March 16th Newberg Report
This perspective is valuable because it mentions the family and friends of ballplayers trying to make it in the MLB. No ballplayer is an individual. He represents the tale of a family; parents who taught him, loved him, hurt him and hurt for him. Every player is the tale of an investment, the conclusion of which is whether or not the investment was big enough. Before you cast your disdain onto the garden-variety, over-paid big-league ballplayer, read Jamey's reflections.
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In her typical maddening fashion, my wife has taken the first-round lead in my NCAA Basketball Bracket Extravaganza. Every year, she thinks of a way to outsmart the studious, conscientious sports fan, by making her picks based upon uniform color or mascot name. This year, she based her picks on aWestern Theme. Committing a near-sports-sacrilege, she's got University of Texas winning it all. There must be a method to her madness because she picked Northwestern State over Iowa! I'm fairly certain she's the only one in the country who made that pick. Infuriating. Simply infuriating.She's an electrical engineer by training. So, you might expect her to be running the numbers and RPI ratings through her HP calculator, methodically posting the scores on a spread sheet. Privately, I believe she thinks this stuff is asinine. It is quite beneath her dignity to dedicate more than a five minutes of her time to the selection of an NCAA National Champion. And, that makes her success all the more frustrating. Next year, I am not letting any girls into my famous Bracket Extravaganza.
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We spent Spring Break out at my Dad's Ranch, just south of San Antonio. He was glad to have us out there to break up the monotony of over 100 days without a drop of rain.
I am increasingly glad that we have fun places for the kids to spend their time at Spring Break. During my college days, a young lad could find more than his share of trouble in places like Padre Island, Cancun or Daytona Beach. Sadly, the damage done by one's own poor decisions during these periods of mindless bedlam might never be undone during his/her lifetime. I did damage to myself and others. When they get older, I have determined that I will sacrifice my relationship with my children before I will sacrifice their physical and spiritual health to the demons of our society.
Sorry about the rant. Anyway, we took my son's friend Cameron to the ranch. He is the best shot with a rifle of any of John's friends. He almost single-handedly irradicated one pond of its snake population. In one instance, my old dad got into the action, producing a .22 pistol and vanquishing one alarmingly large snake from its perch in a tree, overhanging the water.
I have been trying to anticipate things that my kids can do for Spring Break (in their teens) that will be both fun and edifying. I need ideas that will interest them.
