Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Yes, sports fans, I'm already talking about baseball season, and yes, I realize no one has even reported for spring training yet. But with only 72 days until opening day, how can you not expect me to be a little excited? We've got our season tickets in our regular seats and I can all but taste the philly cheesesteak with onions and peppers and cheese...

I think they could change up the theme nights a bit to keep the experience new and fresh... just as long as they don't mess with Thirsty Thursdays! See you at the ballpark!

No, Life Isn't Fair

To all you feel good parents out there, wake up! Some of you have sheltered your children so much that when it comes time for them to leave the nest and fly out into the real world, many of them will be ill-equipped to deal with the society in which we live.

For instance, these 'we don't keep score and everyone gets a trophy' sports leagues take things a bit far. I mean, I'm all for good sportsmanship and fair play, but what's wrong with a little healthy competition? So what if you lose a game or two. Shouldn't that give you something to work harder for? Wouldn't that make a real win much sweeter?

One day your children will be in a situation that they can't handle because you took them out of situations in childhood that were less than desirable rather than teaching them to deal with life.

We all know life isn't fair. But wouldn't you rather your children learn that now when the disappointments are far less painful and you can still pick them up and dry their tears?

To Succeed or Not to Succeed...

Someone asked me today if I was drinking the Koolaid already...not a chance! Contrary to what my post on Inauguration Day 2009 might have sounded like, I am not an Obama supporter. As Dennis Miller said, "He's not my guy." But I do think you can respect a person in his position without agreeing with him.

The question of the day seems to be, "Do you want Obama to succeed?"

On the one hand I'd like Obama to succeed. Dennis Miller made another great point when responding to the tasteless, racist rap by Jay Z and Young Jeezy at an inauguration activity (you'll have to search online for the video if you want to know what they said...I've already given them more attention than it deserves.):

"If they couldn’t ratchet down the hate for a day, that’s their prob, not mine. And by the way, you’re looking at an obsolete model there. If dinosaurs were done in by the asteroids, role models like that in the black community are about to be done in by a shooting star named Barack Obama."

I'd agree that would be a success. And I think he has not only the opportunity to achieve this, but also the ability.

But if the measure of his success is a passed liberal agenda based on socialist ideas and one that encourages the entitlement mentality so many seem to have, with all due respect, I want him to fail. Hard and fast.

Respect...We Are Called to It

As we prepare for the swearing in of the 44th President of the United States, pause to remember that though you may have different political ideologies than he, we are still called to respect the leader of our great nation.

Paul clearly states, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authority, for there is no authority except that which God has established" (Romans 13:1). Peter also advises to 'submit yourself to every authority' and 'honor the king' (1 Peter 2: 13-17).

While the issues may differ in present day politics from the days of Paul and Peter, the idea remains the same. We are in no way called to condone any misuse of power or controversial decison that is made, especially when it conflicts with God's law. But neither are we given a pass to discount the due respect our new president, simply because of the office he holds, deserves.

Pray for our president. It's a huge responsibility he's undertaken and it's likely he'll be forever changed by the experience.

What's in a Name?

A rose by any other name...if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...you get the point. A blog is still a blog no matter what its name is. If you're interested (and even if you're not), here's the story of how this one got its name...

I had a conversation with a certain ten year old this morning regarding the uniqueness of some names that parents give their children at birth. We pondered why some people have very unusual names, whether others had names that had been in the family for a long time, how some names seemed the parents may have been on mind-altering substances when the nice lady with the birth certificate form came around.

But it went a level deeper when we discussed how people assume the race and/or nationality of a person based solely on his or her name. With a response I didn't expect, and that reminded me of my own preconceived notions, the answer from the back seat was this: "You can name someone whatever you want...they are still just a person."

So, like people and their names, a blog is still just a blog, no matter what it's called.

Some of you who know me well may assume that the name 'Excuse Me, What Was That?' stems from my desire to not miss a single snippet of the conversation I'm involved in. Others will assume the name is indicative of my desire to hear other conversations in public places that were never intended for my ears. You might even think I put lots of thought into the title; or you simply may not care -- after all, its just a blog, right? And then there are those who will hypothesize (correctly, I might add) that I am assuming you asked me the question, "Excuse me, what was that?" thereby giving me the right to tell you exactly what's on my mind.

After all, isn't that what this blogging thing is all about?