the weatherman

Here we go again ... the weatherman predicted a rainy weekend (including Friday) and, surprise-surprise ... it's not raining. This has become a sick joke. Is this some sort of a twisted power trip? Like the tribal shaman that gets his power by predicting trouble so that everyone has to listen to him, the modern weatherman is always forecasting weather problems. But of course, this is done in the name of "safety". "Better to error on the side of caution". Sometimes. But what about common sense? Is rain that dangerous? Does a 20 percent chance of rain warrant a "rain cloud" symbol in the newspaper weather section? We're more and more living in a world of people "looking out for us" - I don't need to be saved from myself - I can make my own decisions - just give me accurate information so I can make a decision.

Bullies

One of the most disgusting forms of humanity is the bully. You'd like to think that people are on a higher level than animals, but bullies aren't - they are the ultimate "might makes right" folks.
Animals don't have moral dilemmas - they don't worry about right or wrong - it's just kill or be killed. Civilization only exists because some people can see that life doesn't have to be the law of the jungle. Bullies are the animals taking advantage of civilization. Ironically, some people think it isn't civilized to stop bullies - actually it is the opposite - civilized people stop bullies in their tracks - otherwise life becomes "Lord of the Flies". A certain local sportswriter respects bullies. This writer gets his thrills when coaches bully their teams - he thinks that's motivation. Golf is supposed to be a game of gentlemen. The term gentleman sometimes gets a bad wrap - some people think it means a rich snob - I think that it means a good-hearted, respectful, gracious person - money has nothing to do with it. In fact, the snob is definitely not a gentleman - lot's of bullies use silence as a weapon, especially snobs. What are your thoughts?

Let's Blog

This is my first attempt at blogging. Though I write a local column, I still have more to say - I'm probably lucky I don't have a radio show - I wouldn't want to join Don Imus.
Thank God for the internet ... people need a venue to speak, the world is becoming so politically correct that anything that challenges the "progressive" view is destroyed. Teachers and professors will fail students with the "wrong" views ... and the media and its sponsers will turn on "outspoken" people with a vengenance.
So, I think you know what I want to do with this blog - I want opinions! They don't have to be well-thought-out or even based on fact .... I want to hear what people know in their gut. Usually our gut has it figured out, then we try to rationalize what we know. Sort of like listening to music - we like the song, then later on we put into words why we like it.
Does it have to be about golf? No. Have to be about sports? No. Just take a swing at any subject.
I'll start it, but it can go anywhere ... and change topics if you want - just take a swing.
So this is about swings - not golf swings, but baseball swings. Years ago, I helped coach one of my son's Little League teams. It was the first year after Coach Pitch, so the kids had to bat against someone trying to get them out. Well, they didn't want to screw up - they just wanted to walk. So I had to make them swing. In fact, if they walked, I pulled them out of the game. The first few games they were swinging at everything and striking out - the parents went crazy. But we kept at it, and by the middle of the season, the kids could hit. So we won the second half of the season and played the winner of the first half for the championship. The first half winners never learned how to hit - they always hoped to get a walk, and it worked for them for a while, but they never got aggressive and/or learned how to hit. Obviously, we killed them in that final game - but what was really sad is that they never really played baseball. Life is about swinging the bat.