As you get older, it seems that life gets more mundane, more calm, quieter, and one shows less outward enthusiasm. That's not to say I'm unhappy or melancholy. Quite the opposite. But I rarely raise my voice - I'm not talking about yelling at someone with malice or ill-intent. I'm simply referring to yelling, shouting, or raising your voice in fun.
Something chemically must happen in the body when you yell and shout with excitement. It just feels good. Endorphins, right? I'm sure endorphins must be involved. I just don't do it enough anymore. Ever once in a while I'll tease my teenage children and yell just to be fun and goofy and I feel alive. Sure, I do raise my voice in fun sometimes but not nearly enough. Why don't we yell more as adults?
When your young you yell all the time, whether it's down the hallway between classes in school, trying to get attention of a friend at a party, trying to entice the batter to swing at the ball on the diamond, or just yelling your friend's name because your pumped to see him. When you're young, you don't need a reason to raise your voice in excitement - it just happens.
I am going to add "yelling and shouting" to my mental list of New Year's resolutions. Of course, I'll need to be measured and careful. I can't just yell a co-worker's name in the hallway. "Heyyyy...Frankieeee...what's up dude!!!" At least I couldn't where I work. I need to engage in more outdoor activities where I can incorporate the art of yelling and shouting. Maybe local parks while hiking. Or golf. The way I play, I have to yell "fore!!!" quite often.
Yelling out the window on a sunny day in the country. I remember doing that before. That feels good. Yelling as loud as you can at cows on the side of the road - that's fun. How about yelling when and where one would least expect it. Go against the grain. That could be exciting or incredibly embarrassing.
One of my best "yelling" memories is from the day I got a hole in one on a par 4 hole. I thought the teens finishing on the green were yelling at me for hitting too close to them. So I yelled back - "Sorrrryyyyy!!!!" And I heard - "No.....it went in..." Then I yelled, shouted, and screamed. No words, just screams of exhilaration. Wow! That was fun.
I feel like yelling right now. It's just not appropriate. It's close to ten at night and people are sleeping. It's 10 degrees outside. It'll have to wait for warmer weather I suppose. But I will yell soon. And it'll feel good.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Everything is Relative
Everything is relative. Isn't it? Or at least, most everything is relative.
When you're sick, you just want to feel what it's like to be healthy. You realize how great healthy feels once you're sick. Normal doesn't feel so great until you cease to feel normal. I guess it's just a fact of human existence. Most everything has a value based on a comparison to something else. We also become too habituated to our current state and therefore lose perspective. We take things for granted.
Sometimes we yearn for the polar opposite. In the winter, we want to feel the hot summer sun; during a hot summer day, we wish for a cool breeze. When we're sitting alone, experiencing peace and quiet, we wish we were at a party with friends. At a party, we often wish we were home alone, enjoying some solitude and reading a book. We're restless animals.
Relativity can be a trap too. Have you ever seen neighbors engage in lawn warfare? Or friends and colleagues seek money and stature just so they could feel better about themselves because they have more than others do?
I have a sore throat today. The cold may be settling in my chest as well. My energy level is way down. I don't feel like doing anything but laying around the house. Now I realize how great it is to feel healthy. It could be much worse though. There is always someone who has it much worse than you do. It's just the way it is. My brother had a heart and liver transplant about eighteen months ago. He's been struggling to feel good ever since, fighting challenges to gain weight and to find out why his liver isn't functioning correctly. He can't work much anymore. He struggles to walk a flight of stairs. He undergoes invasive tests frequently and takes a number of drugs to fight organ rejection. That's just a sliver of what he's been going through. And he has a pretty good attitude. So, I'm actually doing really, really good, relatively speaking.
Is there anything that's absolute? Maybe love. Love shouldn't be relative or conditional. But that's another post.
When you're sick, you just want to feel what it's like to be healthy. You realize how great healthy feels once you're sick. Normal doesn't feel so great until you cease to feel normal. I guess it's just a fact of human existence. Most everything has a value based on a comparison to something else. We also become too habituated to our current state and therefore lose perspective. We take things for granted.
Sometimes we yearn for the polar opposite. In the winter, we want to feel the hot summer sun; during a hot summer day, we wish for a cool breeze. When we're sitting alone, experiencing peace and quiet, we wish we were at a party with friends. At a party, we often wish we were home alone, enjoying some solitude and reading a book. We're restless animals.
Relativity can be a trap too. Have you ever seen neighbors engage in lawn warfare? Or friends and colleagues seek money and stature just so they could feel better about themselves because they have more than others do?
I have a sore throat today. The cold may be settling in my chest as well. My energy level is way down. I don't feel like doing anything but laying around the house. Now I realize how great it is to feel healthy. It could be much worse though. There is always someone who has it much worse than you do. It's just the way it is. My brother had a heart and liver transplant about eighteen months ago. He's been struggling to feel good ever since, fighting challenges to gain weight and to find out why his liver isn't functioning correctly. He can't work much anymore. He struggles to walk a flight of stairs. He undergoes invasive tests frequently and takes a number of drugs to fight organ rejection. That's just a sliver of what he's been going through. And he has a pretty good attitude. So, I'm actually doing really, really good, relatively speaking.
Is there anything that's absolute? Maybe love. Love shouldn't be relative or conditional. But that's another post.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Super Bowls Once Were Fun - Sort Of
A long, long, time ago, Super Bowl Sundays were incredibly fun and exciting. Well, mostly. At least they were before the games started and sadly only part way through them. The reason for this is I'm a Bills fan. If you know anything about the Bills and Super Bowls, my post could simply end right here.
As Bills fans, we hang on to the positives. The only team to make it four years in a row. No one has done it since. And probably no team will do it again, at least this is what we tell ourselves. Those teams had perseverance and heart. They never gave up. They had great team spirit. They were great teams. We had the K-gun. Jim Kelly was a winner and still is. The Thurminator (Thurman Thomas) at running back. Andre Reed was the master of the run after the catch. And there was Bruce Smith dominating the defensive line, wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Can't leave out Frank Reich and the greatest comeback of all time (against the Oilers in playoffs). Those were fun times. Unfortunately, though, the Bills lost every Super Bowl game. It's still hard to believe.
Of course, the first one hurts the most. Two words Bills' fans have a hard time hearing is "wide right". It wasn't an easy field goal. It was about 48 yards, with a few seconds left to the game, and to determine the world champions. The kick was wide right. There was a play earlier in the game where Bruce Smith had his hand on Jeff Hostetler's wrist in the end zone. If he tackled him it would have been two points for the Bills; if he knocked the ball out and we recovered it would have been six points. It's agonizing playing the game of "what if". So, we leave it alone. It just wasn't meant to be. We lost 20 to 19.
The lost to the Redskins was agonizing. We never seemed to be in the game. We then got destroyed by the Cowboys, the only redeeming value was when Beebe ran down the field and knocked the ball out of Leon Lett's hand at the half-yard line preventing a touch down. I thought we had a real chance to redeem ourselves in our fourth Super Bowl against the Cowboys. The Bills were leading 13 to 6 going into half time. We had the ball to start the third quarter but just 55 seconds into the third quarter Thomas fumbled and the Cowboys tied the game. We never scored again.
It's been a long time since the Bills last reached the Super Bowl in 1994. When I think about those great years the Bills had, I remember just how great the offense was, how dynamic and exciting Kelly ran the no huddle offense, and how much fun it was to gather with family and friends to watch the Bills play. The Bills were a great team. Yes, they never won the big game. So what. Easy to say now, twenty one years later. Maybe they'll be back someday. One can hope.
As Bills fans, we hang on to the positives. The only team to make it four years in a row. No one has done it since. And probably no team will do it again, at least this is what we tell ourselves. Those teams had perseverance and heart. They never gave up. They had great team spirit. They were great teams. We had the K-gun. Jim Kelly was a winner and still is. The Thurminator (Thurman Thomas) at running back. Andre Reed was the master of the run after the catch. And there was Bruce Smith dominating the defensive line, wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Can't leave out Frank Reich and the greatest comeback of all time (against the Oilers in playoffs). Those were fun times. Unfortunately, though, the Bills lost every Super Bowl game. It's still hard to believe.
Of course, the first one hurts the most. Two words Bills' fans have a hard time hearing is "wide right". It wasn't an easy field goal. It was about 48 yards, with a few seconds left to the game, and to determine the world champions. The kick was wide right. There was a play earlier in the game where Bruce Smith had his hand on Jeff Hostetler's wrist in the end zone. If he tackled him it would have been two points for the Bills; if he knocked the ball out and we recovered it would have been six points. It's agonizing playing the game of "what if". So, we leave it alone. It just wasn't meant to be. We lost 20 to 19.
The lost to the Redskins was agonizing. We never seemed to be in the game. We then got destroyed by the Cowboys, the only redeeming value was when Beebe ran down the field and knocked the ball out of Leon Lett's hand at the half-yard line preventing a touch down. I thought we had a real chance to redeem ourselves in our fourth Super Bowl against the Cowboys. The Bills were leading 13 to 6 going into half time. We had the ball to start the third quarter but just 55 seconds into the third quarter Thomas fumbled and the Cowboys tied the game. We never scored again.
It's been a long time since the Bills last reached the Super Bowl in 1994. When I think about those great years the Bills had, I remember just how great the offense was, how dynamic and exciting Kelly ran the no huddle offense, and how much fun it was to gather with family and friends to watch the Bills play. The Bills were a great team. Yes, they never won the big game. So what. Easy to say now, twenty one years later. Maybe they'll be back someday. One can hope.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
First Post - Thoughts on Life, Past and Present
So, this is my first post.
I'm an aspiring writer. Like many aspiring writers, I have a full-time job and so struggle to find time to write. However, many people seem do it successfully. So, I am going to give it a try. My goal for 2015 is to simply start writing more regularly. This blog is to help with that, to help me get in the habit of writing more, to become more confident with the entire writing process and lifestyle. And of course to become a better writer.
My main project is to write a book. I've started it. It may take me a while but I've determined that that is okay. No need to rush or become impatient. Just do it. I heard someone speak about the writing process and she said "Writer's write - that's what they do." I know. It's simple. But at the core she is right. You have to write and then let things happen from there.
I will try to post weekly. Thoughts about life - past and present. Little stories, Little musings on life.
I'm an aspiring writer. Like many aspiring writers, I have a full-time job and so struggle to find time to write. However, many people seem do it successfully. So, I am going to give it a try. My goal for 2015 is to simply start writing more regularly. This blog is to help with that, to help me get in the habit of writing more, to become more confident with the entire writing process and lifestyle. And of course to become a better writer.
My main project is to write a book. I've started it. It may take me a while but I've determined that that is okay. No need to rush or become impatient. Just do it. I heard someone speak about the writing process and she said "Writer's write - that's what they do." I know. It's simple. But at the core she is right. You have to write and then let things happen from there.
I will try to post weekly. Thoughts about life - past and present. Little stories, Little musings on life.
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