Great works of art can have value even to those who do not own them.
-Art B.
Category: Uncategorized
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It Never Hurts to Try
It never hurts to try. Unless you’re talking about…
tattoos or body piercing or pro football or boxing.
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Midas Touch?
Some people have the Midas touch and everything they tough turns to gold.
I, on the other hand, have the Ex-Lax touch.
– Art B.
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Baseball Sign-Ups
I was shopping recently and saw a teenager that looked to be 14-15 years old whining and pretty much throwing a temper tantrum that you might expect from a 6 year old. I thought: “One of the problems in the world today is baseball sign-ups.” I know what you’re thinking: “Wait, what?” Please, indulge me while I attempt to explain.
When I was 9, a sign-up sheet appeared on the bulletin board at school. It was for anyone interested in trying out for the baseball team. Naturally, I signed up. Try outs started the next Wednesday after school.
Next Wednesday rolled around and soon enough it was my turn at bat. A swing and a miss… Hum, what just happen? Another swing and a miss. WHOA! That fastball was on fire. Wait a minute, the kid pitching can’t be 9 like me, can he? Is that a beard? Then, almost as fast as it started, there was one final fastball and you guessed it… a swing and a miss. A couple of hours later I was pulled aside for a “private talk with the couch.” Super nice and encouraging man who said: “Thanks for trying out today but your skills need to improve to be considered for the team. Go home and practice and try again next year.”
I was crushed! I thought my life was surely over. What will my friends think when they found out I didn’t make the team? What am I going to do all summer while everyone else plays baseball?
Fast forward twenty-some years and my son is signing up for baseball. Being a slice off the old ham bone, he like me, wasn’t the greatest at baseball. He played t-ball a season and couch pitch a season. He got a “participation trophy” and had an overall good experience. Being the smart and mature person that he is, again a slice off the old ham bone, he realized he was better at other things. He went on to play high school football and was a star.
It occurred to me that our experiences had been very different. I had been handed a failure to deal with head on and my son was encouraged to play no matter his skill level. Which is better? Before you think too hard about that specific question, please consider that this is not about baseball. It could apply to any endeavor.
Anyway, let’s get back to the original story… I woke up Thursday morning and tried to convince my Mom I was sick and couldn’t go to school. How could I face my friends knowing I didn’t make the team? As these things go, my fake illness was dismissed and shortly I found myself on the school bus headed for what would surly be the end of life as I knew it.
So, much to my surprise, I wasn’t the only kid not to make the team. Some did and some didn’t. It wasn’t until adulthood that I realized this was a defining moment in my life. Because twenty-four hours after I was cut from the team, I saw it as the small bump in the road that it really was. Come to find out, my life wasn’t over after all. Without knowing it, I had learned one of the most important lessons in life… Failure is not the end – just a chance to find a new direction.
I can’t say that my son’s baseball experience was a waste of time. Could his time that summer have been better utilized? Maybe. But I’m sure he’s glad he gave it a shot. I guess the real question here is: “Should kids somehow be spared the disappointment of failure?” Or should we tell kids: “You haven’t failed. This is just a deferred success.”? Are we instilling the confidence and self-esteem that we hope or are we really candy coating everything for our own convenience instead of teaching them the critical skill of dealing with failure?
If I had really wanted to play baseball I think I would have practiced and tried out again. Instead, I tried out for the school band. Nerdy yes but I found out I was good at it. Later, I learned to play the guitar – not so nerdy – and had a pretty good career as a local musician, studio owner and music producer. I still play today – mostly for my own pleasure.
I’m not suggesting that a kid who really wants to play be denied. But wouldn’t it be better for everyone if we encourage our kids to try anything that interest them but also ask them to understand they will get honest feedback on their efforts.
Then, just maybe, we wont see teenagers throwing a temper tantrum in the mall because their parents wouldn’t buy them the $200 pair of jeans they wanted.
-Art B.
And Pittsburgh Steelers’ James Harrison agrees…
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Prince Charming
Little girls dream of growing up, finding “Prince Charming” and living happily ever after. The divorce rate in the US is above 50% for first marriages – 62% for second and 75% for third. Perhaps a more realistic search would be for…
“Prince Don’t Screw Around”
or
“Prince Good Work Ethic”
or
Just good old…
“Prince Love Me Forever”
– Art B.
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New Day
With each new day we have a chance to be a better version of the person we were yesterday.
– Art B.