by jphilo | Feb 17, 2014 | Current Events
The armchair Olympics are in full swing on our little gravel road. We’ve been twirling in the air, slicing down the ski slopes, gliding across the ice, and sliding along the sled runs with nary a turned ankle or bruise. We are loving it.
Except for one teensy-weensy problem.
Every time the three winners mount the podium and receive their medals, while the world is focused on their laudatory accomplishments, my thoughts wander to the athletes who didn’t win. The fourth place bobsledder who was .04 tenths of a second too slow. The skater who fell hard at the beginning of his program, then got up and smiled through the rest of the program, though he had to be in pain. The skicross racer who broke her spine. Even Bob Costa who was felled by pink eye.
Winners, every one.
This mindset could be the product of twenty-five years as an elementary teacher. Twenty-five years of watching the student who got a C on a test work much harder than the one who aced it. Twenty-five years of cheering for third graders who didn’t know their math facts in the fall, but did in the spring, though they would never be the fastest on timed tests. Twenty-five years of marveling at those rare kids who cared more about being kind to their classmates than about being first.
Winners, every one.
Every time the three medal winners in any event mount the podium, I think about the athletes who aren’t there. Those with less natural talent or came from less affluent countries, yet worked harder than whoever won. Those who grew the most. Those who cared more about being kind to other participants instead of being first.
Winners, every one.
The school teacher in me wants them all to receive medals–the Olympic equivalent of an elementary school field day participation ribbon. To be given a momento to carry home and pass on to their children and grandchildren. Or better yet, to leave the festivities with a rock solid, internal assurance of the reality that escapes those who focus only on the podium. The understanding of an undeniable truth. By making it to Sochi, they are forever and for always
Winners, every one.
Photo courtesy of Vlado at www.freedigitalphotos.net
by jphilo | Jan 28, 2014 | Current Events
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM 5) recognizes the addictive nature of Downton Abbey. They warn fans to watch for the following signs of Downton Abbey Addiction (DAA):
10. You or those you love no longer call their spouses by their first name. Instead, in a thick English accent, they use their surname. As in “Mr. Philo, could you pick up bread at the grocery store on the way home?” To which your loved one replies in kind. As in “Certainly, Mrs. Philo, I’d be delighted.”
9. You or someone you love plans to wear a beaded flapper dress or black tails and white tie on a Valentine’s Day date.
8. Your children or the children of someone you love get this Sesame Street skit the first time they see it.
7. The first response you or someone you love as to the Harry Potter movies is, “Oh look, Professor McGonagall is played by the Dowager Countess of Grantham.
6. You or someone you love wishes your local news channel would carry more stories like this one which aired on KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa. You or someone you else also TiVoed the clip and show it when company comes to your house.
5. On Sunday evenings, you or someone you loves sets an alarm clock for 20 minutes earlier than Downton Abbey’s start time, so you can pop popcorn beforehand.
4. You or someone you know snorts liquid out your nose every you see the Downton Arby’s spoof.[youtube]http://youtu.be/NMykqW9ibiY[/youtube]
3. You or someone you love is circulating a petition to demand the Olympic Games be suspended when Downton Abbey is on television.
2. Ditto for the Super Bowl and the Grammys.
1. The list of potential baby names for your next child or grandchild consists of these names: Mary, Edith, Sibyl, Violet, Cora, Ivy, Anna, Daisy, Rose, Bates, Grantham, John, Matthew, Tom, Robert, Carson, and Alfred.
The DSM 5 recommends that if you or someone you love is displaying three or more of the above behaviors, they should begin attending Downton Abbey Addiction Anonymous (DAAA) immediately. Groups meet 24/7 except for Sunday evenings when the show airs.
What DAA symptoms are you or someone you love exhibiting. Begin your comment with, “Hi, my name is ______________________ and I’m a Downton Abbey Addict.
by jphilo | Jul 30, 2012 | Current Events
Thanks to British comedian Rowan Atkinson and the Olympic Opening Ceremonies being scheduled the evening of my birthday, I received the funniest birthday present ever.
Hiram thought I was a little deluded to claim the ceremony as my personal birthday bash. But those of us with a summer birthdays, like me and Dorothy Hamill, spent our entire elementary careers celebrating birthdays with our classmates born from September through May, but never celebrated our own. So we’ve learned to grab glory where we can, and the opening ceremonies did the trick for me.
After James Bond and Queen Elizabeth entered via parachute, the extravaganza was pretty hard to follow…until the London Philharmonic began playing the theme from Chariots of Fire with Rowen Atkinson (known to many as Mr. Bean) keeping the beat on the keyboard. By the end of the skit, I was laughing so hard, my sides ached.
Rather than try to describe what happened, you can watch for yourself at dailypicksandflicks.com. But hurry! The Olympic committee already took down any clips posted on You Tube, so this one could be next. But until that happens, get ready to laugh at one of the best comic actors of all time.
Thank you, Rowan Atkinson, for the funniest birthday present ever!
