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Strength in the Common People

Thought for your day #29, Sun 9/24/00.

I've been on a diet lately.  Or, more correctly, I've been changing my approach to food and the like.

I reached 42 a few months ago....Something about "42" sounds so much older than "41"......I don't know, maybe because it starts to sound like "mid 40s".....

Whatever the reason, I wanted to make some changes.....I'm 6' 2", and hit a belt-busting 244 earlier this year.  Ouch.  I'm not making excuses, but that is an occupational hazard from being a professional butt-sitter.....Whether I'm programming computers or playing the organ or answering emails or typing thoughts-for-the-day or attending meetings, I'm sitting way too much.

Anyway.....my so-called diet is really simple:

  • Don't eat anything after 7:00 pm
  • Stop drinking alcohol (see, I told you Grandpa was an inspiration)
  • Go for a walk twice a week (sounds pretty sad to you health-nuts, but hey, I'm honest)
  • And just try, a little, to be a bit more sane....Use mustard instead of mayo, and 3 chicken thighs will be plenty, really, you can save the other 3 for another day....

And this morning I was at 215.....Still it seems that I have a long way to go, but that's not the point.

But my diet is not the point, either.  It is what we professional authors call "context."  (Kids, do not try this at home.)

Now Saturdays are my Sabbath.  And on the Sabbath I am free from the draconian measures of my diet.  But this isn't about the Sabbath, either.

Now a couple Saturdays ago I went down to the local Round Table Pizza place....I ordered a small pepperoni, mushroom and black olive....If I get a medium or large I'll just eat them, since pizza is one of my great weaknesses, and I just can't control myself(!)  But this is not about pizza, either.

Anyway, the point IS....As I walked into the back room I found a most pleasant surprise.  A group of about 12 men and women (!) were gathered having a fantasy football "draft."  Everybody gets to pick the NFL players they want on their imaginary football team.  But each position on your team must be filled (quarterback, punter, coach, etc) and no player can appear on 2 teams.  And there was the leader in front of a whiteboard, writing-down the names of each player as he was picked to go on the various teams.  Very much like a real draft.

And you know, my heart was touched....Here it was, Saturday noon....The big whiteboard, a few pizzas on the corner table, a few pitchers of soda, and these people......Not watching TV, not trying to tax anyone or destroy lives.....Just playing this little game...strategy, conversation, interaction....dads with sons, friends together, even a mother - son team.....sweet, simple, beautiful.

And even though I had nothing to do with the fantasy league they had formed, I sat there about an hour.  It was so refreshing, especially in this filthy election season, to see honest, hard working "common" people engaging in positive, fun play.

And you know, I got to thinking....There really IS Strength in the Common People.....It is not the politicians or puffed-up-so-called-church-leaders, or the latest crazy antics of the Hollywood celeb-du-jour that make us strong......No.  It's the good people, out on a day off, doing something with themselves and their families, a little relaxing, a little creativity, a little involving, a little silly...That is where our strength and beauty lie.

Hobbies.....Pastimes......I mean, are you teaching your children that hobbies are good?  And that getting wasted in front of the tube does not count?

In case anyone got the wrong idea about Grandpa.....not everyone needs to write symphonies or climb mountains or host home pages.......But (again I'm sounding like a broken record but these really are the tangible issues that touch us so deeply and are so important because they are so easily overlooked) there really is so much more to life than just watching it or listening to it or passing through it drunk out of your mind.

The thing is, how involved are we?!?

Look......OK.....so those people at the pizza joint just go home & watch TV all the next day, right?  Well, of course I don't know...But even assuming that they do, there are huge differences: 

  • On that Saturday, there and then, they are not in front of the tube
  • There's the whole thing of organizing, signing up for and maintaining the fantasy league, tracking the results.
  • Even when they are watching the games, they are engaged....How does that play affect that player and my standings in the fantasy league?
  • Alright, so you might think it is silly.....Who cares?  They might think it's silly.....But silly can be fun!  Have some pizza, draft your imaginary football team, talk to some friends, and see how it all goes.

And of course not everything has to be engaging.....Sure, we all need time to totally unplug.  

But if your whole life is spent uninvolved, then you are missing out.

That's all.

And your family, your country, and the whole human race wants you.  Needs you.

There IS strength in the common people, for the people is all we really are.

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