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I read an article in a recent AARP publication recently that discussed calculating your true wealth. That got me to thinking about “wealth.” If you look up wealth in the dictionary, the definitions become fairly complex, but the bottom line is that wealth is defined as possession of material things, or a measure of how much you have.

There have been a number of studies done on wealthy people and not so wealthy people. The results are interesting, but like any study, can’t be used to categorize all “wealthy” people. One of the studies conclude that wealthy people are more likely to cut off other drivers, be disinterested in the welfare of others, cheat on a test to get ahead, and give more to charities.

Of course the study was based on the classic definition of wealth in materialistic terms. In reality, there are many definitions of wealth — it comes in many forms — emotional, spiritual, social, monetary, etc. So naturally you’re wondering what my opinion and definition of wealth is… I think if someone can conquer three areas in life, they would have to be considered wealthy: family, health and appreciation of nature.

When people are young, they spend their entire lives making money or enhancing their careers. They never have time for their families or to actually watch their kids grow up. We’ve probably all heard, or worse yet, said, “I can’t believe how fast you’re growing up.” That’s because we’re too busy to see it happening. Stop and think about the memories you have — they’re not about that new iPad, or that sexy car you drove when you were younger, they’re of your kids first steps, or really nice times you’ve had with your family or friends — emotional memories, not materialistic memories. Memories are wealth you still have, but some of those opportunities for other memories is just wealth that you wasted.

A lot of people spend their youth and most of their life running — not running for exercise and to keep fit, but just running — running after money, trying to become wealthy, not even knowing why they are running sometimes — just running, stress everywhere. Then when they get to the place where they can enjoy life, they’re in no position to do so because they forgot to look after the most important asset they have — their body. So if you’re healthy enough to do pretty much all the things you’d like, you’re wealthy. If you wind up frail and unable to fully enjoy activities because you squandered the chances to take care of yourself, that’s more wealth that you wasted.

You don’t have to have any money to appreciate nature and the universe all around us. The most beautiful things on earth are not man-made, but exist in the universe and are ours for free. When we went to Alaska and saw the glaciers, they were beyond anything I could imagine. That ice is millions of years old, and the sound of a piece breaking off and the reflection of the lights on the ice… certainly a wow factor. And things like this are all around us — and free.

I do realize that money and material things are necessary for our basic existence. We are oriented in such a way genetically that material pleasure gives us a feeling of wealth. Maybe we’re quibbling over terminology here — maybe we should distinguish between being rich and being wealthy.

Anyhow, those are my three areas — pick your own. The fact is, we are all wealthier than we can ever imagine. And sometimes you have to redefine “wealthy” before you will realize it.
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We’re having people over on Sunday. When Claire told me about it, it occurred to me it was January 20th — Inauguration Day. Then I realized it was Sunday and I remembered that they don’t hold the Inauguration on Sunday. But I got to thinking — the 20th Amendment to the Constitution changed the beginning of the term of a President from March 4 to January 20.

I think Obama’s first term as President expires at noon on January 20th. So if the Inauguration isn’t held until the 21st, is there a period of time that the country would be without a President? I knew the answer to that question, but I decided to check into it just to be sure.

It turns out that this will be only the seventh time in our nation’s history that the constitutionally-mandated date for the Inauguration has fallen on a Sunday. President Obama, like those before him, will be sworn in in a private ceremony on Sunday (January 20.)

My extensive research came up with some information that a lot of people may not be aware of… at noon on January 21st, President Obama will have been sworn in as President of the United States four times. He took the oath twice in 2009, after Chief Justice John Roberts botched the wording the first time. And this year he will be sworn in in a private ceremony on Sunday and in public on Martin Luther King Day. I believe the only other President to be sworn in four times was Franklin Roosevelt — because he was elected four times.

Aren’t you glad you’re a faithful reader of this blog?
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I read that Lance Armstrong has now completed his interview with Opra and has “confessed” that he used performance enhancing drugs. This is one of those incidents/stories that I really wanted to turn out differently. Unfortunately by now, the story has been “beat to death.” I think the general public just doesn’t care anymore,

Apparently, based on how many athletes get caught with drugs in their system every year, most all athletes are doing it and it probably forces many others into the practice to just try to stay even with the competition.

The bigger story here is all athletics and athletes — not just cycling or Lance Armstrong. Major League Baseball is a good example. In the middle of last season, baseball’s leading batter (Caberera – San Francisco) was suspended for 50 games because he had used banned substances. Caberea’s teammates expressed disappointment and disgust that a player would jeopardize a team’s chances by acting selfishly. Barry Bonds is another example.

I feel bad for the youthful sports fans — when I was growing up I had all sorts of sports heroes. Maybe they cheated, but I never ever would have believed they would — and — none were ever brought before congressional committees, or accused of cheating by others.

The fact is that we live in a society that rewards winners. And it seems to encourage people to do whatever it takes to win. It appears to me that the effectiveness of drug testing is questionable, and substance abuse is readily forgiven by most people. Some people will always look for ways to cheat. If that continues to be easily forgiven by the majority of people, I don’t know how to correct it.

As I said earlier, I really, really wanted the accusation against Lance Armstrong to be wrong. He just seemed to be the kind of person we needed as a hero — he overcame so much adversity and a lot of people could relate to him. Not many people can hit a baseball out of a major league park or tackle Adrian Peterson in the open field, but most do know how to ride a bicycle… Armstrong seemed like a regular guy that overcame some of the obstacles that life throws at all of us.

One reason Armstrong disappointed so many people is that he fostered deep emotions in his fans. Barry Bonds always came across as a kind of jerk — his myth tended to produce anger or disgust. Lance Armstrong broke hearts.

I noticed that the Baseball Writers Association of American voted nobody into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. Good for them!!!
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In one of his earlier comments, John asked about the tradition behind Boxing Day in Canada. Boxing day is a holiday celebrated not only in Canada, of course, but in many other countries such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland to name a few.

If you’ve ever looked at a calendar — even those from Hallmark — you’ve probably seen it listed and wondered about it. I’ve noticed it and wondered why anyone would annually list a holiday like Boxing Day and completely ignore some other major holidays (e.g., Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day.)

A few years ago I did some extensive research on its origin and the results were less than satisfying. It appears that no one is really sure why the day is called Boxing Day and aren’t even really sure why its a holiday or what they are “celebrating.”

When I first heard about it as a kid, I thought it had something to do with boxing, which was much more of a sport than it is now. I thought it was like the day of the championship boxing matches — kind of a boxing super bowl.

Although theories of why it’s called Boxing Day vary, most in some way tie it to St. Stephen — but that connection gets messy, too. There is more than one St. Stephen and there is really no proof that there is any connection between St. Stephen and Boxing Day.

One common thread seems to be that the day after Christmas, no matter what its called, has been, since the middle ages, the day when gifts of money were given to hired help, apprentices and others of the “poorer” classes. All the explanitions I found involve the giving of food, clothing or money to persons of lower financial status than the giver.

One theory I like is that St. Stephens Day/Boxing Day was traditionally when the poor boxes at the churches were opened and the money distributed to the poor. My extensive research revealed that early-day poor boxes were made of clay with only a slot in the top to insert money. So the only way to open the boxes was to break them. Of course that begs the question, why call it Boxing Day and not something like Smashing Day?

I mentioned earlier there being more than one St. Stephen — one is the one we usually refer to when we mention St. Stephens Day. I think he may have been Irish, but Im not sure. At any rate he was a martyr that was stoned to death in the days following the crucifixion. According to the Catholic Church, he was the first Martyr to the teachings of Christ. St. Stephen is also the name of the patron Saint of Hungary — St. Stephens Day is celebrated there in August, the day his holy relics were brought to the city of Buda. He was canonized by Pope Gregory VII, and is usually called St. Stephen of Hungary to differentiate him from the “other” St. Stephen.

So whether you choose to believe the day got its name from people giving “boxes” of goods to their servants or the lower class or the distribution of money from alms-boxes placed in churches, it’s still a strange name. Maybe because of the name, it lost its true meaning through the years. Seems like today, for those who observe it, Boxing Day is just a day to lounge around the house and spend time with the family, watch TV and recover from the excitement of the 25th. That’s probably why its not on my list of favorite holidays….
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Well, since the Mayan calendar proved to be wrong, I’ve been worrying all year about what to worry about. Seems like you should always have some sort of doomsday scenario tucked away just in case you feel the need to worry. If you’re worrying about the end, having to drink white wine instead of red doesn’t seem so significant.

Anyhow, just when I thought I might have to spend the entire year worrying about little things, I heard about a new asteroid (Apophis) that just may well hit the earth! And the really good news is that the collision won’t occur until April 13, 2029. Man, that’s a few years of having my worries taken care of.

Now NASA says that this big rock poses no real threat to the Earth, but what do they know? They’re just scientists — not experts in doomsday scenarios.

Just to be safe, I looked it up — and the current predictions indicate the asteroid will come within 19,400 miles of the earth. That’s closer than the satellites in geosynchronous orbit, like Direct TV and Dish. So if that doesn’t give you something to think (and worry) about, I don’t know what will.

So let’s all live it up and make the best of things — looks like we’ve only got until 2029…
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There’s been a lot of talk about the Redskins lately, even though they fizzled in the playoffs. But the real subject of interest is the health of RGIII, the Washington Quarterback or savior depending on your view. There’s no doubt that his arrival has made the team more interesting — and — competitive.

I wasn’t always a Redskins fan — growing up in Oklahoma, I tended to follow the Cowboys and for some reason liked the Cardinals (when they played in St. Louis.) But after moving to the Washington area I became a fan of the local team and when Dave came along, he was a fan, so I think I became a bigger fan because of him.

In my early days as a fan, I suffered along with everyone else through a number of coaches. I remember Vince Lombardi arriving and things looked promising but he only lasted a year and then we suffered through the George Allen years. When Joe Gibbs arrived that seemed to stabilize the coaching ranks, but the one thing that has never been stable is the quarterback position.

I’m just guessing, but in the past 25 years, Washington has probably had at least 20 quarterbacks. Even the ones that won Super Bowls didn’t last.

I think in the last quarter century, Joe Theisman probably lasted the longest, although I remember him hanging around a long time as a backup to Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer. Anyhow after he won the Super Bowl, I think he only lasted about another year as the Redskins quarterback.

Doug Williams was a backup to Jay Schroeder before he took over and won a Super Bowl, but I think he was replaced the very next year with Mark Rypien – who won a Super Bowl….

A lot of quarterbacks fall into the category of “nobody remembers them” or at least they’d like to forget them. I can recall Heath Shuler and Gus Ferotte, but don’t remember many more before Jason Campbell and then came Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman and John Beck.

So — here we are with Robert Griffin III, and his first year probably exceeded anyone’s expectations. Are we finally on a roll here or are we on the Redskins roller coaster consisting of high hopes and sickening disappointment?

I keep hearing that people (including doctors) think RGIII will be back for the opener next year. The fact is, contrary to popular belief, he’s not some sort of advanced alien species that came to earth to save the Redskins — he’s human.

Hopefully RGIII’s knee will heal fast and the Redskins will once again be one of the NFL’s elite. Hail to the Redskins!
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If you go by the decorations in our house (like the number of Christmas trees) — Christmas usually ends sometime between George Washington’s Birthday and Easter. But something strange is happening this year. Today is January 10th and a full 25% of our Christmas trees (1 of 4) has vanished!! I’m thinking there may be a grinch or something loose in the neighborhood.

This year, like most recent years, Christmas came and went almost in the blink of an eye. We had snow on Christmas Eve, a white Christmas and snow the day after Christmas… I guess that’s most people’s idea of an ideal Christmas – weather-wise at least. (Personally, I’d be just fine going to the beach on Christmas.)

But back to these strange happenings around our house. With all the Christmas things disappearing, I think it must be at least March or April, but my iPhone keeps telling me it’s January.

Christmas is sort of a magical time and with Claire it usually lasts well into the new year, but this year looks like its back to the real world much sooner. It’s interesting that the US is one of the places that just build up to Christmas — and then it’s over. A lot (maybe most) countries have some “after Christmas” activities still associated with the holiday.

You can look up post-Christmas celebrations for various countries if you’d like, but I remember reading about some activities in Norway — on New Years Eve, children go around the neighborhood wearing wacky costumes and go door to door singing Christmas carols even though Christmas has already passed. The houses pass out candy and cookies — it sounds like a combination of trick or treating and Christmas caroling. Actually, if I remember what I read, the entire period between the day after Christmas until New Years Eve are acceptable days for this custom.

January 6 (the 13th day of Christmas) is usually noted by Claire, but we don’t do any sort of “celebrating.” In Norway that day is the day for taking down decorations. Norway also has parties in January – called “Christmas tree parties.” Even though its always into the new year, the parties are called “Christmas tree parties.”

Just seems kind of nice for Christmas not to “end,” on December 26. Of course decorations and festivities don’t convey the real meaning of Christmas. Everyone always says it would be nice if we could just keep the Christmas Spirit all year long. So that’ll be my goal — decorations or not, grinch or not, I’ll try to stay in that Christmas state of mind throughout 2013….
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I was cleaning out some old e-mails as part of my “clean-start” for the new year and came across one that had a religious theme and contained a prayer and an invitation to pray for anything you need/want.

I really couldn’t see the point of the e-mail, but the closing sentence kind of annoyed me – no – it really annoyed me. Here’s the sentence:
“You must forward this e-mail to 9 people in the next 9 minuets for your prayer to be answered.”

Now I checked the header to see who sent this to me (it wasn’t God.) I wonder if the sender had heard from God, or was so tight-knit with God that he or she was passing along God’s direction that He was going to ignore me if I didn’t forward His e-mail in the next 9 minutes.

I have a real problem with the statement or implication that God is so mean spirited as to punish you for not forwarding an e-mail. A lot of good things have happened to all of us and will continue to happen, regardless of whether or not we forward that e-mail…
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Well, both you faithful readers know that an update to this blog is long over-due. Since it’s a new year, I’m going to try to keep it more current. And besides that, there’s a great reason for an update. We have a new addition to the family. I know John is hoping it’s a puppy, but it’s even better.

According to Facebook (and if its on Facebook, it must be true!) a couple of nights ago, Dave, with help from one of the dogs, asked Chassie to marry him… luckily for him, she said yes!

I guess one of every parent’s greatest fears is that their child will make the wrong decision when it comes to marriage. From the very first time I met Chassie, I was pretty sure she was someone special. I noticed the way she treated Dave and she seemed to bring out the best in him. I secretly hoped that the relationship wouldn’t end.

So, welcome to the family, Chassie – you’re just as much our daughter as Dave is our son. The two of you are welcome in our home any time, and holidays or other occasions you choose to spend with us will be truly special – but you are both adults and those decisions, like all others are yours to make. If you want our advice, please ask. If you don’t ask we’ll shut up. We haven’t lived our lives exactly as our parents envisioned and I’m sure you wouldn’t follow our ideal marriage path, even if we had one. But one thing I’m pretty sure of – you’ll exceed any expectations we have in ways that surprise and delight us.

Both of us wish you a wonderful, prosperous, exciting and happy life together.
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