What Would Jimmy Do?

Last night the College Football Championship Game was played in Indianapolis. The Georgia Bulldogs won the game. 

Yesterday I mentioned bowl games that used to dominate postseason college football games before there was a “playoff system.” I’ve often thought that the term “bowl” to describe a game was a bit strange, but I was pretty sure why these games were referred to a “bowl games.” Turns out I was right, but while checking, I discovered some interesting information about how “bowl” became part of football lingo….

Back in 1901, the Roses Association, in California, sponsored a college East-West football game between Michigan and Stanford. Turned out it wasn’t a particularly good game and Stanford quit in the third quarter with Michigan being ahead, 49-0. 
For the next 15 years, this event was held annually, but stopped featuring football and turned to other evens like chariot racing. But in 1916, the Roses Association decided to sponsor a football game again — this time between WSU (then called The State College of Washington) and Brown University. The game was held at Tournament Park in Pasadena and every year for the next five years an annual “football tournament” game was held at that location. Each year the attendance at the game grew and it became apparent a stadium was needed to handle the crowds. A new stadium was completed in two years and named the Rose Bowl. The stadium was modeled after the design of Yale’s stadium, the Yale Bowl, that got its name from the fact that it resembled a bowl. So the tournament sponsored by the Roses Association was then named the “Rose Bowl,” after the stadium. 

Soon, other cities and universities with football teams saw the money making opportunities and promotional value of these “tournament” games and began creating their own “bowl” games, even though many of these games were not played in bowl shaped stadiums. 

Even the NFL picked up on the “bowl” nomenclature and eventually got around to naming their championship game the “Super Bowl.” Seems like a good topic for tomorrow….
— 30 —

Football season is winding down — the NFL playoff teams have all been selected and tonight is the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Until a few years ago, when the college football regular season ended, the teams with the best records played in bowl games. When I was young, there were only 4 — the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl. Over the years the number of bowl games expanded — today, I don’t even know how many bowl games are played. Many I’ve never heard of until recently. And today, teams don’t even have to have a winning record to participate in a bowl game.

But anyhow, in 2014, the College Football Playoffs began as a four-team postseason tournament for NCAA FBS schools. A playoff committee selects four schools to compete in semifinals with the winners meeting in the title game. All three games are played on neutral fields and the venues are rotated on an annual basis. 

Tonight’s game, between Alabama and Georgia, will be played at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, It will be the first cold-weather city to host the championship game. The stadium invested $7 million in health and safety upgrades in response to the pandemic, including hospital-grade air filters and enhanced cleaning protocols. Masks are not required inside the stadium, but they are strongly encouraged. The stadium uses cashless concession kiosks… no cash.
If you’re attending, you must have a digital ticket. Copies or photographs of tickets will not be accepted.

So just like the rest of the world, football is changing to adapt to the times. Someone said that life is a lot like football — you have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity.
— 30 —

The other day, during a conversation with a neighbor, we talked about something in the neighborhood that should be corrected, or at least reported to the HOA. I made the statement that someone should do it, but it wasn’t going to be me. My neighbor responded with, “chicken.” Just that one word — chicken. Nothing else. But I knew exactly what he was talking about — he was saying that I was afraid to point this out to the homeowner’s association. 

Well, of course, this got me to wondering how “chicken” came to mean coward, or suggest weakness.
The definition of chicken is a domestic bird used for meat and laying eggs. If you think about it, chickens are very timid, and many things scare or frighten them and actually it’s fairly common to use animals to express human traits, like “strong as a bear” or “sly as a fox.”

But I found an interesting story about where the term “chickening out” may have come from….
In 1864 the Union Army provided a chicken to each person who enlisted. He would take the chicken home, clean, dress and cook it for dinner — there was no refrigeration in those days. The next day he came back to ship off for the Union Army.  Should he not come back, his name was printed in the local paper — at the time that was very shameful for the family name. However, a relative with the same family name could fulfill the Army contract by enlisting instead of the the original person. The Union Army didn’t care as long as they were someone of “worth.” 
The story describes a farmer in the southern Adirondacks of New York, 39 years old. He left his wife and 4 children to cover a contract to spare the family name the shame and disgrace from a nephew who “chickened out.”

In ancient times, army officers observed “sacred chicken” before going to battle. The sacred chickens were given grain and if they ate it, the battle commenced, if they didn’t, the armies withdrew from the fight. 

Interesting — and plausible — explanations as to how the word chicken  has come to suggest weakness of some sort. Anyhow, that’s what I found out…. unfortunately these days, when I’m called chicken, it’s usually a reference to me being “no spring chicken.”
— 30 —

One year ago today was a very dark day in American history. A mob attacked the United States Capitol and disrupted congressional proceedings.

January 6th is recognized by the world’s 2.6 billion Christians as Epiphany. The day commemorates the visit of the three wise men to Bethlehem and it is recognized as the 12th day of Christmas. Today is a sacred day to billions of people. 

Former President Trump has called a news conference for today — even though Trump says he is a Christian, I’m betting the news conference won’t be to discuss why the day is important to billions of people, it will dwell on the so-called “stolen election.”

January 6 should not be politicized — if it’s to be more than Epiphany or the 12th day of Christmas, it should be a day for healing in America. 

Last year on January 7th — the day after January 6, 2021, I posted words from President Theodore Roosevelt. Now, one year later, they are just as important — maybe more important — than they were last year. I think they’re worth reading again….

“The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole.
Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.
To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.”
~ Theodore Roosevelt
— 30 —

Update
I haven’t kept up on all the news the last couple of days — it appears that former President Trump has canceled the news conference he planned to hold on January 6 to mark the first anniversary of the attack on the the Capitol. He blamed the media and the bipartisan congressional committee that is investigating the attack. I guess that’s a step in the right direction…..

This time of year you always hear about the first new baby of the new year — there was news story about that last evening. A few years ago that was a bigger deal than it is now, because the parents always got a lot of free “stuff” because their baby was the first born in the new year. I don’t hear so much about that anymore

I’ve noticed that many businesses and products use the word “first” in their names. I guess being first has become important to all of us. Who wants to be the second man on the Moon, or take second place in a race. When I was young, I remember almost all banks being the “First National Bank.” Even churches latched on to being first — the church I attended in Maysville was the First Baptist Church. Recently I’ve noticed some that some seem satisfied with being second — a few days ago, we passed the Second Baptist Church in Martinsburg.

But anyhow, I got to thinking…. I don’t know how we’d get along without the word first. What would a football game be without a first quarter? And you couldn’t even get started in school without the first grade; we all have a first name and the country has a first lady. What with so many wars throughout history, it’s hard to believe we picked one to be the first world war. Many discussions start with “first things first…” and there’s always a first among equals. We all form a first impression and often jump into things feet first. If we get up early we can see the first light and be the first come, first served. I’m writing this blog in my office on the first floor of our house. We’re all proud of our kids when they take their first step or say their first word. Most people that own a house have, or had, a first mortgage. When people get hurt, they’re administered first aid, often by a first responder. 

So the list of firsts that we encounter every day goes on and on. I think this is the first time I’ve blogged about “firsts.” The fact is, most everything has a “first,” that’s usually where you start and usually being first at something is good…. I know, that’s not nearly always the case — I could make another list. Who wants to be the one that puts the first scratch on a new car? Or the first to be fired from a company, or the first to get Covid, or……
So — life is full of firsts… some good, some not so much.
— 30 —

Happy 2022 — civilizations around the world have been celebrating the start of each new year for at least four millennia. Today, most New Year’s festivities begin on December 31 and continue into the early hours of January 1. Common traditions include attending parties, eating special New Year’s foods, making resolutions for the new year and watching fireworks displays.

Years ago, in Babylon, the first new moon following the vernal equinox — the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness — heralded the start of a new year.

Throughout antiquity, civilizations around the world developed increasingly sophisticated calendars, typically pinning the first day of the year to an agricultural or astronomical event. 

January 1 became the first day of the year when the Gregorian calendar was instituted, but Christian leaders temporarily replaced January 1 as the first of the year with days carrying more religious significance, like December 25th — Pope Gregory XIII re-established January 1 as New Year’s Day in 1582.

And then, of course, there is the time honored tradition of making resolutions for the new year. You all know that I faithfully make resolutions every year, and every year I explain why it’s not necessarily stupid, but it is, for most people, a fruitless exercise.

The practice of making resolutions for the new year is thought to have first caught on among the ancient Babylonians, who made promises in order to earn the favor of the gods and start the year off on the right foot.

I recently read that 72 percent of people over the age of 45 and 40 percent of those 45 or younger don’t bother to make resolutions. For those who do make a New Year’s resolution, less than 25 percent stick with them after 30 days and only 8 percent actually follow through on their resolutions.

As I say every year, why do we even bother with resolutions that are so predictably unachievable?
Well, here’s at least part of the problem…. resolutions are usually (often lofty) goals. Goals are outcomes — resolutions are actions. 

If you look back over the past several years at my resolutions (check the archives if you’re interested) you’ll see that I’ve recently followed some “rules” when writing them. My resolutions have focused more on the process, not the goal. For instance one of my resolutions was to drive by the Shepherd Wellness Center a number of times — not to get in shape or improve my fitness.

Also, success with a resolution is tied to the discipline of performance rather that that of achievement. One of my resolutions was write a “tweet.” Notice that I didn’t say I was actually going to “tweet” anything. So I can succeed just by writing down something that could be “tweeted” without having to actually complete the process.

I’m sure people like me will continue to make resolutions — hopefully, we will resolve to do things that we’ll be glad we did when we look back on 2022….
— 30 —

Today is the last day of 2021. It certainly didn’t live up to my expectations, but like every day, there a lot of things to be thankful for. One publication picked perseverance as their word of the year. I think it was a very appropriate choice — that’s what a lot of us did this year — persevere. 

But — we made it through the year. In just a few hours, it’ll be another year and a new beginning. What the new year brings to us will depend a great deal on what we bring to the new year.
Happy New Year!
— 30 —

In our downstairs hall, we have a brass wall hanging that at first looks like an elephant head. But on closer examination, it’s apparent that it’s not a real elephant head — it’s a brass “carving” of Ganesha, one of the most important gods in Hinduism. Ganesha is also worshipped as a principal deity in both Jainism and Buddhism. 

Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati and he is the brother of Karthikeya, the god of war.
There are a lot of different stories about the birth of Ganesha, including one in which Parvati makes her son out of a piece of cloth and asks her consort, Shiva, to bring him to life.

But one of the best known myths begins with Parvati taking a bath and longing for someone to keep Shiva from barging in on her, as was his habit. As she bathes, she kneads the dirt that she rubs off her body into the shape of a child, who comes to life. But when Shiva sees the handsome young boy he, or one of his attendants, cuts off the child’s head. Then Shiva cuts off an elephant’s head to bestow it on the headless Ganesha, but during the process one of the tusks is shattered. (People often notice the missing tusk on the head hanging in our hall.) According to this version of the myth, Ganesha is the child of Parvati alone — a child born despite Shiva’s interference. However — Ganesha is traditionally regarded as the child of both Shiva and Parvati.

In Hindu art, Ganesha is portrayed in various ways depending on specific cultures, like Indian, Cambodian, Javanese, etc., but he is most often depicted with the head of an elephant and a rather portly human body. It is believed that Ganesha clears the obstacles and paves the way for us to move forward in life. The large elephant head of Lord Ganesha symbolizes wisdom, understanding, and a discriminating intellect that one must possess to attain perfection in life.

So when someone asks about our wall hanging, we just tell them that’s it’s from India — and it’s an elephant head….
— 30 —

Well, 2021 is drawing to a close. One good thing that can be said about it — it wasn’t as bad as 2020, that so far leads the list of worst years ever. Around this time every year, it’s nice to think back about the year that’s about to pass into history. Everyone has a different perspective and remembers different things, but here’s some of mine.

For a while this year it seemed that COVID-19 was in our rearview mirror, but it’s not. Maybe that’s one reason that 2021 didn’t live up to our hopes and expectations….
Kampala Harris became the first Black, Indian and woman Vice President of the United States. Donald Trump became the first president in history to be impeached — twice. A violent mob attacked the Capitol building. Elon Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos as the wealthiest person in the world. 2021’s Super Bowl, between the Buccaneers and Chiefs, turned out to be a real sleeper. A large container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal and kicked off a huge “supply chain” problem. The President’s dog bit a couple of people and had to go into “time out’ for a while. The Pentagon released its report on UFOs (now called “unexplained aerial phenomenon”) calling it a national security threat. The report never said it was aliens — but — it never said it was not aliens…. NASA landed a new Mars rover on the planet, named Perseverance — an appropriate name in 2021. There was a big to-do over a toy company releasing a gender-neutral version of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Six of Dr. Seuss’ books were taken off the market because they contained racist and insensitive images.The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were held in 2021 — with no spectators. Bill Cosby was released from prison after being convicted on a number of charges. The U.S. rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and WHO. The U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan. Raul Castro (Fidel’s brother) stepped down as head of Cuba’s Communist Party. President Biden signed legislation officially establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day — a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Britney Spears gained her “freedom” after 13 years of conservatorship. El Salvador became the first country to make Bitcoin a national currency.

That’s some of what I remember of 2021 — the year started on a Friday and will end on a Friday. It is the 21st year of the 21st century and the second year of the 2020’s decade. Like all years, there’s been some good and some bad. The United Nations declared 2021 the International Year of Peace and Trust. Even though I guess we didn’t live up that goal, it still was an improvement over 2020, and we can all look forward to 2022 being even better…..
— 30 —

Well, here it is time for my pretty-much annual Christmas Blog. Things aren’t exactly back to “normal” yet, so Christmas probably won’t be considered “traditional” again. But — what is “traditional?” That depends on a lot of things, including your nationality, where you live, how you were raised, what you believe, or don’t believe, etc. 

I’ve celebrated over 80 Christmases and a lot of them have been what many people would consider “traditional,” with family and friends. Some of them have been pretty isolated with no people around —  the only way to tell it was Christmas was to check the calendar. Even though many have been very different, they all have been memorable.

Some of the most memorable have been those celebrated in other countries, whose traditions might seem strange to others, but those traditions are very important and meaningful to those celebrating them.

Quite a few years ago I was in in Syria — not for Christmas, but for a few days prior to Christmas. I don’t remember a lot, but some of their (Christian) traditions are similar to ours — some not so much. I remember the houses, buildings, shopping centers and a lot of the trees all being decorated with Christmas lights.On December 6th, Christian families attend special Masses held in the churches. Christians, that celebrate Christmas, make up only about ten percent of the population of Syria. The Mass held on Christmas morning consists of a procession and a bonfire is lit. During the Mass, the priest walks around the church carrying a figure of Jesus Christ in his hand, while the people sing hymns. After the prayers, the priest performs the “touch of peace,” where he touches a person’s hand and the touch is passed from one person to another in the church — this ensures the blessings are passed on.

The thing I remember the most about the Syrian Christmas activities is that the smallest camel who carried the “Three Wise Men,” is believed to bring gifts for the Syrian children. The youngest and smallest camel carrying the “Three Kings” or “Magi,” who followed the star to search for Baby Jesus, was drained by the long journey and fell down. Jesus Christ is said to have blessed the camel with immortal life. Syrians believe that that camel brings gifts to the children every year.

So no matter where you are, who you’re with, whether you got presents under a tree, in your shoes, or someplace else, and the gifts came from a camel, a goat, or Santa, this Christmas will be merry… and memorable.
Merry Christmas!
— 30 —