OUCH!!!!!!!!!

Most people know exactly what I feel like right now.  You are presented w/ an oportunity to get involved in some physical activity and you take it.  Sure, you know it will be difficult, but you used to be able to do such things with ease so it won’t be too bad…right?  Then it happens.  Your body gets into an argument with your mind.  Your mind is telling you that you are still 18 or 20 yrs old and can do this w/ no problem.  Your body, on the other hand, is reminding you that you are in fact 30 (or older) and haven’t done this type of activity for more than 10 years.  Of course, I chose to ignore my body the best I could, but today…ouch.  My body is saying “I told you so.”  How did I get this far out of shape?  When did all this happen?  I know I’ve seen gray hairs sprouting on my head, but those were issued to me with my children.  It doesn’t mean I’m old by any stretch of the imagination. 

I knew this was coming, so it has come as no surprise.  Truth be told, this is why I’ve chosen to be a wrestling coach.  I wanted to get back into shape and needed something to motivate me.  Now, I’m doing something I love while getting into shape in the process.  If I live through this wrestling season, I look forward to seeing how much weight I’ve lost and what my new pants size is.  If the results are good, I’ll revisit this topic in March.  If they aren’t, I’ll banish this topic and never bring it up again.

The Rivalry

It’s that time again.  The time of year when the air is cold, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and two distinct groups of people come together for 60 minutes to express their undying hatred for one another.  Well, perhaps I’m overdoing it a bit with the word “hatred” but you get the point.  I’m talking about the annual rivalry game between Ohio State and Michigan.  Growing up in Ohio, it is impossible to get away from this game.  For many years, I didn’t even care about the Buckeyes.  However, when I went to college my allegiance moved from the Iowa Hawkeyes (was a fan mainly because of their wrestling team) to the Buckeyes.  Ever since then, this date is circled on my calendar.  This game can make up for a winless season up to that point or relegate an undefeated season as a disappointing season if you were to lose that one.  Yes, it is that important. 

Children are taught at an early age in Ohio that michigan is bad.  In fact, they are so despised most Ohio State fans won’t even refer to the university of michigan by name.  It is known as That Team Up North (or TTUN for short).  Former Ohio State coach, John Cooper, is loathed by Ohio State fans despite averaging 9 to 10 wins per year for the Buckeyes.  The big reason for this, he was 2-10-1 against the Wolverines.  Like I said, it doesn’t matter how many wins you have during the year if you lose to your rival.  Consequently, he was fired and Jim Tressel was brought in.  Jim Tressel has earned near rock star status in Ohio mainly because he has gone 6-1 vs michigan.  Funny how one game can determine the success or failure of a coach.

I think I’ll let ABC end this.  Their promo before the 2006 Ohio State vs michigan game (where they came into the game nationally ranked #1 and #2 respectively for the first time ever) pretty much sums up how the fans feel about this game and how important this game is to its players.  If you need me at 11 AM on Saturday, you know where I’ll be.

FYI

I know I’m a bit late w/ the whole Veteran’s Day thing, but I figured I’d take a look at some of the things the military has given us.  Going the route of “protecting our freedom” is too easy and so overdone this time of year.  I’m going to direct my focus elsewhere.

Did you know the military has influenced our speech?  Of course you’ve heard of cussing like a sailor, but that isn’t exactly what I had in mind.  There are simple little phrases that we say everyday that have their roots in military history.  So, here are a few that I can come up w/ off the top of my head:

1)  “The whole 9 yards.”  In the old days, bullets were shipped attached to one another in a belt like configuration.  The length of these “belts” was…you guessed it…9 yards long.  So, when a person was said to have fired off the whole 9 yards it was being said they shot every bullet they had on that belt.

2) “…to the biter end.”  This is an old navy term.  The end of a rope that is not tied off to anything is known as the “biter end” of the rope.  This is the very end of the rope and if you are holding on to the biter end of the rope you have nowhere else to go except off.

3) “AWOL”  This stands for Absent Without Leave.  In other words, a person in the military is absent from work without taking leave (vacation time) to allow himself/herself to miss work.  This has been adapted to fit everyday work environment and beyond.

4) Sideburns  The military wasn’t the first to allow hair to grow uncontrollably down one’s face.  However, a member of the military did make it famous.  Colonel Burnside had some serious chops on the side of his face.  So much so they took on his name (Sideburns rearranged is Burnside).  See link for a picture of this man of folical beauty.  http://www.worldlymind.org/burnside1.jpg  Real looker, ain’t he?  Not one of the military’s finer creations.

I just find it interesting how our speech is formed virtually everyday from the most obscure places.  Ten years ago, if you used the word “blog” people might think it was something like a blob.  Now, everyone knows (well almost everyone) what it is.  Feel free to add on to this list if you know of some other phrases used in daily life that you find their origin interesting.

Am I really this oblivious?

I had  the oportunity to discuss my faith w/ a few folks a couple weeks ago.  One of them is Catholic while the other I would have to say is an atheist.  All was going well until we got on salvation.  I expected the atheist to jest at my belief of how we are saved from an eternity in hell according to the Bible, but what I did not expect was what others also believe.

In an attempt to disprove my faith, the unbelieving atheist (kind of redundant, I know) brought up Ghandi.  He was saying there is no way he is in hell because of what a good man he was.  Oddly enough, other Catholics who  were listening in agreed.  I cited the passage For by GRACE are you save THROUGH FAITH.  It is a gift and not that of yourself lest any man should boast.  I find that to be very self explanatory.  It doesn’t matter how good you are, you are still lost w/ out Christ.  How is this concept so elusive to so many…including some of those in the Catholic faith (not singling them out, but that was the predominant faith that was there)?  I knew there were some who didn’t believe in salvation through Christ alone and felt all you had to do to get to heaven was be good, but I wasn’t prepared for “church goers” (even if they don’t share the exact same beliefs as me) to subscribe to this same idea. 

How can a person know of God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s endless love yet still believe our works get us to heaven?  Also, how could I have been so sheltered from the knowledge of how many there are who are in that category?  I guess when you grow up a preacher’s kid you see things through rose colored glasses.  You believe people are saved unless proven otherwise and not the other way around.  How have we, as the greatest country on earth built upon a foundation of God, have gotten to this place?

Hmmm. This is new.

I used to wonder why a person would ever post stories about themselves for all to see.  Now, here I am.  One of those people.  A 30 yr old struggling to maintain his youth while balancing the adult responsibilities of parenthood and being a husband.  I don’t believe any of my stories will be deep and meaningful.  I figure them to have the depth of a kiddie pool.  I think I will end up posting them more for my own benefit than trying to add to the life of others.  I have no answers, no profound insight into life.  Just life as I have seen it.  So, I hope you enjoy this comic book series known otherwise as my life.