tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91316225536971001842024-03-13T08:17:28.715-07:00Mike Moffett, Author/WriterNon-fiction books (FAHIM SPEAKS), sports columns (SPORT-THOUGHTS), and legislative matters, as a N.H. State Representative and a member of the Education Committee.Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-31081187810386147732024-03-01T18:20:00.000-08:002024-03-01T18:36:34.117-08:00“STORMING THE COURT”<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">“STORMING
THE COURT / SWARMING THE FIELD”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRa14RoAzfHCAZJGDJH0rFRiLU_34FdRDwFnFsHNqeeIlQ72jBPr04p790jtkP82k3TBzwXd1Z5T8aDE-JBCqF_gki1MCVviTP2toIa445h1_dzJdIQCjlr-h9ogsQY0Q_PjEMuRR7hCoXFaaiRYE1QCaeRI-efKL4jpIblpm5UujlZ5ypTurvg_D4Bw/s327/Lonborg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="327" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRa14RoAzfHCAZJGDJH0rFRiLU_34FdRDwFnFsHNqeeIlQ72jBPr04p790jtkP82k3TBzwXd1Z5T8aDE-JBCqF_gki1MCVviTP2toIa445h1_dzJdIQCjlr-h9ogsQY0Q_PjEMuRR7hCoXFaaiRYE1QCaeRI-efKL4jpIblpm5UujlZ5ypTurvg_D4Bw/w366-h184/Lonborg.jpg" width="366" /></a></b></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">Jim Lonborg #16: Oct. 1, 1967 (Fenway Park)</div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Eleven conferences --
the Atlantic 10, Big East, Big South, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA,
Mid-Eastern Athletic, Pac-12, WAC, Southeastern and West Coast -- recently told
ESPN that a home school with a post-game celebratory court storm could be
subject to a fine under certain circumstances. Some have precise penalties,
while others have general language regarding disciplinary measures and their
applicability.” – ESPN.com</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I love watching fans storm a court or swarm a
field after a big win. The primal, elemental, and spontaneous outpouring of
joyous humanity celebrating a special sport triumph always moves me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Watch the end of the movie hoop classic
“Hoosiers” when the Hickory High fans storm the court to embrace their heroes.
Or the old Boston Garden after “Havlicek stole the ball!” Or Fenway Park on
that magical October 1, 1967, after Rico Petrocelli caught a popup setting up
the BoSox for their first World Series in decades. Six-foot-6 pitcher Jim
Lonborg was swept away to centerfield and a mad mosh-pit of delirium.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Primal. Elemental. Joyous.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are, of course, dangers when waves of
humanity are unleashed, overpowering 70-year-old ushers and the lone security
cop. Mob mentalities take effect. Havlicek was battered and bruised by fans
after he stole the ball. He called them “ruffians.” Lonborg’s uniform was
ripped to shreds. I’m sure that today in various New England locales,
grandfathers share pieces of cloth with their progeny, explaining “This is what
Jim Lonborg wore when he pitched the Sox to the pennant in 1967.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And when those gridiron goalposts come down,
they can injure even the most hard-headed football fan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hence the need for court storm policies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“This is why we can’t have nice things,
people!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">These outpourings, these court storms, aren’t
entirely spontaneous. When the Celtics beat the Lakers at the Garden in 1984
for the NBA title, fans surrounded the court for a while before the final
buzzer, waiting to pounce.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">On the college level, one can be sure that
ne’er-do-wells have court storm strategies that involve not hoisting a hoopster
but hugging a cheerleader. Truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But for the most part the joyous storms and
swarms are unscripted. Who knew Havlicek was going to steal the ball?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Next month marks the 50<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run mark. Film/video
of that milestone moment in Atlanta will be shown everywhere. And accompanying
Aaron on his historic round trip you’ll see </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Britt Gaston and Cliff
Courtenay<span style="background: white;">. The two Brave fans were only 17 when
they ran onto the field from the first-base stands and caught up with Aaron.
Now Britt and Cliff are immortal. They even made this column five decades later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Court
storms and field swarms are de rigueur everywhere at countless high school
championship events. Players, parents, and peers no doubt dream of that
ultimate title moment marked by Gatorade showers and heroes hoisted in
celebration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Like
so many others, I also dreamed of such a moment. But most of us never taste that
sweet championship nectar.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
high school senior year saw me and my Groveton High School Purple Eagle
basketball teammates in a state tournament semifinal game at Plymouth State,
trying for a spot in the title tilt. Half the gym was purple, as busloads of
fans came down from the North Country. Sadly, we fell way behind, 27-12.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Still,
in the second half we chipped away at the lead and the purple clad folks took
heart. Closer and closer we came and louder and louder were the GHS fans. I
remember scoring in the last minute to cut the lead to 47-46 as the gym
exploded. A dam was about to break to release a purple flood onto the floor. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But we
ran out of time. The white-clad players enjoyed a court storm as the purple
rain fell not.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
stood watching the other team get swarmed while a lone figure hurried to me
from the purple side—tears streaming down her face. Her back to the
celebration, my girlfriend offered a very public embrace. I’ll always remember
that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So,
most athletes never experience a court storm. But sometimes kids offer
opportunities for parents to vicariously experience “swarm joy” when offspring
win titles denied to their dads and moms. When my daughter’s Concord High
School softball team won a state championship, I (thankfully) did not run out
and leap onto the growing pile of players celebrating a title. But that was
also, in a way, my storm/swarm moment as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And,
upon further review, perhaps the lonely gesture of a teary hug offered to a
losing basketball player is perhaps of equal—if not more—value than a leap into
that fleeting mosh pit of sports joy experienced by that happy few band of
brothers (or sisters) fortunate enough to grab sports’ ever-so-elusive brass
rings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">####</span></h3><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetCZ5u3F2VZOAR0CJDq16HFDcEBdncItXtXsB-ItqR6WNojMTM0vtHjrRd5H_ibRWJdO6a3lkVBGp11Re6azaQwydgvOJzRwVRNCNuZuiaFCJe84fU5ZgStgXh_nzJ86S6A0jpze7OEssJItt-G5Br1JLtByRQS9EZTNwEdzLHfOPdgN-4B2GXyOfbA/s236/Hondo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="236" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetCZ5u3F2VZOAR0CJDq16HFDcEBdncItXtXsB-ItqR6WNojMTM0vtHjrRd5H_ibRWJdO6a3lkVBGp11Re6azaQwydgvOJzRwVRNCNuZuiaFCJe84fU5ZgStgXh_nzJ86S6A0jpze7OEssJItt-G5Br1JLtByRQS9EZTNwEdzLHfOPdgN-4B2GXyOfbA/w384-h214/Hondo.jpg" width="384" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></span>John Havlicek </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span> </span><img border="0" data-original-height="156" data-original-width="155" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkx7uHltoE9451c0nkA4EJz41LZrvIwXMhZ3jqSSKr-3nJAIj91vK9xteQiP60UCGWT2vTi7enMw1z2v97dJin9wEuB1Glx9Nx9Pzanztb1jjvya2yp_nJswsmwmtL03N98hJFjUbR4L6q0FibY_7T0FFWuDE7shPb5cOIdEoR0UVZMfT4P2LZr4KBA/w233-h207/Aaron.jpg" width="233" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span></span>Hank Aaron </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-86375538823013262802023-11-10T10:42:00.005-08:002023-12-15T09:15:28.907-08:00TED, TAIWAN, AND SPORTS<p> </p><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">TED, TAIWAN, AND SPORTS</span></b></div><div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Remember Ted Kennedy? The Massachusetts senator was a progressive icon—a liberal lion who endured the tragic killings of his three older brothers, all in their respective primes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Ted ran for President once, in 1980, when he challenged our sitting 39th President, Jimmy Carter, a fellow Democrat. This, of course, required him to run in the New Hampshire Primary, something expected of any prospective President—at least up until Joe Biden.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">That mid-February Ted’s Granite State campaign brought him to Groveton, N.H., where he toured the paper mill and then met with a few Groveton High School folks<span style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">—</span></span>including me, then a GHS history teacher.</span></div><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The Lake Placid Winter Olympics were ongoing, and Ted compared his campaign effort with that of the miracle U.S. ice hockey team. Then he took questions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Always a sports guy, I immediately followed up on his Winter Olympic reference with a query about Taiwan’s exclusion from that competition.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">(The International Olympic Committee wouldn’t allow the small contingent from Republic of China/Taiwan to compete unless it forsook its name and national flag, out of deference to the Communist People’s Republic of China—the PRC—which was competing in its first Winter Olympics.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Ted glared at me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“Well, er, ah, we perhaps should consider how both the USA and Puerto Rico have separate Olympic teams, even though we’re all Americans,” replied the Massachusetts senator.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">I quickly responded.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“But Puerto Rico’s never been prevented from competing under its own flag, unlike Taiwan.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The liberal lion further glared at me, perhaps regretting that the road to the White House required him to travel through Groveton, N.H., to be hassled by an impertinent citizen over an issue that certainly then wasn’t as important to most Americans as inflation or the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Ted then came back with what I believe was a very honest reply.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“I frankly don’t care whether or not Taiwan competes in the Olympics or not,” he snapped. “Next question.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">I resurrect this old sport-thought because I was recently privileged to visit Taiwan with a New England legislative delegation as guests of the ROC’s Foreign Ministry. The trip was timely and informative, given current international geopolitics. And the Taiwanese were wonderful hosts on their island of freedom—surrounded by hostile waters dominated by a PRC committed to conquering the ROC.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">For the record, the Republic of China/Taiwan did eventually return to the Olympics in 1984 as “Chinese Taipei,” a compromise the Taiwanese reluctantly agreed to so as to allow their athletes opportunities to compete.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Fast forward to 2021 and an international swimming and diving competition in Cyprus involving 40 countries. Bullied by the PRC, officials there wouldn’t allow Taiwan’s flag to be shown on displays or scoreboards. Taiwanese divers </span><b style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">could</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"> compete under an Olympic flag or under no flag at all. The ROC athletes chose to compete under no flag.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><div style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Then came one of those inspiring “I am Spartacus” episodes where the sports world separates itself from the political realm. The Japanese athletes issued a statement of support for the Taiwanese and indicated they, too, would compete without their flag being displayed anywhere. Subsequently, divers from other countries voted likewise to similarly have their flags removed to show their solidarity with Taiwan. </span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br clear="none" style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" /></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Australia, Croatia, Germany, the USA, and others followed Japan’s lead. Even the French. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Even the Russians!</span></div><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The shows of support were the results of impromptu athlete actions, not government policy directives. That’s what made it all so inspiring to so many—except for the elephant-bully in the room: the Communist PRC.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><p class="yiv4196051745ydpbf75517aMsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Carpe diem!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></span></p><div style="background: white; line-height: normal; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;">And I want to believe that even Ted Kennedy—from wherever he may have then been watching—was similarly inspired!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span> #####</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br /></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0xsQzrQCbnG7yGStdUdPkvfutD5tZudDtGA2xW0n3ZfRXo5UR-Gz30umlemVwlvCKOh6x0Rx4Weev1qrYoqaeV8OSclyvXdiDVki1sfWJslrdc5bKg6zxudDq5MpfnO-a2kz-osT_PUe9oMDZ_CR8kINha7QIb7JtJ91p-sqYutBJ5BDEu9WA-sO4g/s180/Ted%20at%20Harvard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="134" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0xsQzrQCbnG7yGStdUdPkvfutD5tZudDtGA2xW0n3ZfRXo5UR-Gz30umlemVwlvCKOh6x0Rx4Weev1qrYoqaeV8OSclyvXdiDVki1sfWJslrdc5bKg6zxudDq5MpfnO-a2kz-osT_PUe9oMDZ_CR8kINha7QIb7JtJ91p-sqYutBJ5BDEu9WA-sO4g/s1600/Ted%20at%20Harvard.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><br /><p><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Ted Kennedy was a decent football player for Harvard back in the 1950s.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-561015012487293222023-06-30T08:39:00.008-07:002023-06-30T08:41:53.894-07:00LEGISLATIVE GOLF, GEORGE PATTON, AND GOOD WEATHER<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><b><br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>LEGISLATIVE GOLF, GEORGE PATTON, AND GOOD WEATHER</b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p>by Mike Moffett </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Sports can be divisive. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Michigan vs. Ohio
State. El Salvador vs. Honduras.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">What? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Yup.
These two countries went to war in 1969 after El Salvador beat Honduras 3-2 in
a FIFA World Cup (soccer) qualifier.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Then
there was that preseason NFL game in San Francisco. After the 49ers hosted the
Oakland Raiders, football “fans” got into some parking lot fights and several
people were shot.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But
sports can also bring folks together. Like when our USA Olympic ice hockey team
beat the Soviets in 1980. That “Miracle on Ice” truly united Americans—from
Maine to California to maybe even Hawaii! </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">A
local example of sports bringing people together occurred on June 26 when
Loudon Country Club hosted the Legislative Golf Classic. This “scramble” event
brought together Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, vegetarians, males,
females, friends, relatives, lobbyists, good golfers, bad golfers, young golfers,
and older golfers. One participant even celebrated his 90<sup>th</sup> birthday
at LCC.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The
golf event was a charity fund-raiser for Manchester’s Liberty House, which
supports homeless and transitioning military veterans. I was happy to be on the
event planning team as well as on a golf team—the Legislative Beer Caucus
Founders.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">As a
former sports management professor, I know there are many crucial parts to
these fundraisers. Numerous people must tend to many aspects including player/sponsor
solicitations, publicity, registrations, goodie bags, signage, raffles, and
contest monitoring. Someone must watch the Hole-in-One competition to document
any aces worth $20,000. (</span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Before</span></i></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> buying clubhouse drinks for all.) And someone must
supervise the all-important traveling beer cart and the all-important Beer Cart
Girl. </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">(One
may wonder why there are never Beer Cart Guys. And one can probably figure out
why.)</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Fortunately,
LCC had the extremely capable Alina in charge of the extremely important
traveling beer cart.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But
there is one variable that even the best planners in the golf world struggle
with. </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The
weather.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Ten
days out I woke up and the first thing I did was check was the 10-day forecast.
There was a 90% chance of precipitation on June 26. A couple days later an 80%
chance. A couple days later there was a projected 100% chance of precipitation.
My heart sank. It rained on a different golf scramble at LCC on June 24. The
two-day forecast called for more rain on June 26.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Even
the best golf planners can’t control the weather. Or can they?</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I recalled
that General George Patton summoned a chaplain during the darkest days of the
Battle of the Bulge in 1944 and ordered him to come up with a prayer that would
bring good weather for air support. Father James O’Neill was the chaplain who
answered the call, and he wrote a beautifully solemn entreaty asking the
Almighty to “restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to
contend.”</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The
skies cleared and the battle was won.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">So, a
la Father O’Neill, I offered up a weather prayer. I acknowledged that there
were folks facing more dire situations than our scramble golfers. Certainly,
the suffering people in Ukraine rated more divine intervention than our
legislative linksters. But we wanted to bring folks of different political
persuasions together to raise money for the homeless! I ultimately left things
in the hands of the Great Greenskeeper in the Sky.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I
awoke early on June 26 and looked out the window. It was cloudy but dry. And it
stayed dry through the morning and into the afternoon, as Republicans and
Democrats laughed it up, hitting golf balls up and down the hills of Loudon
Country Club. </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">My
foursome encountered the extremely capable Alina and the extremely important
traveling beer cart at least four times in five hours. And we all hit at least
a few good shots. Such fun.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">And
it stayed dry for the post-golf social, where Democrats and Republicans
literally and figuratively embraced and laughed it up. We’d raised around
$20,000—along with a few libations. After the final award was given, the
legislative linksters headed for their cars when suddenly the heavens burst
forth with heavy rain. </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Perfect
timing.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Somehow,
I think Father O’Neill was watching from somewhere.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><br /><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfv93n9vA0dIQ7M2SIMhL9FawmWOsL2J93omu_KtKJ-QDwTFy2wSQsF0ZCLY5GJKiCb8_p7ai6PvNzRPYs9zhJ2YdcsQ9ZsRu3uF_YIWiz8y6Gii4MhzO1M17yZ9j2NMaxydl7Hyk88OgtueWtUFD6wsG6K2RXrbkT72Xtmz3bE0YKLEOsOgQawo7EQ/s1080/LCC%20Fundraiser.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1080" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfv93n9vA0dIQ7M2SIMhL9FawmWOsL2J93omu_KtKJ-QDwTFy2wSQsF0ZCLY5GJKiCb8_p7ai6PvNzRPYs9zhJ2YdcsQ9ZsRu3uF_YIWiz8y6Gii4MhzO1M17yZ9j2NMaxydl7Hyk88OgtueWtUFD6wsG6K2RXrbkT72Xtmz3bE0YKLEOsOgQawo7EQ/w385-h225/LCC%20Fundraiser.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "New Times", serif; outline: none;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Pictured in the LCC clubhouse after</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "New Times", serif; outline: none;"> the Legislative Golf Classic</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "New Times", serif; outline: none;"> was a foursome <span> </span></span></span></o:p></span></p><p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "New Times", serif; outline: none;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>which included State Senator Tim Lang of Sanbornton, State Representative Mike Moffett </span></span></o:p></span></p><p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "New Times", serif; outline: none;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>of Loudon, LCC's Alina (who piloted the "refreshments" cart), State Senator Howard Pearl </span></span></o:p></span></p><p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "New Times", serif; outline: none;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>of Loudon, and former State Representative Reed Panasiti of Amherst. The event raised </span></span></o:p></span></p><p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "New Times", serif; outline: none;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>$20,000 for the cause.</span></span></o:p></span></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-6579412216096835192023-06-04T07:50:00.000-07:002023-06-04T07:50:16.815-07:00BALTIMORE BASEBALL, BEER, POT, AND YAZ<p><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>BALTIMORE BASEBALL, BEER, POT, AND YAZ</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxDzdCSvQl-HSWKAuzsyxN5NuZUS3gBqLmop77BaRhZvvGS-Bxpx0aandkptmP2xWOV3rTWKtMaZIY2ZqHNOIivgfnhepRfxIN8btgLTQP1U6MFKkZO29bB72IpNVs55OFGfP1IjoHcTLA3k3BYBbaLyU4K8vg_szjRmCp2MNgHbXM1QeZg9dZ6A/s714/Carl-Yestremski-e1684848465522.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="714" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxDzdCSvQl-HSWKAuzsyxN5NuZUS3gBqLmop77BaRhZvvGS-Bxpx0aandkptmP2xWOV3rTWKtMaZIY2ZqHNOIivgfnhepRfxIN8btgLTQP1U6MFKkZO29bB72IpNVs55OFGfP1IjoHcTLA3k3BYBbaLyU4K8vg_szjRmCp2MNgHbXM1QeZg9dZ6A/s320/Carl-Yestremski-e1684848465522.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><o:p><br /></o:p><p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The Granite State debate on marijuana legalization continues. There
are many aspects to it all which we won’t get into here, except that—as with so
many issues—there <b><i>is</i></b> a sports component. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Consider the outcry a couple years ago when American sprinter Sha’Carri
Richardson faced disqualification from the Tokyo Olympics after testing
positive for marijuana. She supposedly smoked pot after her mother’s tragic
death.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Drug testing has abounded for decades. Most sports folks don’t want
performance enhancers providing Russians with unfair advantages. And that’s also
why home run king Barry Bonds’ steroid use keeps him out of Cooperstown’s Hall
of Fame.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But is pot really a performance enhancer? The debate will continue.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Full disclosure: I’m not a fan of legalizing pot. I’m sure my low-tolerance
for weed stems from being drug-tested for many years as a U.S. Marine.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Which brings us to Saturday, June 18, 1983, when I boarded a bus in
Quantico, Va., along with 50 other Marine Corps lieutenants, to ride up to
Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium for an Orioles game. The O’s were hosting my Red
Sox and it was Carl Yastrzemski’s 23<sup>rd</sup> and last season. I wanted to
see Yaz play one more time.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Yes, there was beer on the bus. Would one expect differently from
50 young Marine Corps lieutenants out on liberty?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">One of the pro-pot arguments is “Alcohol is worse!” Prohibition
failed! But there are many differences. Comparing pot to booze is like comparing
apples to oranges.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Anyway, we fifty Marines sat as a group in Memorial Stadium’s upper
deck, on the first base side—where we’d hopefully avoid trouble. But I was
pleased to discover that, unlike Fenway Park, Memorial Stadium had a liberal
beer policy. One could buy two 24-ouncers at the same time! The O’s treated
beer drinkers as adults</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">After making an early inning head call, I walked back towards the
upper deck when I saw a beer vendor strapping on a giant tray with numerous libations
to sell in the stands. This inspired an idea.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“Yo! Beer vendor. I’ll sell those beers for you!”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The beer vendor laughed and explained that such action would surely
be frowned upon.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“But I’m with those Marines up there. I’ll sell every beer in no
time.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The beer vendor laughed and said okay, but he’d need to follow me
at a discrete distance.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“Excellent!”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I strapped on his giant tray and donned his beer vendor cap and
started up the steps, hawking brewksis.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“Beer!” I yelled. “Get your beer here!”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">After a couple sales I was inevitably recognized by my Marine
brethren, who naturally cracked up.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“Moffett is selling beer!”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">As predicted, the Marines immediately bought all I had. I returned
to the tunnel and gave the delighted beer vendor a bunch of money, loaded up
the tray again and went up and again sold out. The section of Marines gave me a
standing ovation, which drew the attention of many of the 36,668 attendees. What
was going on up there on the upper deck? </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">(The Orioles drew good crowds in 1983 and would win the World
Series that year.)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I was fortunate that all this beer business predated social media. A
viral video of me selling lots of beer in the Memorial Stadium stands may not
have enhanced my military career. And my friendly beer vendor would likely have
been fired. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Still, it was such fun. But there’s more.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Sitting a few rows behind us near the top of the stadium were some
hippies. Midway through the game the hippies did what hippies do. They started
smoking pot. This immediately got the attention of fifty regularly drug-tested,
buff and burly Marine Corps officers—all quite concerned that inhaling
second-hand pot smoke might end their careers.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Our group turned and stood as one to confront the hippies. A big
Texan with a deep voice yelled “You G--- D--- hippies better stop smoking that pot
or we’ll throw your asses over the top of the stadium!”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Peer pressure? Or beer pressure?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Rather than confront 50 agitated Marines who were clearly ready to
rumble, the hippies decided that discretion was the better part of valor and
wisely moved to another part of Memorial Stadium to get stoned. All the
commotion must have drawn the attention of many of the 36,668 attendees. What
was going on up there?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Marines on liberty. Always an adventure.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">It was a night to remember. Jim Rice hit a homer and BoSox pitcher John
Tudor went all the way to win 3-2. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">And I got to see Carl Yaztrzemski in action one last time. The
44-year-old future Hall-of Famer walked twice. He would hit ten home runs that
season to finish his career with 452 round-trippers.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">And I’m also pretty sure that not one of Yaz’s 3419 career hits was
aided by any performance enhancer, whether imbibed, injected, or inhaled!</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="background: #FAF9F7; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="background: rgb(250, 249, 247); margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">#####</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-15448846668659956872023-04-16T15:45:00.000-07:002023-04-16T15:45:31.166-07:00A Baseball Story – Babe Ruth in the Lakes Region<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A Baseball Story – Babe Ruth
in the Lakes Region </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Mike Moffett<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of all the glittering lights in the constellation of American
sports stars, none shines more brightly than Babe Ruth’s.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGQ9_qBw6R2bsCpC6F0FVGEk0yBmLEGH5f9tuNU648DJbBfvbv7Frhqa-Oz7JNcnoYifLN-z6l17YZj7B4sL_5aaJZ6_zwV8P3dQjuxfGiNtUH4KGr9MnkDuRarsavYzEn_v_EKdL5Gnx4_df3rDgygnpJN7dmuFs7YBHYzvLzQWxA1PQLqf5JqY/s1549/Babe%20Ruth%20sliding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="1549" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGQ9_qBw6R2bsCpC6F0FVGEk0yBmLEGH5f9tuNU648DJbBfvbv7Frhqa-Oz7JNcnoYifLN-z6l17YZj7B4sL_5aaJZ6_zwV8P3dQjuxfGiNtUH4KGr9MnkDuRarsavYzEn_v_EKdL5Gnx4_df3rDgygnpJN7dmuFs7YBHYzvLzQWxA1PQLqf5JqY/s320/Babe%20Ruth%20sliding.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">George Herman Ruth’s prodigious pitching talent helped propel the
Boston Red Sox to three World Series titles in 1915, 1916 and 1918. Of course,
it was as a New York Yankee outfielder that the Babe became a larger-than-life
legend, hitting hundreds of home runs while leading the Yankees to seven World
Series from 1921 to 1932.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But the Babe also had star quality. He lived large. He traveled
the world. He was in the movies. He personified the American Dream, escaping
from deep poverty—and a Baltimore reform school—to scale the heights of riches
and fame.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When screaming Japanese soldiers charged United States Marine
positions on Pacific islands during World War II, they cursed Babe Ruth in
English. What better way to show contempt for America?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While certainly a hero, the Babe was very human. His legend also
includes stories of overconsumption and promiscuity that somehow further
enhances his legend. While the Christy Mathewsons and Lou Gehrigs of the
baseball world were saintly, Ruth was a big-hearted figure of excess to
whom fans could more easily relate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Babe was truly larger than life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Babe in New Hampshire</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a Red Sox star, Ruth inevitably spent considerable time in the
Granite State. He’d sometimes visit the Draper and Maynard sporting goods
factory in Plymouth. The old D&M building on Plymouth’s North Main Street
is now owned by Plymouth State University and one can find wonderful photos
there of the Babe visiting that town over a century ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But lesser known Ruthian tales tie him in to New Hampshire’s Lakes
Region as well. Mike Hatch of Bristol recently shared family stories of the
Babe hanging out in places like Meredith and Center Harbor—stories that are too
good to not finally share.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now 80 years old, Hatch spoke of the Babe’s influence on his own
family—further underscoring Ruth’s lingering “larger-than-life” persona.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“My grandmother and a relative of Ruth’s were college roommates,”
claimed Hatch. “They eventually got jobs at a bar near Fenway Park back when
Babe was playing in Boston.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hatch explained that Ruth spent much time at that tavern, just
before Prohibition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I know this might shock you, but the Babe loved to drink,” said
Hatch with a smile.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hatch shared numerous stories of the Babe cavorting around Lake
Winnipesaukee, some of which are fit for print—others, not so much.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Years ago, a guy from upstate New York contacted me out of the
blue and asked me if I was Mike Hatch and if Leon Hatch was my father,”
recalled Mike. “I said yes, why?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The New Yorker explained that his own grandfather once lived in
the Lakes Region and knew some Hatch family members. That grandfather used to
take him to a big hotel in Center Harbor, a well-known place that catered to
big shots, to include European royalty. That sounded plausible. Lake Winnipesaukee
has long been a destination for the rich and famous. And a big shot who was a
regular visitor was Babe Ruth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The guy who called me said his grandfather knew a lot of people
from around Lake Winnipesaukee and they all looked forward to Ruth’s regular
visits. When Ruth came up to New Hampshire he’d bring bags of candy for the
children. They’d follow him around as though he was the Pied Piper.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That sure sounds like Ruth’s modus operandi.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The New Yorker spoke of his own grandfather’s place on Badger Hill
that was a great site for snow sledding. It even had a ski jump.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The Babe loved to come up and go snow sliding with the
youngsters. He was like a big kid. And he loved going out on the Winnipesaukee
ice to fish with all kinds of local folks. He loved having fun. And there was
another big hotel in Meredith where he’d often hang out.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Supposedly, the Babe had a Winnipesaukee love interest. That’s
plausible. Local love interest(s) may help account for his many visits here.
Subsequent speculation on that subject prompted me to visit Wikipedia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Babe’s Many Loves</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ruth’s Red Sox debut was in July of 1914. He soon met a waitress
named Helen Woodford at a luncheonette near Fenway Park. On October 17 of that
year the 19-year-old Ruth married the 16-year-old Woodford at St. Paul’s
Catholic Church in Ellicott City, Maryland, where Ruth had attended boarding
school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Babe and Helen moved to New York when Ruth was sold to the
Yankees before the 1920 season. On September 23, 1922, the couple introduced
their 16-month-old daughter Dorothy to the public. That the couple had a daughter
was a surprise to most. But that was before the information age.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now we know that </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dorothy was
born June 7, 1921, in New York </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">City at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Vincent%27s_Catholic_Medical_Center" target="_blank" title="Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">St. Vincent's Hospital</span></span></a> to
Juanita Jennings and she was later adopted by the Babe and Helen. Dorothy was
raised believing Helen to be her biological mother. Helen may not have known
that Dorothy was</span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> the result of an
extramarital affair between Babe and his girlfriend Jennings. Many think that
when Ruth learned of his mistress' pregnancy, he convinced Helen—unaware that
Babe was the father—to adopt the baby girl, with Jennings’ acquiescence.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ruth’s marriage would be a casualty of his celebrity and
excesses. Helen moved back to Massachusetts, but the couple never divorced due
to their Catholicism. Helen died in a mysterious housefire in January of
1929. </span><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ruth then married Claire Hodgson just
before the opening day of the 1929 baseball season. (He hit a home run in his
first at-bat that season against the Red Sox.) Ruth soon adopted Claire’s
daughter Julia, while Claire adopted Dorothy in 1930. They all lived together,
with Claire’s extended family, in an apartment on West 88th Street.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Claire died in 1976. Dorothy passed away in 1989. Julia died in
2019 at the age of 102. Having lived for many of her later years in Conway,
N.H., she died a Red Sox fan. She actually threw out the first pitch at a Red
Sox game at Fenway Park to celebrate her 100<sup>th</sup> birthday in July
2016.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Which all brings us back to the Babe and Lake Winnipesaukee.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ruth Loved Lake
Winnipesaukee</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In chatting with Hatch about the Babe’s many trips here I was
struck by how little people knew about his Winnipesaukee connection.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Think about Big Papi or Mookie Betts coming up here regularly
to have fun,” I said. “Can you imagine the publicity?”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I lamented that there were no photos from those days to help
document Ruth’s love for this area.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But there are!” said Hatch. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You’re kidding!”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’ll share a few.”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mike unearthed a special calendar which featured 12 Babe Ruth
photos, one for each month, courtesy of the Lewis R. Moulton collection. Five
of these photos accompany this feature. The youngster in the Red Sox uniform is
Mike Hatch’s father, Leon. The uniform was a gift from Babe Ruth himself. It’s
not clear whether any of the females is Ruth’s wife Helen. The photos were
taken circa 1917 when Helen would have only been around 19 years old.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Babe Ruth passed away in 1948, only 53 years old, ravaged by
throat cancer. As with any super-celebrity, stories abounded about his personal
life. Separating fact from fiction is difficult. And while Ruth relished the
spotlight, many of his friends and family preferred privacy.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two weeks before her death in 1980, Juanita Jennings told
Dorothy Ruth that she (Juanita) was Dorothy’s real mother. Later, </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">according to a 1988 New York Times story—published a year before
her death—Dorothy claimed that Ruth had 15 descendants, none of whom played
baseball. Clearly the Bambino had numerous relationships and love interests
around the country, including New Hampshire. It’s only natural to contemplate Ruth’s
descendants walking amongst us.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What we do know for sure is that 100 years ago, in 1923, after
Ruth’s visits to Lake Winnipesaukee ceased, he led the New York Yankees to
their first World Series triumph.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And we also know that his </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">light
in that constellation of American sports stars still shines as brightly as
ever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#####<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwj5j-muoJLyW2r1oySURNUcQDaxfK0m1uPFBdYITn74edmg4O9-Zyr3B0TC7KTTypuSbO1oTbryzwZ_HxxsS78kHwgjZppiyu94_PQt1dI_UXd-sNNykT61nXTlUJioTKBcOElwjA2SVi3tsux-extLBjCH__52ysDB6b8mcm-GcvU9f3CHDOc1s/s1596/Babe%20Ruth%20on%20Winnipesaukee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1596" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwj5j-muoJLyW2r1oySURNUcQDaxfK0m1uPFBdYITn74edmg4O9-Zyr3B0TC7KTTypuSbO1oTbryzwZ_HxxsS78kHwgjZppiyu94_PQt1dI_UXd-sNNykT61nXTlUJioTKBcOElwjA2SVi3tsux-extLBjCH__52ysDB6b8mcm-GcvU9f3CHDOc1s/s320/Babe%20Ruth%20on%20Winnipesaukee.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-61394803915663877982023-01-25T15:44:00.003-08:002023-01-25T15:44:29.054-08:00John Harrigan<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">JOHN HARRIGAN</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">My legislative colleague Howard Pearl
once hosted a cookout for fellow solons at his farm on Loudon Ridge. A state
representative from Nashua took in the view on that fine day and exclaimed: “It
sure is beautiful up here in the North Country.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I quickly corrected him and told him that
Loudon is <b><i>not</i></b> in the North Country.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“New Hampshire’s true North Country is
north of the notches,” I explained.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“North of the Notches” is an expressional
popularized by editor, publisher, writer, outdoorsman, and self-proclaimed
hooligan John Harrigan of Colebrook—a town which is indeed north of the
notches.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Around 1978 Harrigan purchased the Coos
County Democrat, a weekly paper published in Lancaster. Shortly thereafter a
new college grad about to begin a teaching career at Groveton High School
approached John and inquired about writing a weekly sports column. That person
was me. We had a nice discussion and Harrigan offered me $5 a week for a sports
column and another $5 if I’d come in on Monday nights and put together a high
school sports roundup.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Five dollars was a lot of money in those days,
and I happily accepted the offer. The sports column<span style="background: white;"> was entitled “Up and Down the River,” as in Connecticut River and as in
the North Country communities that bordered on it from Whitefield to Lancaster
to Groveton to Stratford to Colebrook to Pittsburg. The column touched on both
local and national sports stuff. This “Sport-Thoughts” column you’re reading is
a descendant of “Up and Down the River.”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">A true newspaperman,
Harrigan knew the value of a sports section and he’d sometimes show up at games
to get action photos for the Democrat. But John was more of an outdoorsman than
a ball and stick guy and his “Woods, Water, and Wildlife” column ran for many
years in the N.H. Sunday News.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">John not only drafted me
to write weekly sports roundups but he also drafted me to run on his relay team
which competed every autumn during the Dixville Notch Half Marathon and Relay
Races. The relay involved four three-mile legs from Dixville to Colebrook. John
always ran the final leg into town and the finish line so he could wave to
everyone—because everyone knew him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Harrigan was close to
the scene on that terrible day in Colebrook, August 19, 1997, when an angry
gunman named Carl Drega murdered State Troopers Les Lord and Scott Phillips as
well as Colebrook News and Sentinel editor Dennis Joos and attorney Vickie
Bunnell—all friends of John. Drega later wounded other uniformed pursuers
before he was shot and killed across the river in Vermont.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“I still replay the
whole thing every now and then in my mind and just wonder why I was not killed
as well,” recalled Harrigan. “I was supposed to be at the newspaper office in
the afternoon and then go fishing with Vickie’s dad.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Despite the carnage, Harrigan
still helped put out the weekly paper the next day, with fresh tragic
headlines. His efforts would earn him a Pulitzer Prize nomination in the
“Breaking News” category.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Though I’ve been mostly
“south of the notches” for several decades, John and I stayed in touch
occasionally. I was at an airport terminal somewhere a couple years ago when he
called me out of the blue just to say hello. That outreach meant much to me,
and I resolved to similarly reach out to an old friend someday as well. Out of
the blue. Generous gestures beget more generous gestures.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Mostly retired from the
newspaper business, Harrigan still wrote a syndicated folksy weekly outdoors
column that was always interesting and informative. And sometimes funny! It
appeared in the Coos County Democrat, of course, and my mom always saved copies
for me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I noticed this past fall
that the paper was re-running old Harrigan columns instead of fresh new
material and I was a bit surprised. If anyone understood deadlines, it was a
newspaperman. But last month the reason for the old columns became clear when
the Union Leader ran a front-page notice of John’s passing. Apparently, an aggressive
cancer was identified in November and the hooligan newspaperman and North Country
icon succumbed and “shuffled off this mortal coil” in December.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Any life well-lived
leaves lasting memories and special energy which immortalizes that life, in a
sense. One can be sure that there are old-fashioned scrapbooks all over New
Hampshire that feature yellowed newspaper stories and columns authored by John
Harrigan, and that John’s spirit lives on in such scrapbooks, and elsewhere as
well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Especially “north of the
notches.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNM-5J4vtiXPIt6ikqID8rAEZDu6vo9HSuSt19d0K443YQi-ts2EbHzBHwXnuefJDRYRnmoy3TRRCbBo0tWnVTABKyKiQzlElLd1WlCDeySPWXmloH8k4YiopmFsQITzNknl5XT14gv1mOakzD1LfkBQsmHyL96HX-08qb8WpMsauiMYZwvVZjfI/s1170/harrigankayak-1170x752-1%20InDepth%20NH%20File%20Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1170" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNM-5J4vtiXPIt6ikqID8rAEZDu6vo9HSuSt19d0K443YQi-ts2EbHzBHwXnuefJDRYRnmoy3TRRCbBo0tWnVTABKyKiQzlElLd1WlCDeySPWXmloH8k4YiopmFsQITzNknl5XT14gv1mOakzD1LfkBQsmHyL96HX-08qb8WpMsauiMYZwvVZjfI/w435-h280/harrigankayak-1170x752-1%20InDepth%20NH%20File%20Photo.jpg" width="435" /></a></div><br /><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-1469926981780558842022-11-22T13:49:00.000-08:002022-11-22T13:49:17.052-08:00WORLD CUP SANS BEER (AND JOE GAETJENS)<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">WORLD CUP SANS BEER (AND JOE GAETJENS)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">That awesome quadrennial sports
spectacular known as the “World Cup” is underway in Qatar of all places. It’s
being played in November/December because summer temperatures in that Arabian
Gulf nation often reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit. It will still be hot there, but
not too hot—at least weatherwise.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">When the weather is hot, many sport fans
seek to enjoy cold beers. Actually, many sports fans enjoy cold beers even when
it’s cold out. (Those NFL fans we see shirtless at snowy football stadiums
every December almost certainly imbibed libations to fortify themselves.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">When Qatar sought to host the World Cup
that country agreed to allow for beer sales in and around the soccer venues—despite
alcohol use being proscribed in many Muslim countries. Consuming booze is
considered “haram” (or forbidden) in Islam. Muslim prelates and scholars cite
verses in their holy book (the Quran) which refer to intoxicants being “the
work of Satan.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">(Such scholars may want to avoid America’s
big league ball parks and stadiums.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But in what many sports officials are now
calling a classic “bait and switch,” Qatar reversed its position on beer and
ended up limiting its sale outside soccer venues. Representatives from
England’s hooligan community were not consulted. I’m not sure if Qatar allowed
for a BYOB option. Anheuser-Busch had already paid for beer rights.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Budweiser’s loss was the prelates’ gain.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But the World Cup is more about fútbol
than alcohol. After failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup (hosted by
Russia, which naturally allowed booze, including vodka) Team USA made it to
2022’s big dance. The Americans were placed in Group B, along with Wales,
England, and Iran.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">(Although Wales, like Scotland, is part
of the United Kingdom, those places considered separate countries for World Cup
purposes. Maybe we should have a Team California for 2026? Or is that a silly
Sport-Thought?)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Anyway, Team USA tied Team Wales 1-1 in
its Group B opener, setting the stage for a showdown with Team England, cheered
on by the presumably sober hooligans. Inevitably, soccer folks hearkened back
to the 1950 World Cup match in Brazil where the USA stung England 1-0, in one
of the greatest World Cup upsets ever.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">(Although last week’s Saudi Arabian 2-1
win over Argentina ranks right up there among huge upsets. Perhaps there is
something to that alcohol abstention thing.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">As has been mentioned in this space
before, my Groveton High School French teacher, Gerard Gaetjens, fancied
himself a soccer expert. We GHS soccer players thought of him as a soccer snob.
After all, he was from Haiti, which was not exactly an international sports
powerhouse. But it was Monsieur Gaetjens’ brother Joe who scored that
penultimate goal for Team USA in that epic 1-0 triumph over the English Limeys.
As Joe Gaetjens was Haitian, one wonders how he ended up playing for America.
He was a dishwasher in New York City when they threw Team USA together in 1950.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But I digress.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Our 2022 Team USA was slated to play Iran
on Monday, Nov. 28, a match that would determine if the Americans would advance
to the next round. This being written before that game was played, I can only
hope that the Americans prevailed over the abstemious Iranians—who have a long
history of referring to our country as “The Great Satan.” But if Team USA did
make it to the Round of 16, feel freed to crack open a beer during our next
game.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I’d recommend Budweiser.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8ri81ddFuQNkXp-bJWRFBZjixGEE_Jwdn_Po1y2JVxWS-no6HIxHs__EocVGejAfaBSV2gEurN3-DgzvSinnAvJ4AlHjvvr9XUKKSdi9crmmSDzecZ7qUqShDgvUSPqBDSX0E8aHe7W87v1jX6x2HJN0ReMDSZprhisYuA03ysfnHdWlMz70aTM/s1024/Joe%20Gaetjens%20(BBC).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8ri81ddFuQNkXp-bJWRFBZjixGEE_Jwdn_Po1y2JVxWS-no6HIxHs__EocVGejAfaBSV2gEurN3-DgzvSinnAvJ4AlHjvvr9XUKKSdi9crmmSDzecZ7qUqShDgvUSPqBDSX0E8aHe7W87v1jX6x2HJN0ReMDSZprhisYuA03ysfnHdWlMz70aTM/s320/Joe%20Gaetjens%20(BBC).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Haitian-American soccer star Joe Gaetjens <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">scored the greatest goal in American soccer history to help Team USA defeat England 1-0 in Brazil in 1950. (BBC photo)</span></i></div><p></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><br /></span></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-61985102153328251862022-06-02T05:27:00.004-07:002022-06-02T05:27:27.562-07:00CELTICS, WARRIORS, FLYING, AND ROBYN<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">CELTICS,
WARRIORS, FLYING, AND ROBYN</span></b></p></blockquote><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I never flew in an airplane until I joined the Marines at age 27.
Since then, I’ve flown around the country and around the world—everywhere from
Afghanistan to Korea to Kuwait to Norway to Panama. But being 6-feet-4, I find long
flights to be tedious in confined spaces that are almost as uncomfortable as
Fenway Park’s grandstand seats.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">An option for people of size is to fly First-Class—kind of like being
in those spacious luxury suites high above those tiny Fenway Park grandstand
chairs. The problem is that First-Class seats are pricey—like those luxury
suites—so I never traveled First-Class.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But for a recent coast-to-coast flight, my spouse Beth—who is much
smarter than me—did some math and purchased First-Class tickets to fly us from
Orange County to San Francisco to Boston on Alaska Airlines. A birthday
present. The extra space was heavenly. The complimentary libations along with the
delicious steak would ease the pain of the “red eye” flight.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We laid over at San Francisco International Airport where Beth
pointed out an Alaska Airline lounge for First-Class passengers. That would be
us!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I followed Beth into a wondrous realm heretofore forbidden to
traveling schmucks like me. The lounge was spacious with artwork, fireplaces,
couches, a wonderful buffet, and a beautiful bar with free drinks. The latter
got my attention, especially when I noticed the bar’s TV tuned to an NBA
playoff game. It turned out to be the Western Conference finals between the Golden
State Warriors (obviously the local favorites) and the Dallas Mavericks. It was
Game 4 of a series in which Golden State had a 3-0 lead.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While waiting for an extra-large Merlot, I couldn’t help but
notice a woman in distress at the bar watching the game. A Maverick
three-pointer pushed a Dallas lead to around 30 points. The Warrior fan uttered
an expletive and dropped her head onto the bar. I felt a need to comfort her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hey! It’s okay,” I counseled. “I’m sure your Warriors will win
when they come back here to the Chase Center. Then hopefully, they’ll play my
Celtics in the NBA Finals.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Boston and Miami were then tied at 2-2.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You don’t understand,” said the fan, whose name turned out to be
Robyn.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I do understand,” I replied. “I’m a basketball guy, a sports
management professor, and a sports columnist. You’ll be fine.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My extra-large Merlot arrived, and I turned to leave when Robyn
elaborated.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You don’t understand,” said the Warrior super-fan. “I bet $200
that Golden State would win four straight. I got 30-1 odds. Now $6000 is going
down the drain.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Oh. Now I get it.” I responded. “I had the Bengals in the Super
Bowl. But not for $6000.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then some bar patrons whooped it up. The Warriors were making a
run. The lead was down to 20.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Can you keep standing where you are?” asked Robyn. “I think
you’re good luck. Don’t move.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Many sports fans, especially gamblers, are superstitious. I
understood.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A Warrior “three” cut the lead to 17 and the Mavs called time out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Robyn then talked about her Warriors.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Everyone thinks we’re all about Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and
Klay Thompson,” said Robyn. “But there’s so much more. Like Jonathan Kuminga.
He’s having a good game. Do you know that he’s only 19 years-old?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After the timeout the Warriors made a steal and a Kuminga hoop cut
the lead to 15.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t you dare move!” said Robyn.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I glanced across the lounge and saw Beth eyeing me, no doubt
wondering why I couldn’t stop talking to this chick at the bar, despite having
received my extra-large Merlot. I beckoned her and she approached Robyn and me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m good luck,” I explained to Beth. “I have to stay here.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beth knows I’m good luck. She laughed. (Thankfully!)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A Warrior hoop cut the lead to 11. Time-out Mavs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“If the Warriors win, Robyn gets $6000 and she’ll give us a
thousand. Right Robyn?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Robyn laughed. (Thankfully.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beth was intrigued.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After the time-out the Warriors made a steal and the 19-year-old
Kuminga hit a three-pointer, cutting the lead to eight!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">High fives all around as the bar area erupted. Thousands of
dollars were headed our way.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I love traveling First-Class!” I yelled to Beth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But alas and alack, the Mavs held on for the win. And then it was
time to board the plane to Boston.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m sure your Warriors will win Game 5,” I said to Robyn. “And I
have a feeling my Celtics will win in seven games and our teams will meet in
the NBA Finals.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And so it came to pass. The Warriors and Celtics are battling it
out in the NBA Finals.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(I just hope Robyn didn’t bet on another Warrior sweep.)</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTikTRf-S8lrXmR9InKIlUc4Pqu_5kj-bmXun1rDttPUBcSajUH7jnQob6nBu0XtOR81jbqD2ilmBIiNp3Ai_GWFm4-hHhd1NOLQzpGyBQ_ARXhcwmNJ1rI8-_3bbaGdtIq2We9tk-sFEyaOKp7LjOIpSN9972TIX4befsBp_TXsDIFkSZ3V_rGY/s960/Jonathan-Kuminga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTikTRf-S8lrXmR9InKIlUc4Pqu_5kj-bmXun1rDttPUBcSajUH7jnQob6nBu0XtOR81jbqD2ilmBIiNp3Ai_GWFm4-hHhd1NOLQzpGyBQ_ARXhcwmNJ1rI8-_3bbaGdtIq2We9tk-sFEyaOKp7LjOIpSN9972TIX4befsBp_TXsDIFkSZ3V_rGY/w151-h113/Jonathan-Kuminga.jpg" width="151" /><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jonathan Kuminga</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFV1GPKFtsCvIngeXWSUVc0V1JRlGyevDDh8X9yWgP_SYufFxxELGMuQLR55WkJE_LmJbdQmlsUjwspXWD5Lh8zJanB4PL7lTes3XBUSBcUcTru4S60Ym_8VE2oNm72eLP9OokKX89wl96-YwTAJ12eUcWnJkYG2Gf1Dyw7dAE2ZYO-HyJ1hljZw/s2264/Robyn%20the%20Warrior%20Fan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2264" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFV1GPKFtsCvIngeXWSUVc0V1JRlGyevDDh8X9yWgP_SYufFxxELGMuQLR55WkJE_LmJbdQmlsUjwspXWD5Lh8zJanB4PL7lTes3XBUSBcUcTru4S60Ym_8VE2oNm72eLP9OokKX89wl96-YwTAJ12eUcWnJkYG2Gf1Dyw7dAE2ZYO-HyJ1hljZw/s320/Robyn%20the%20Warrior%20Fan.jpg" width="153" /></a></div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> Robyn</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-15826839921336357462022-03-13T09:55:00.006-07:002022-03-13T10:36:10.146-07:00A UKRAINIAN ORPHAN AND AN AFGHAN-AMERICAN ACTOR<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A UKRAINIAN ORPHAN AND AN AFGHAN-AMERICAN ACTOR</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Mike Moffett</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXXAd8J-daBA8psMPsxYtnaqj5p8TuAPSuz3eDT0Walakbqrw5rkerKc6yDIIuGm9eakWQtrb3r7VGBF_FDF0RDbG_R_Pfmhghi1hlI0o9NsvClr0UrmfyvJQfqnOzUHFy9ub7mNp18PdpYa1iVFtCaNV3zqnAw8dC6zLRVAioi8gYepUHgOTvNxc=s902" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="902" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXXAd8J-daBA8psMPsxYtnaqj5p8TuAPSuz3eDT0Walakbqrw5rkerKc6yDIIuGm9eakWQtrb3r7VGBF_FDF0RDbG_R_Pfmhghi1hlI0o9NsvClr0UrmfyvJQfqnOzUHFy9ub7mNp18PdpYa1iVFtCaNV3zqnAw8dC6zLRVAioi8gYepUHgOTvNxc=s320" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Young Fahim Fazli and the young Ukrainian</i></b></div></b><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Veteran Hollywood actor
Fahim Fazli knows how to cry in front of a camera, but the tears he recently shed
in front of his television set were real.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fazli was watching video
of a Ukrainian boy bawling his eyes out as this victim of Russian aggression crossed
the border alone into Poland. The young lad was now a refugee, not knowing if
or when he’d ever return home. The poignancy of the moment struck a chord with
Fazli, as earlier Russian aggression had once turned <b><i>him</i></b> into a
refugee. Hence the authentic tears.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fazli was 12 when the
Soviet Union invaded his native Afghanistan in 1979. His mother was a mid-wife
for Afghan President Haffizullah Amin. After Amin was murdered by the Russians,
Fazli’s mother Fahima was alerted that she was on a Communist hit-list. With no
time to lose, Fahima fled the Afghan capital of Kabul, along with Fazli’s two
sisters, Almara and Mina, and a brother, Suhail. Fahim stayed behind with his
father Jamil and another brother, Hares, hoping to also escape later.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sadly, it would be years
before Fahim learned of his mother’s fate. In the meantime, he, his dad, and his
brother adapted to the Soviet occupation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But we didn’t call them
Soviets,” recalled Fazli. “We just called them Russians.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Young Fahim engaged the
Russian soldiers and even learned some Russian, all the better to eventually
counter the occupiers. His linguistic gifts would later serve him well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By 1983 the time came
for Fahim, Jamil and Hares to escape as well. A Russian noose was tightening
around the rest of the Fazli clan, and so Jamil decided to try find out what
happened to the rest of the family—from whom they’d heard nothing for four
years. Dodging Russian patrols and attack helicopters, the three Afghans, aided
by a guide named Abdul, made a harrowing escape east through the Hindu Kush
mountains. Eventually they got to Pakistan where they joined millions of expatriate Afghan refugees.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They shared contact
information with the American Embassy in Islamabad and pleaded with officials
to help them find Fahima and the two sisters and brother. Were they alive or
dead? In Pakistan, India, or some other land?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Soon the truth was discovered.
Fahima, Suhail, Almara, and Mina were alive! They’d made it to America where
they were told that Fahim, Jamil, and Hares were dead. A magical phone call
reunited the family emotionally, if not physically.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A real reunion would
take a couple more years. President Ronald Reagan fought to open doors for
Afghan refugees and in 1985 the Fazli family reconnected for a joyous celebration
in Virginia.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It all taught me the
most important lesson I would ever learn,” recalled Fahim. “Have faith. Never
give up.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eventually the Fazlis
moved to California where Fahim learned English, studied American history, and
became a citizen. He was now positioned to pursue his dream of acting. Against
all odds he eventually earned a membership in the Screen Actors Guild and
embarked on a Hollywood career that would see him involved in over 50 film and
TV projects, while working with Hollywood’s biggest stars.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Have faith. Never give
up.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fahim was initially
typecast as a bad guy. Movie buffs will recall him roughing up Robert Downey
Jr. in an Afghan cave in the first <b><i>Ironman</i></b> movie. Many more rolls
were to follow, to include <b><i>American Sniper</i></b> with Bradley Cooper
and the Academy Award winning <b><i>Argo</i></b> with Ben Affleck. He’d later
move on to more sympathetic roles, such as Tariq in <b><i>Rock the Kasbah</i></b>,
which also included Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, and Kate Hudson.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But it was while
cultural-technical advisor for <b><i>Charlie Wilson’s War</i></b> that Fahim’s
life took a dramatic turn. The movie was based on the true-life story of a
Texas congressman who arranged for the secret funding of an Afghan resistance
movement that eventually expelled the Russians from Afghanistan. That project
allowed him to get to know Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ned
Beaty, Amy Adams and others. But it was Charlie Wilson himself who encouraged
Fahim to return to his native land to help in a new fight against Taliban
extremists, against whom American forces were engaged in the aftermath of the
9/11 attacks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And thus it came to pass
that Fazli qualified as a certified interpreter so as to return to Afghanistan
to translate for U.S. forces. At age 43 Fahim put on an American uniform, the
only Screen Actors Guild member to leave Hollywood to go into harm’s way after
9/11, following in the footsteps of Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart and other
luminaries who’d left Tinseltown to fight for their country in another war,
against similarly evil enemies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eschewing a safe job
translating for high-ranking officers and officials in the relative safety of
Kabul, Fazli asked for the most dangerous job in Afghanistan, serving as an
interpreter with the United State Marines in volatile Helmand Province. There
the charismatic actor was quite effective at bringing together Afghans and
Americans. Fahim made people laugh, which was an anathema to the extreme
fundamentalists. So in 2010 the Taliban put a price on his head.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That’s when I met Fahim
at a Marine outpost in Delaram, in northern Helmand Province. On special USMC
assignment as a lieutenant colonel, I’d heard of Fazli’s exploits and met him
at a special event involving the district governor. Fahim and I exchanged cards
and stayed in touch.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That summer Fazli and
his battalion (Third Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment) returned safely to
America. Remarkably, 3/4 did not lose a single man during its many months in
Afghanistan—thanks in part to Fahim. I eventually caught up to him in
California and we discussed doing a biography that would do justice to his
remarkable journey. Hollywood’s top military actor and advisor, Dale Dye, saw
potential in our proposed project and his Warriors Publishing Group made
Fahim’s dream of a book a reality—<b><i>FAHIM SPEAKS:</i></b><i> <b>A
Warrior-Actors Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood and Back. </b></i>Our book
earned critical acclaim and won the Gold Medal for “Top Biography” from the Military
Writers Society of America. It inspired several script adaptations and Fahim’s
latest dream is that his story will become a movie, thus bringing his inspiring
real-life journey full circle, back to Hollywood.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All of which brings us
back to Russian aggression and the terrified young Ukrainian boy, now a
refugee.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Seeing that little boy
all alone and crying as he crossed the border gave me such flashbacks,” said
Fahim. “Where was his mother? Had the Russians killed her? I could so relate to
his anguish. My heart broke.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Fazli’s emotional
distress also reinforced his profound gratitude that fate led him to reunite
with his family in a safe country where amazing dreams of freedom—and Hollywood—came
true.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I love America,” said
Fazli. “That’s why I wanted to give back and that’s why I put on a uniform. We
have such a beautiful country here that is hard to truly appreciate without
having spent time in other lands.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Like war-torn
Afghanistan. Or embattled Ukraine.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The little Ukrainian
boy’s tears of anguish prompted Fahim’s flashbacks and his own tears, tears
that rolled down his cheeks and into a beard that is now flecked with grey.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Fahim’s own journey
gives hope that someday there might also be tears of joy for the likes of the
little boy—such as were shed when his own family reunited in America.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Have faith. Never give
up.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">#####</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><b>(A former professor and retired Marine Corps officer, Mike Moffett is a author and columnist. He is currently serving as a State Representative in the New Hampshire legislature.)</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNg6IcCS4ENjn-iybP76eiWAvt5ZmL1LOBSoU5iY2XemqzakIJJFhm08iYBiwRhvYed6yWkDGefnSIlh-rgRGc9xfPGQPpp41JiUT7YlFsmqVOaJKCLyziR70qyvF5Omz2h4ESg5vgu2DV7r5tHXTFZHQyTVM69A7sKfsy6IBi9ZOnlCSYAoBPDB4=s954" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="909" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNg6IcCS4ENjn-iybP76eiWAvt5ZmL1LOBSoU5iY2XemqzakIJJFhm08iYBiwRhvYed6yWkDGefnSIlh-rgRGc9xfPGQPpp41JiUT7YlFsmqVOaJKCLyziR70qyvF5Omz2h4ESg5vgu2DV7r5tHXTFZHQyTVM69A7sKfsy6IBi9ZOnlCSYAoBPDB4=s320" width="305" /></a></div><br /><i>Fahim Fazli, Mike Moffett, and Joe Kenney atop Mt. Washington, which has been considered as a film site for a Hindu Kush escape scene for Fahim's film project. </i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheBNEFY9gsgl3di6IPbakMKvDBtrLetMKe5HIbAPa6wXoJflVXysH9LN2IC8JFuN6VoDr1yV9E-uPF943DjoCns4juMIPbXy1opqIcbMRUY0GLp3PiJb6JAPt1q4hBTrYvPAkfVagStHEmHjyQJM4EDwgjmLjPNk_bo97Jw6VBQ-yaUhwyo4T9o-4=s252" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="216" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheBNEFY9gsgl3di6IPbakMKvDBtrLetMKe5HIbAPa6wXoJflVXysH9LN2IC8JFuN6VoDr1yV9E-uPF943DjoCns4juMIPbXy1opqIcbMRUY0GLp3PiJb6JAPt1q4hBTrYvPAkfVagStHEmHjyQJM4EDwgjmLjPNk_bo97Jw6VBQ-yaUhwyo4T9o-4" width="216" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Actor Bill Murray "devouring" the award winning book FAHIM SPEAKS on the set of ROCK THE KASBAH in Morocco. The book was co-authored by Fahim Fazli and Mike Moffett. Fazli had a significant role in that movie, which also starred Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson. </b></i></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-68581850246072589982022-03-08T16:53:00.004-08:002022-03-08T16:53:37.520-08:00RUSSIAN SPORTS BOYCOTTS?<p> </p><p align="center" class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">RUSSIAN
SPORTS BOYCOTTS?</span></b></p><p align="center" class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><br /></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So Chinese dictator Xi Jinping asked Russian dictator Vladmir
Putin to hold off on invading Ukraine until after Beijing’s Winter Olympics.
Putin generously postponed the bloodshed to accommodate his Communist buddy’s
request.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Interestingly, Russian tanks subsequently got bogged down in March
mud that was frozen in February.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Xi owes Vlad bigtime on this one.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Also interestingly, in 2014 Russia waited until after the February
conclusion of its 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics before invading and taking Crimea
away from Ukraine. What’s past is prologue.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the wake of Russia’s horrendously bloody 2022 Ukrainian
invasion, sanctions and boycotts of all sorts were imposed on Moscow. These
will cause much pain. Time will tell how effective they’ll be. But sanctions
don’t impact dictators as much as many wish. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein
laughed off sanctions that targeted his regime. Until such time as the
dictators themselves actually go hungry, they’re apt to thumb their noses. At
least until their natives get <b><i>very</i></b> restless.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So what about the numerous Russian sports sanctions now in place?
Consider the decision of FIFA and UEFA to suspend Russian national and club
soccer teams from all international competition “until further notice.” Ouch!
Or as Putin might say, Ой! (Oy!)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Those favoring such sanctions ask how we can possibly conduct
business as usual with such countries. Germany’s 1936 “Nazi” Olympic example is
often cited as a cautionary tale, the lesson from which being that we should
not bestow legitimacy upon bestial regimes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Those 1936 Berlin Olympics were cited by President Jimmy Carter in
1980 when he declared a boycott of Moscow’s Summer Olympics. A Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan made business as usual impossible.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(Although 1980’s Lake Placid Winter Games <b><i>did</i></b> take
place that February, the highlight of which was the American ice hockey win
over the Soviets. <i>“Do you believe in miracles? YES!")</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While athletes who’d trained and chased Olympic dreams for years
were embittered by Carter’s 1980 decision, most folks understood and supported
his actions. Over 60 other nations joined the boycott. But there were
consequences, such as Soviet payback in 1984 when the Russians and their
satellites boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics. The Soviets cited security
concerns and American “chauvinistic sentiments” that whipped up an “anti-Soviet
hysteria” in the U.S.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sure.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The only east bloc country to buck the Soviets in 1984 was Ukraine’s
neighbor Romania, whose athletes received a thunderous ovation when they
marched into the L.A. Coliseum. Interestingly, the athletes from Communist
China received a similarly warm American reception as they marched into their
first-ever Olympic competition.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(At the time Ukraine was an unhappy member of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics. It broke free at the end of 1991 when the USSR imploded.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Will Russians participate in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics? Time
will tell. Athletics greatly enrich the human experience while connecting
cultures so the sports world is much poorer when innocent athletes can’t
compete due to world politics.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While the biggest victims of Russian aggression are obviously the
Ukrainians, the Russian people are also needlessly suffering in many ways—to
include innocent Russian athletes. A united front by those Russian athletes
would matter. But it takes a lot more courage to protest by “taking a knee” in
Russia than it does in America.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Still, could high profile Russian sports heroes assert
themselves and change the world?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you believe in miracles?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdZlmRXbMkG0uSkNdW4AKgyW2nCX5EfPFC98CL0V4inNSOWaHZsTNrMbml9SAp9Uwd986CP5AvYCPabPDicZy5VCrfzu00YD55KvZ6yS1riwOGqFue4Rn_s4oURCMeKTSsF6c4IkHnv5qmMxwcJl42zKQnp6J1ULcB3MuqOb4pKKfI10Y7Ft1mp5U=s180" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="133" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdZlmRXbMkG0uSkNdW4AKgyW2nCX5EfPFC98CL0V4inNSOWaHZsTNrMbml9SAp9Uwd986CP5AvYCPabPDicZy5VCrfzu00YD55KvZ6yS1riwOGqFue4Rn_s4oURCMeKTSsF6c4IkHnv5qmMxwcJl42zKQnp6J1ULcB3MuqOb4pKKfI10Y7Ft1mp5U=w205-h261" width="205" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">The </span><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">American </span><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">Olympic ice hockey victory over the Soviet Union </span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">in February </span><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">of 1980 </span><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">was rated as the top sports story of the 20th Century.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">(FanPop)</span></i></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-79158405362603399942021-12-30T14:30:00.003-08:002021-12-30T14:30:40.413-08:00GILLETTE STADIUM AND OUR FOOTBALL PATRIOTS<p> <span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">GILLETTE
STADIUM AND OUR FOOTBALL PATRIOTS</span></b></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">My first
excursion to a New England Patriots NFL game was way back in 1979. Then
teaching at Groveton High School, I made the long journey to Foxborough with
the GHS soccer coach to watch the Patriots crush the Colts 50-21. The next day
the Boston Globe ran a major story about drunken and lawless fan behavior accompanied
by numerous arrests in and around Foxborough and Shaefer Stadium.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">This, of course,
invited comments from our fellow GHS faculty members.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“We should have
known you guys would cause big trouble down there!”</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">We pled innocent.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Shaefer Stadium
was a no-frills edifice built in 1971 for a mere $6 million. It later was
renamed Sullivan Stadium after the team owners. When the Sullivans sold the
team it became Foxborough Stadium. The last game played there was in January of
2002—the infamous snow game when Adam Vinatieri kicked a last-second 45-yard
field goal in a blizzard to force an overtime against Oakland. It was arguably
the greatest kick in NFL history. Vinatieri then kicked another field goal to
give Tom Brady and the Patriots a 16-13 win. They went on to win their first
Super Bowl.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The team moved to
Gillette Stadium the next year, which cost a lot more than $6 million. Actually
over $325 million. But the next 20 years saw an unprecedented run of football
success at a true jewel of a stadium. It’s probably the only major stadium that’s
not located near a major highway, meaning that Pats fans must plan accordingly
and get to Foxborough early on game day.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">And so it was
that N.H. State Representative Tim Lang and I headed to Foxborough on Dec. 26
to watch the showdown between the Patriots and their AFC East rivals from
Buffalo—the dreaded Bills.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">We got to within
three miles of the stadium when we were stuck in the inevitable traffic jam. We
paid $40 to park on a homeowner’s lawn and hoofed it the rest of the way to the
stadium.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Even at my age I
still love the energy and excitement of a big game in front of 65,000 fans with
millions more watching on television.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Despite the cold.
And the COST.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">If you haven’t
been to a Pats game lately, then brace yourself and get out a credit card. All
the seats cost at least $135, and most cost much more than that. If the Pats
end up hosting the AFC Championship game on January 30, then the cheapest
ticket will cost $516. Heaven knows what the choice seats would go for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But that January
30 scenario became unlikely after the Bills beat the Patriots. Buffalo led
throughout—although the Patriots made it interesting when they cut the lead to
26-21 in the fourth quarter. But Bill quarterback Josh Allen then hit tight end
Dawson Knox for a late score to seal the Pats’ doom. Final Score: 33-21, Bills.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Neither Allen nor
Pats quarterback Mac Jones had great passing stats. But Allen led his team in
rushing and even scored a touchdown. A mobile quarterback creates so many
opportunities as opposed to a QB like, well, Tom Brady, who never moved all
that well. Though Brady may well be the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), imagine
how much better his record and stats would have been if he could have scrambled
a bit.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Anyway, Tim and I
had reasonably good seats near the field on the 30-yard line. But I didn’t
realize that the fans stand there throughout the game. Tiring! Although as I’m
over 6-foot-3 watching the action wasn’t a problem for me. Tim, however, is a
bit shorter.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">At halftime we
scanned the stadium and saw two empty corner seats at the very top of the upper
deck behind the west end zone. The two worst seats in the stadium.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“You want to
check them out?”</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“Sure.”</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">It was a long and
difficult journey but after ascending many ramps, passageways, and stairs we
made it. The wind was blowing hard up there on the two worst seats at Gillette,
but at least we didn’t have to stand up to see the field. And, as a “Man of the
People,” Tim wanted to hang out with the non-pretentious fans in the “cheap”
seats.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“How much did you
pay for your seat?” Tim asked a fan who was sitting next to the two worst seats
at Gillette.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“Only $135!”</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">(I couldn’t help
but to think back to my first game at Fenway Park, when I paid $2 to see the
Red Sox beat the Indians.)</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Of course, being
social media aficionados, Tim and I shared Facebook photos and videos of our
Gillette sky-views from the stadium’s worst seats.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Oddly, there were
consistent responses to our posts.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“You guys are at
the Patriots game? That’s definitely TROUBLE!”</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">We pled innocent.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4uGmPHyI81IpndYMcKX5RZBfXRkKkCTp3-bQypsi_-5NtuiOAsegk7FoXoEEKRWK2_pXFHSfnpwFBva3QKCNPho68sZYXv3l84oV3-NawBGf4HXxNNEd3MCAjMcmi8rYFa4dYW_W6oYh8AC0KyjLKd6LmNRz4aqhYcOprgWdJZ5-MG1VrDGTSlrE=s611" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="486" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4uGmPHyI81IpndYMcKX5RZBfXRkKkCTp3-bQypsi_-5NtuiOAsegk7FoXoEEKRWK2_pXFHSfnpwFBva3QKCNPho68sZYXv3l84oV3-NawBGf4HXxNNEd3MCAjMcmi8rYFa4dYW_W6oYh8AC0KyjLKd6LmNRz4aqhYcOprgWdJZ5-MG1VrDGTSlrE=s320" width="255" /></a></div><p class="dcr-1b5a2hj" style="background: white; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fid6"><i><br /></i></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(Mike Moffett and Tim Lang at their seats at Gillette Stadium's 30-yard line.)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-X7tKvK8vr84Xft7YGLSbL2IuX_sQ1cXQvng9jptE6UE80c6LO-Bs7i0BR1xhVSgwu_dqsdMvF3scCbdkkN9PUBbrSZw1xGgYA0Ew8JyNZt3DEoAnqAfq5nFpryMLGB4f7M_7pu1swTHG3PAnKvZ7wo1OgA-cnIUub_eRDOeJkSjKZdsxzqYCkDI=s1511" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1511" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-X7tKvK8vr84Xft7YGLSbL2IuX_sQ1cXQvng9jptE6UE80c6LO-Bs7i0BR1xhVSgwu_dqsdMvF3scCbdkkN9PUBbrSZw1xGgYA0Ew8JyNZt3DEoAnqAfq5nFpryMLGB4f7M_7pu1swTHG3PAnKvZ7wo1OgA-cnIUub_eRDOeJkSjKZdsxzqYCkDI=s320" width="229" /></a></div><br /><i>(Mike and Tim's original seats, are circled in red, seen from Gillette Stadium's worst seats.)</i></div><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-22759134739621382692021-11-06T13:35:00.007-07:002021-11-06T13:42:40.004-07:00RICO AND “The REST of the Story”<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOOOdVWMnsA/YYbopGlGFEI/AAAAAAAAjSw/zIVJbX2DzRQkWA3P28WOspYKkEBdVcNEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s480/ricopetrocelli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="480" height="186" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOOOdVWMnsA/YYbopGlGFEI/AAAAAAAAjSw/zIVJbX2DzRQkWA3P28WOspYKkEBdVcNEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/ricopetrocelli.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">RICO AND “The REST of the Story”</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Everyone
has stories and one of mine involves Red Sox great Rico Petrocelli—an All-Star
infielder who played with the BoSox from 1965-76.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A few
years ago, Methuen Construction Company of Salem, N.H. invited me to
participate in a panel discussion on leadership for its employees. The other
panelists were Rico and former New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice John
Broderick.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
comments focused on my Marine Corps experiences and I brought several copies of
my book <b><i>FAHIM SPEAKS,</i></b> which I’d co-authored with Hollywood actor
and USMC interpreter Fahim Fazli—whom I’d met in Afghanistan. Afterwards Rico
offered to sign a baseball for me if I’d sign a book for him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As a
12-year-old I’d watched Rico shine in the 1967 World Series which saw the St.
Louis Cardinals beat the BoSox in seven games. Rico helped force Game 7 with
two home runs in Game 6 and he’d always been a hero. The notion of one day
sharing a dais with Rico and then autographing a book for him would have been
unimaginable for that 12-year-old watching Rico’s World Series heroics.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
remarks included some sports talk and Rico subsequently invited me to bring a
friend to golf with him at Sky Meadow in Nashua. I took him up on his offer and
brought Plymouth State baseball coach Dennis McManus with me to Nashua for a
memorable sports outing with the Red Sox legend, who paid for everything while
regaling us with baseball talk during golf and afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
Rico actually read my book, as evidenced by his astute questions and comments.
What a class act he was, to give us such a great day and new sports stories
to share.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then,
as radio great Paul Harvey used to say, there’s also “The <b><i>rest</i></b> of
the story.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fast
forward to autumn, 2021. I received a surprise message from a friend asking if
I could somehow connect her with Rico Petrocelli. She explained that she was
helping care for a paralyzed neighbor in hospice. Her suffering <span style="background: white;">patient's passion </span>was the Red Sox and Rico was a
favorite, as evidenced by the Petrocelli photos adorning his quarters. Was
there any way Rico could do a “shout-out” to her beleaguered neighbor?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
replied that I had Rico’s phone number from that earlier encounter. I contacted
the Red Sox great and passed on her entreaty and shared her contact information.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
friend later contacted me and tearfully explained that Rico not only did a
“shout-out” but actually made a surprise visit to her stricken neighbor’s home.
Then it was <b><i>my</i></b> turn to tear up. For someone as busy as Rico is to
find time for such a trip was very inspiring and a wonderful reminder of how
simple gestures by some can create priceless memories for others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
greatest Red Sox player ever, Ted Williams, was famously irascible and profane.
But the Splendid Splinter had a softer side, as evidenced by secret trips he’d
make to hospitals to comfort youngsters in dire straits—under the condition
that no one speak of his visits outside of family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
didn’t ask Rico’s permission to write about his visit to Bristol, N.H., because
</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">à la</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Ted Williams, I’m sure he’d ask that I not. But
sometimes—especially nowadays—we can all use a little inspiration and a “good
news” story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So
thank you, Rico Petrocelli, not only for those long-ago October 1967 World
Series homers but also for that November 2021 “Grand Slam” you hit for a
special Granite State fan.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
to again paraphrase the great Paul Harvey: “Now you know the <b><i>rest</i></b> of
the story!”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">#####</span></p><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: small;"><b>Photo 1) Sports columnist Mike Moffett, former Red Sox great Rico Petrocelli, and retired Plymouth State baseball coach Dennis McManus at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua.</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ksafj1xB2Js/YYbmqVRRzxI/AAAAAAAAjSk/57gFdJD78q4gVvQ7aUvvSSixoWnrE0cWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1029/MIM%252C%2BRico%252C%2BDennis%252C%2Bgolf.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="933" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ksafj1xB2Js/YYbmqVRRzxI/AAAAAAAAjSk/57gFdJD78q4gVvQ7aUvvSSixoWnrE0cWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/MIM%252C%2BRico%252C%2BDennis%252C%2Bgolf.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: small;"><b><br clear="none" /></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: small;"><b>Photo 2) Mike Moffett with Rico Petrocelli at 2016 leadership panel discussion.</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MXqdLEd45Xk/YYbm1-pY9OI/AAAAAAAAjSo/J9ZznCxr8aQScTCCnDob051eJjSU4WgwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s442/Rico%252C%2BMIM%2B%2B2016.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="442" height="218" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MXqdLEd45Xk/YYbm1-pY9OI/AAAAAAAAjSo/J9ZznCxr8aQScTCCnDob051eJjSU4WgwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Rico%252C%2BMIM%2B%2B2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div></div>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-82161572088024217012021-06-28T11:24:00.002-07:002021-06-28T11:24:45.640-07:00Moses and basketball’s “Promised Land”<p> </p><div class="head-content" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><h1 id="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: adriane, serif; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0.67em 0px; text-align: center;">Moses and basketball’s “Promised Land”</h1><div><br /></div></div><div class="article-content" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; height: auto;"><div class="flexslider" id="slider" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 4px; border: 4px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="flex-viewport" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 537px; max-height: 2000px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; transition: all 1s ease 0s;"><ul class="slides" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); transition-duration: 0s; width: 2660px; zoom: 1;"><li class="slideimage flex-active-slide" data-src="/getattachment/149fb861-a7b3-4231-9cfa-62c72313799b/Moffett-cmsp-062021-ph1" data-sub-html="During his time at Plymouth State, Jean-Pierre was a lightning-quick guard who once scored 50 points in a game. " style="backface-visibility: hidden; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: left; font-family: adriane, serif; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 665px;"> <img alt="" draggable="false" src="https://www.concordmonitor.com/getattachment/149fb861-a7b3-4231-9cfa-62c72313799b/Moffett-cmsp-062021-ph1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; image-orientation: none; margin: 0px; max-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" /><p class="flex-caption caption0" style="bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 0.85em; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 750px; padding: 10px 10px 10px 0px; position: initial; text-align: left; width: 665px; z-index: 1;"><span class="photocaption" style="box-sizing: border-box;">During his time at Plymouth State, Jean-Pierre was a lightning-quick guard who once scored 53 points in a game.</span><span class="photocredit" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p></li><li class="slideimage" data-src="/getattachment/de7512ff-c856-4ab3-8347-30daf40b1768/Moffett-cmsp-062021-ph2" data-sub-html="Moses Jean-Pierre, shown recently in Kigali, Rwanda, is helping to promote basketball in Africa. Courtesy photos" style="backface-visibility: hidden; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: left; font-family: adriane, serif; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 665px;"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="https://www.concordmonitor.com/getattachment/de7512ff-c856-4ab3-8347-30daf40b1768/Moffett-cmsp-062021-ph2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; image-orientation: none; margin: 0px; max-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" /><p class="flex-caption caption1" style="bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 0.85em; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 750px; padding: 10px 10px 10px 0px; position: initial; text-align: left; width: 665px; z-index: 1;"><span class="photocaption" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Moses Jean-Pierre, shown recently in Kigali, Rwanda, is helping to promote basketball in Africa.</span> <span class="photocredit" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Courtesy photos</span></p></li></ul></div><ul class="flex-direction-nav" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="flex-nav-prev" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif;"><a class="flex-prev flex-disabled" href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/#" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); cursor: default; display: block; height: 45px; left: 10px; margin: -20px 0px 0px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3) 1px 1px 0px; top: 268.5px; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out 0s; width: 40px; z-index: -1;" tabindex="-1">Previous</a></li></ul></div><div class="flexslider" id="carousel" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 4px; border: 4px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><ul class="flex-direction-nav" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="flex-nav-prev" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif;"><a class="flex-prev flex-disabled" href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/#" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); cursor: default; display: block; height: 45px; left: 10px; margin: -20px 0px 0px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3) 1px 1px 0px; top: 48.5312px; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out 0s; width: 40px; z-index: -1;" tabindex="-1">Previous</a></li><li class="flex-nav-next" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif;"><a class="flex-next flex-disabled" href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/#" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); cursor: default; display: block; height: 45px; margin: -20px 0px 0px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; right: 10px; text-align: right; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3) 1px 1px 0px; top: 48.5312px; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out 0s; width: 40px; z-index: -1;" tabindex="-1">Next</a></li></ul></div><div class="row borderbottom" id="articleInfo" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 226); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><br /></div><div id="articlebody" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: auto;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">A social media devotee, I recently saw a Facebook post from Kigali, Rwanda, authored by former Plymouth State basketball star Moses Jean-Pierre. He was there doing work for the NBA-Africa hoop league — of all things and of all places.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Intriguing.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">A subsequent FB message to MJ-P led to a phone conversation where Moses shared some pretty cool b-ball news. But before sharing the hoop gouge, a bit of history …</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold;">In the beginning</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">As a Plymouth State University sports information director three decades ago, I once produced a promotion piece highlighting Jean-Pierre’s hardcourt exploits. It was entitled “Moses is Leading Plymouth’s Basketball Panthers to the Promised Land.” The flyer had a photo and listed Jean-Pierre’s accomplishments, awards, and stats.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">A favorite MJ-P memory was of a home game against the University of Southern Maine where Moses scored his team’s last 21 points in regulation to force an overtime from which the Panthers emerged triumphant. MJ-P finished with a record 53 points.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I particularly loved Jean-Pierre’s bounce passes. When opponents would double-team MJ-P, no-look bounce passes to teammates would set up pretty scores. So while Moses was certainly a scorer, he was also a team player.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Moses would indeed lead the Panthers to a “Promised Land” when Plymouth advanced to the ECAC Finals in 1994.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The son of Haitian immigrants, MJ-P grew up in greater Boston and graduated from Cathedral High School — where he is enshrined in the CHS Sports Hall of Fame. (He’s also a Plymouth State Hall of Fame inductee.)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Moses went to Maine Central Institute for a post-graduate year where he caught the attention of Plymouth State coach Paul Hogan, who convinced the six-foot speedster to come to “The Home of The Panthers.” The rest is history, a history which included a record 2000-plus career points.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Now director of athletics and head men’s basketball coach at NHTI-Concord, Hogan recalls MJ-P fondly.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Moses could dominate a game at both ends of the court,” recalled Hogan. “His defense was exemplified by quickness and ball pressure. Offensively, his ability to penetrate and push the ball was extraordinary. He was an easy player to coach but incredibly hard for opponents to strategize against. And most importantly, Moses loved to win.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">MJ-P went on to play professionally in Turkey and Britain and was on the NBA’s radar screen when a knee injury ended his professional hoop aspirations. So Moses redirected from the hoop world to the entertainment world. He developed new skills in the areas of booking and promotions and eventually became road manager for comedian Michael Blackson. He also co-owned an Atlanta lounge for over six years. But while you could take MJ-P out of basketball, you couldn’t take basketball out of MJ-P.</p><headline style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: block; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px;">Going international</headline><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">So that history segment brings us to Kigali. How did Jean-Pierre come to make that Facebook post from an African venue so distant from Boston, Plymouth or Atlanta?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“I’d returned to New England a few years ago and saw that fellow Plymouth State grad Eric Wilson was doing some sports outreach to Haiti focusing on rugby,” explained Moses. “I wondered if maybe basketball could be included in the mix. I sent him a message and eventually, we partnered up.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">The result was Hoops for Haiti, an international sports initiative in MJ-P’s parents’ homeland that not only supported basketball in that impoverished nation but also created a potential conduit to bring Haitian hoop aspirants to America to pursue their basketball dreams.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Moses’ entrepreneurial inclinations also led him to create JP12 Sports and Entertainment, which among other things involves scouting for basketball talent — an endeavor for which MJ-P is particularly well-suited, given his basketball skills and feel for the game. He later contracted as a scout for Zambia’s Unza basketball team that competes in the NBA-Africa league — which is sanctioned by FIBA, the international basketball governing body. Moses is helping to strengthen the loop’s NBA ties.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Jean-Pierre met league president Amadon Gallo Fall of Senegal at a hoop event at a Brooklyn Nets facility. Like MJ-P, Fall had played American college ball — at the University of District Columbia — and soon Moses was involved with NBA-Africa itself. Hence the Facebook post from Kigali.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">While many associate Rwanda with the horrific genocide associated with the 1994 civil war there, Moses lauded the state of the country today.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Kigali is now a clean, modern city,” explained Jean-Pierre. “And there are definitely players with NBA potential playing in Africa.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">MJ-P added that traveling to and from Kigali involves patience and endurance but that he enjoys his new role as an international basketball ambassador of sorts.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Fortunately, most of the people I deal with speak English,” he said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Sports bring people together from all nations. Subsequent friendships and business relationships increase cross-cultural awareness and appreciation while countering the currents of conflict and prejudice. Every player that Moses brings from Haiti or Africa to America — the Promised Land — becomes, like Moses, an international goodwill ambassador.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">And the more such goodwill ambassadors we create, the better our world becomes.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">One bounce pass at a time.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4SbZRhzCWbg/YNoTFgkavSI/AAAAAAAAhHI/P5-TN0b4uIsZfpk-zsWrbnM2PO1gXU33gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1080/Moses%2B-%2BAfrica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4SbZRhzCWbg/YNoTFgkavSI/AAAAAAAAhHI/P5-TN0b4uIsZfpk-zsWrbnM2PO1gXU33gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Moses%2B-%2BAfrica.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br /></p></div></div>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-4488195561457821352021-06-28T11:13:00.000-07:002021-06-28T11:13:03.489-07:00Educating Ed on Easter<p> </p><div class="head-content" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><h1 id="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; font-family: adriane, serif; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0.67em 0px; text-align: center;">Educating Ed on Easter</h1></div><div class="article-content" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: auto !important;"><div id="articlebody" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: auto !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">As a legislator, columnist/blogger, educator, and quasi-raconteur, I enjoy back-and-forth regarding sports, politics, movies and more. But I generally avoid getting into religion. Still, as someone who feels that vibrant religious communities with their associated values and activities are important parts of a healthy society, I sometimes get “cognitive dissonance” about avoiding the topic.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Some might call it “conscience.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Which brings me to a friend I’ll call “Ed.” He’s a non-believer with whom I have conversed about religion. Being a former Marine, I once asked Ed if he believed Marines had esprit de corps.</p><cnx class="cnx-main-container cnx-in-desktop cnx-ps cnx-main-container-flex" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: content-box; display: block; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; height: auto; line-height: 1; margin: 0px auto 10px; max-width: 600px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 600px;"><cnx class="cnx-player-wrapper cnx-size-responsive" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: content-box; display: flex; flex-grow: 1; line-height: 1; position: relative;"><cnx class="cnx-playspace-container cnx-in-ps-landscape cnx-bp-md-st cnx-bp-xl-v cnx-in-ad-full" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-user-drag: none; box-sizing: content-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; height: 409.5px; left: 0px; 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position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 600px;" target="_blank"></a></div></div></cnx><cnx class="cnx-ui-ps-image-wrapper cnx-ui-ps-image-background" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: 409.5px; left: 0px; line-height: 1; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 600px;"><img alt="Charges dropped against owner of Craigue and Sons in federal court" class="cnx-image-placeholder" src="https://img.connatix.com/7a40915e-a9d4-4040-ad03-a50b65b75a6b/3106eff4-58cc-447f-b9ca-d036d07c2ca5.jpg?crop=600:410,smart&width=600&height=410&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 409.5px; left: 300px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 204.75px; transform: translateY(-50%) translateX(-50%); vertical-align: middle; width: 600px;" /></cnx></cnx></cnx><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Of course,” said Ed.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">What does it mean?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“French expression meaning “spirit of the corps,’” replied Ed. “A common feeling of pride and purpose that motivates a group. Sure, Marines have it in spades.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Can other groups have it?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Sure. Teams, clubs, organizations. If they have good leadership and common goals.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">So you believe in this esprit, or spirit? Even though you can’t see or touch it?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Yes,” laughed Ed. “Of course.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Can a religious group also be animated or motivated by an esprit de corps, like Marines or teams or clubs?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Why not?” said Ed.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">So what if religious folks claim they’re motivated by a special esprit de corps that they refer to as a holy spirit?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Ed is silent. Having already acknowledged the existence of an intangible esprit, he won’t use the English word for it. He saw where I was going. To admit the existence of a Holy Spirit — which is what some religious folks refer to as an animating esprit that inspires them—is essentially to admit the existence of God, in that some Christian doctrines describe the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity, or God as spiritually active in the world.</p><div class="google-auto-placed ap_container" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; height: auto; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: center; width: 750px;"><ins class="adsbygoogle adsbygoogle-noablate" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7285563212224435" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-status="unfilled" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 0px; margin: auto;"><ins aria-label="Advertisement" id="aswift_1_expand" style="background-color: transparent; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-table; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 750px;" tabindex="0" title="Advertisement"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="background-color: transparent; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 0px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 750px;"><iframe allow="conversion-measurement" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" data-google-container-id="a!2" data-google-query-id="CJ-HtIL2uvECFcab7AodPmsEEQ" data-load-complete="true" frameborder="0" height="0" hspace="0" id="aswift_1" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="aswift_1" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" scrolling="no" src="https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?gdpr=0&us_privacy=1YNY&client=ca-pub-7285563212224435&output=html&h=280&adk=4285867975&adf=1631466198&pi=t.aa~a.1708805249~i.14~rp.4&w=750&fwrn=4&fwrnh=100&lmt=1624903706&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=4882248916&psa=1&ad_type=text_image&format=750x280&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.concordmonitor.com%2FMy-Turn-Moffett-39467645&flash=0&fwr=0&pra=3&rh=188&rw=750&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&wgl=1&fa=27&uach=WyJXaW5kb3dzIiwiMTAuMCIsIng4NiIsIiIsIjkxLjAuODY0LjU5IixbXSxudWxsLG51bGwsbnVsbF0.&dt=1624903706895&bpp=2&bdt=1035&idt=-M&shv=r20210623&cbv=%2Fr20190131&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D0e21e97144818353-22ae41ddc6c8000a%3AT%3D1624903707%3ART%3D1624903707%3AS%3DALNI_MYObvKoP6VyJWQi7Yx3G7m1CbhCrA&prev_fmts=0x0&nras=2&correlator=6617013975398&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=2121852562.1619705622&ga_sid=1624903707&ga_hid=1126568547&ga_fc=0&u_tz=-240&u_his=2&u_java=0&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=728&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&u_nplug=3&u_nmime=4&adx=120&ady=1154&biw=1349&bih=657&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=31060973&oid=3&pvsid=4473534356222861&pem=836&wsm=1&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2F&eae=0&fc=1408&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1366%2C0%2C1366%2C728%2C1366%2C657&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=2&uci=a!2&btvi=1&fsb=1&xpc=kv03jsR068&p=https%3A//www.concordmonitor.com&dtd=10" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 750px;" vspace="0" width="750"></iframe></ins></ins></ins></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Without listing names, there are many transformative figures throughout human history who, clearly inspired by a certain esprit (Holy Spirit?) have provided humankind with lessons, parables, belief structures, and inspiration to live good and productive lives. And happy ones too.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Countless surveys and research document that the religious are more generous and happier than non-religious. With exceptions of course. But the data is out there. Google away.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I ask Ed to consider the incredible good work that programs like Catholic Charities do around the world – effectively and efficiently. What do atheist charities do? Might Ed be happier if he donated wherewithal or energy to one of the many wonderful religious charities?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“I pay taxes,” says Ed. “The government does a lot of good work.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Of course.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“And I don’t need to go to church for a spiritual experience. I can get that by climbing a mountain.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">But isn’t that a bit narcissistic? Isn’t there strength in numbers and value to being part of a group or community animated by an esprit/spirit to do public good and help people?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Ed laughed.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">But at least he didn’t get personal. A challenge for some of us when we summon up the nerve to talk about religion or values is that we must brace for personal criticism.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Who are <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">you</em> to talk about this stuff, given all <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">your</em> foibles, flaws, and sins? And what about all the hypocritical religious people who do bad things?”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Sigh. Some require an unattainable measure of perfection from the inherently imperfect before engaging about religion — a measure not expected from others.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">But we drift away from our historical religious roots at our own peril. Witness the growing coarseness, alienation and violence that seem to accompany America’s increasing secularization. New Hampshire is rated as the least religious state. It also features about the highest rate of substance abuse. A correlation?</p><div class="google-auto-placed ap_container" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; height: auto; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: center; width: 750px;"><ins class="adsbygoogle adsbygoogle-noablate" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7285563212224435" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-status="unfilled" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 0px; margin: auto;"><ins aria-label="Advertisement" id="aswift_2_expand" style="background-color: transparent; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-table; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 750px;" tabindex="0" title="Advertisement"><ins id="aswift_2_anchor" style="background-color: transparent; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 0px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 750px;"><iframe allow="conversion-measurement" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" data-google-container-id="a!3" data-google-query-id="CMn3tIL2uvECFULnWwodhdYKbw" data-load-complete="true" frameborder="0" height="0" hspace="0" id="aswift_2" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="aswift_2" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" scrolling="no" src="https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?gdpr=0&us_privacy=1YNY&client=ca-pub-7285563212224435&output=html&h=280&adk=4285867975&adf=782744250&pi=t.aa~a.1708805249~i.26~rp.4&w=750&fwrn=4&fwrnh=100&lmt=1624903706&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=4882248916&psa=1&ad_type=text_image&format=750x280&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.concordmonitor.com%2FMy-Turn-Moffett-39467645&flash=0&fwr=0&pra=3&rh=188&rw=750&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&wgl=1&fa=27&uach=WyJXaW5kb3dzIiwiMTAuMCIsIng4NiIsIiIsIjkxLjAuODY0LjU5IixbXSxudWxsLG51bGwsbnVsbF0.&dt=1624903706895&bpp=1&bdt=1035&idt=-M&shv=r20210623&cbv=%2Fr20190131&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D0e21e97144818353-22ae41ddc6c8000a%3AT%3D1624903707%3ART%3D1624903707%3AS%3DALNI_MYObvKoP6VyJWQi7Yx3G7m1CbhCrA&prev_fmts=0x0%2C750x280&nras=3&correlator=6617013975398&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=2121852562.1619705622&ga_sid=1624903707&ga_hid=1126568547&ga_fc=0&u_tz=-240&u_his=2&u_java=0&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=728&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&u_nplug=3&u_nmime=4&adx=120&ady=2309&biw=1349&bih=657&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=31060973&oid=3&pvsid=4473534356222861&pem=836&wsm=1&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2F&eae=0&fc=1408&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1366%2C0%2C1366%2C728%2C1366%2C657&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=3&uci=a!3&btvi=2&fsb=1&xpc=R9T0gvZOIm&p=https%3A//www.concordmonitor.com&dtd=20" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 750px;" vspace="0" width="750"></iframe></ins></ins></ins></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">History is replete with religious conflict. True. As well as plenty of anti-religious violence. After the horrific French Revolution, Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral was converted by the secular to what they called a “Temple of Reason.” After the horrific Russian Revolution, official atheism shut down the churches. Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ridiculed religious influence, asking “How many divisions can the Pope deploy?”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Funny thing though. Notre Dame Cathedral eventually returned to religious splendor. And churches are now open all over Russia – even if some are closing in Concord. The Holy Spirit can be ridiculed, quashed, or denied, but it’s apparently eternal as it provides hope and inspiration for individuals and communities to pursue kinder, gentler paths.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Easter Sunday is April 4. A chance for Ed to pick out a church and perhaps witness some real “esprit” first-hand!</p></div></div>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-63489704239800607232021-05-05T14:08:00.005-07:002021-05-05T14:23:57.244-07:00FLORIDA GOLF, DEEP SEA FISHING, AND POLITICS<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">FLORIDA GOLF, DEEP SEA FISHING, AND POLITICS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I occasionally
socialize and play golf with some fellow Granite State legislators who are part
of the “Beer Caucus.” (Motto: “We have fun and we get things done!”)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">While
recently discussing weekend golf options, one of these fun-loving solons
suggested playing in Florida, as opposed to New Hampshire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“It’s
flat and warm and there’s no poison ivy,” this brilliant lawmaker pointed out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So
being men of action we booked flights to Fort Lauderdale, rented a BnB, and
made reservations for a tee-time at the world-class Trump National Doral Golf
Resort.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(“We
have fun and we get things done.”)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
viewed the weekend trip as a good-will, fact-finding mission.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Trump
Doral was opulent, palatial and jaw-dropping. It actually consisted of several
courses. We opted for the Silver Course—which was most affordable. It meant a
long, long drive in our golf carts to get out to the first tee, but the weather
was fine and spirits were high.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Do
you think there will be a beer cart?” asked one thoughtful legislator.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Fingers
crossed,” replied the chairman of the House Committee on Environment and
Agriculture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
Silver Course indeed had a traveling beer cart, capably managed by Carol, who
was advised to regularly find and check-in with our foursome. The libation cost
was quite high—perhaps an insight as to why the club owner became a
billionaire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But undaunted
and with spirits soaring, we teed off.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
soon discovered that while Trump Doral was flat and warm that there was water <b><i>everywhere</i></b>!
Some of us soon had to borrow golf balls from the one good golfer amongst us—the
former Assistant Minority Floor Leader.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">After
finishing the front nine, we tallied our scores. Not pretty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“We’ll
do better on the back nine now that we’re warmed up.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But it
was not clear where the tenth tee was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m a
trained land navigator,” explained the Vice-Chair of the House Committee on
State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs. “I think it’s over that way.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But
ten minutes later we were still driving around searching.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Where
the heck is Carol when we need her?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
emerged from the wooded golf cart path only to find we were on the 16<sup>th</sup>
fairway.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Let’s
ask those golfers for directions.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“No. They’ll
think we’re idiots.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“I
don’t care.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But when
we explained our predicament the golfers on the 16<sup>th</sup> tee said they
too had gotten lost after nine holes. It took them 30 minutes to find the tenth
tee. They pointed us in the right direction and we soon found the tenth tee—where
Carol was waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The back
nine was fun, although the scoring didn’t improve. Fortunately, we found a few
balls while foraging in the rough so we could finish the round.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Despite
everything, we had fun, lots of laughs, and were better and wiser for the
experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“I
wish I could vote for you guys,” said Carol.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Sorry,
but out-of-staters can’t vote in New Hampshire.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah.
Sure.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
then had to decide what to do the next day before flying north.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“How
about deep-sea fishing?” suggested the chair of the House Committee on Fish and
Game and Marine Resources.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
agreed that such an excursion would align with our fact-finding good-will
mission. We signed on to a fishing boat out of Miami, figuring that having
deposited so many golf balls <b><i>into </i></b>the water, we might as well
take some fish <b><i>out of</i></b> the water.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Unfortunately,
while the three-hour tour was fun, we returned to shore with only sunburns. But
we were better and wiser for the experience. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">While
we spent plenty of money in Florida, we were enriched by meeting and sharing
notes and business cards with interesting people. Networking is important. And
the synergy we developed during our public policy discussions yielded some
ideas as to good things we might do back in New Hampshire. We all fell asleep
on the return flight. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But ….<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(“We
have fun and we get things done!”)</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wOTt1DXEr9s/YJMI7CziOZI/AAAAAAAAgKU/BthykJYBQRY6tAmFP1ZUDoAkVW3-OEULQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/Florida%2Bgolfers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wOTt1DXEr9s/YJMI7CziOZI/AAAAAAAAgKU/BthykJYBQRY6tAmFP1ZUDoAkVW3-OEULQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Florida%2Bgolfers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tim Lang, Mike Moffett, Reed Panasiti, and Howard Pearl</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E8ccqVktGPg/YJMIwhplvOI/AAAAAAAAgKQ/0Otv3u0lqbQxkahN_JUWi7jCBKGGxMxjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1759/Arnold%2BPalmer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1759" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E8ccqVktGPg/YJMIwhplvOI/AAAAAAAAgKQ/0Otv3u0lqbQxkahN_JUWi7jCBKGGxMxjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Arnold%2BPalmer.jpg" /></a></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span> </span><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Arnold Palmer</span></span></span></div></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-40141548095323567472021-02-19T07:36:00.004-08:002021-02-19T07:36:49.920-08:00SHOOTERS, SANDERS, AND HOOP MEMORIES<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>SHOOTERS, SANDERS,
AND HOOP MEMORIES</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Actor Dennis Hopper played a wonderful character named
“Shooter” in the basketball movie <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hoosiers</i></b>, which also starred Gene
Hackman and Barbara Hershey. The classic sports flick was inspired by the small
town Indiana basketball culture of the early 1950s.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shooter was the alcoholic father of a player on the Hickory
High School team, coached by the Hackman character. Early on, Shooter
recollected his moment of potential hoop glory when as a high school senior he
had the ball for a last-second shot during the state basketball tournament that
would have won the game.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Around the rim and out,” lamented Shooter as he took another
sip on his beer. His missed shot forever haunted him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We all have our sports stories—mostly boring to others, but
precious to us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Anyone who has ever made a hole-in-one certainly has license
to relive their wonderful moment at the 19<sup>th</sup> Hole. Just not too
often.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But special sports memories are sometimes shareable.
Especially when you write a sports column and face an approaching deadline.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Which brings me to Tom “Satch” Sanders.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A longtime Boston Celtic whose #16 hangs in the Boston Garden
rafters, Sanders and fellow Celtic forward Don Nelson (#19) used to run the
Nelson-Sanders Basketball School, which I attended one summer in Manchester
with some of my Groveton High School hoop teammates.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The 6-foot-6 Sanders had just completed his 13<sup>th</sup>
and final season with the Celtics, and during a lull in the schedule he was
shooting some balls with some campers. I approached the NBA standout and
challenged him to play me one-on-one. Sanders laughed and rolled his eyes. He
was probably used to young guns challenging him in this fashion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“All right,” he finally responded. “Let’s do this.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He agreed to play “Make it, take it.” Seven baskets wins. The
Celtic star quickly and easily went up 5-0. But then he missed a shot which I
rebounded and I dribbled out to the top of the key and sized up my opponent,
who was known as a premier NBA defensive forward.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I launched a jumper from 20 feet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Swish.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then another.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Around the rim and in.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then I dribbled right and launched another 20 footer, which
went in off the backboard. Lucky shot.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sanders laughed and threw me the ball and came out to swallow
me up defensively. I faked another jumper and managed to dart by him for a
runner from close in.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">5-4.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A crowd had started to gather, which usually brought out the
best in me. I was “in the zone,” suddenly oozing with confidence. I tried
another jumper which Sanders partially blocked but I beat him to the loose ball
and went in for a layup.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">5-5.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">By this time there were many campers watching us and cheering
me on. Perfect.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sanders threw me the ball and I faked left and drove right
and launched a running fifteen foot hook shot from the baseline.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Swish. 6-5.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now I had a chance for the winning shot. Full of confidence,
“in the zone,” inspired by the growing crowd of onlookers, and visualizing
victory, I again drove right and launched another long hook shot.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Off the backboard, around the rim … and IN !</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Game!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sanders stared at me, then laughed and just shook his head.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A college basketball coach was watching. He approached me and
asked what my post-high school plans were. A golden moment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sanders went on to coach at Harvard for a while before
returning to the Boston Garden’s parquet floor to coach the Celtics.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Years later, some fraternity brothers and I went to a
Celtics-Spurs game at the Garden. Of course we enjoyed a libation or two on the
way to Boston. Once inside the Garden one friend and I went down to stand on
the historic parquet. We noticed a couple empty press seats at the scorers
table. (This was before the Larry Bird era. The Celtics weren’t very good and
seats were easy to find.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We waited for someone to send us away from the table but no
one did. So we stayed there with perfect seats for the first half. Sanders was
still head coach and at halftime he walked by the scorers table and did a
double take when he saw me sitting there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Groveton Slim!” said Sanders. “Are you still shooting that
hook shot?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My friend’s jaw dropped. Another golden sports moment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shooter would have been proud.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yQDJwodsKZ0/YC_Zbl9R9BI/AAAAAAAAfC4/rsUOgbbEC7U4LvqzZVgdH1wqo8w7eOUyQCLcBGAsYHQ/s260/Satch%2BSander%2B%2528getty%2Bimages%2Bdk%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="194" height="222" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yQDJwodsKZ0/YC_Zbl9R9BI/AAAAAAAAfC4/rsUOgbbEC7U4LvqzZVgdH1wqo8w7eOUyQCLcBGAsYHQ/w166-h222/Satch%2BSander%2B%2528getty%2Bimages%2Bdk%2529.jpg" width="166" /></a> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04OyYmJKte8/YC_Z06f16AI/AAAAAAAAfDA/pG7nrw0yiJYsYNikOPQrG3r83pzjcuWtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s260/Hopper%2Band%2BHackman%2Bin%2BHoosiers%2B%2528Alamy.com%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="260" height="220" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04OyYmJKte8/YC_Z06f16AI/AAAAAAAAfDA/pG7nrw0yiJYsYNikOPQrG3r83pzjcuWtQCLcBGAsYHQ/w295-h220/Hopper%2Band%2BHackman%2Bin%2BHoosiers%2B%2528Alamy.com%2529.jpg" width="295" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Alamy.Com) (Getty.com)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /> </div><br /><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-36204833035697441932021-01-03T10:58:00.002-08:002021-01-03T10:58:32.177-08:00 NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN, MEDIA BIAS, AND CANDLES<p> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN, MEDIA BIAS, AND CANDLES</span></span></b></p><div align="center" class="yiv6472575553MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div align="center" class="yiv6472575553MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By Mike Moffett</span></span></div><div class="yiv6472575553MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="yiv6472575553MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Former Congressman Lamar S. Smith echoed the sentiments of many when he stated that “<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/559213?ref=media-bias" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">The greatest threat to America is </span><span style="color: black;">liberal </span><span style="color: black;">media bias.</span></a>”</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Likeminded thinkers have written many books, compiled numerous statistics, and created mountains of evidence purporting to document the leftist slant in American news reporting. Google away if you’re interested. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">An independent and credible media establishment is vital to successful democracy. Our founders understood this and freedom of speech was enshrined in the very first amendment to our constitution. An independent media publicly holds government accountable to the people. When press freedoms are extinguished then tyrannical governments create their own news realities. Think Joseph Goebbels, Baghdad Bob, or any Pravda editor. Not coincidentally, things ended badly for the aforementioned and their totalitarian regimes.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But democracies are immune to such fates, correct?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Emphatically no. Congressman Smith was on to something. Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of liberty. Some history can illuminate.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ponder a case study of <b><i>conservative </i></b>media bias that proved deadly and tragic.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">During the late 1930s, Tory British Prime Ministers Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain presided over a parliament dominated by conservatives. Faced with a growing threat from Germany and the Nazis, this conservative establishment conducted a policy of appeasement, seeking to placate Adolf Hitler by giving him what he wanted in hoping to avoid war. In retrospect, the Tory policies were disastrous, leading to mankind’s greatest conflagration. But most Brits had little idea of what was unfolding.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Conservatives dominated not only parliament but also the British newspaper world—as well as the British Broadcasting Corporation. Tory whips cracked hard to kill news or commentary that conflicted with conservative policies or the Tory line. Voices of prescient statesmen like Winston Churchill were suppressed. Those who warned of true German intent were ridiculed as warmongers.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Opposition Liberal/Labor newspapers were also cowed, due to political, financial, and other considerations. Subsequently, most Brits remained perilously uninformed.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Famed American journalist Martha Gellhorn traveled throughout Europe during the 1930s and was horrified by the growing Nazi danger. But she was equally horrified during a visit to England to find that due to conservative news suppression most Brits had little idea of the existential threat they faced. (Read Lynne Olson’s “Troublesome Young Men.”)</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Instead of preparing for conflict, Chamberlain and company continued their largely unchallenged and disastrous appeasement policies—aided and abetted by that dominant conservative media bias. Fortunately, after war finally broke out, the emergence of Churchill as prime minister along with the English Channel, German miscalculations, and an eventual Grand Alliance eventually saved Britain and western civilization.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So democracies can certainly be failed by their “free” press. So is Lamar Smith correct in claiming that liberal media bias now threatens <b><i>our</i></b> country, as conservative media bias earlier almost ruined Britain?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A 2020 Gallup Poll indicated only 9% of Americans have “a great deal” of trust in our media, while 60% have little or no trust in our press people. That our media establishment overwhelmingly opposed President Trump was quite obvious (Google away). While Trump deserves a measure of blame for his brawling approach and for picking fights with publishers who buy ink by the barrel, what ever happened to objective journalism? Don’t expect good answers from the likes of ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, or from other network news people, most of whom, like Stephanopoulos, are liberals—if not former Democrat operatives.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Did the Trump administration receive due attention re: achieving energy independence? For amazing Middle East peace breakthroughs? For record stock market and employment numbers? For successfully supporting the development of a COVID vaccine that became available months earlier than originally projected?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But did the Biden campaign receive due scrutiny on a wide range of issues?</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eventually historians will weigh in and their judgments will likely be harsh. Objective journalism has demonstrably given way to institutional partisan advocacy. A similar dynamic exists in academia, but that’s another column.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Lamar Smiths of the world fear that our overwhelmingly liberal media establishment will veer our country onto a dangerous road leading to statist socialism, less freedom, a loss of our national identity, and disaster.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A new Washington Post slogan claims that “Democracy dies in Darkness.” I agree. Lights need to be shined. Thankfully, Churchill and his followers figuratively lit enough candles to show the way to victory, despite the disastrous conservative media bias of the 1930s.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The time has come to shine light on the dangers of current liberal media bias in America.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you for allowing me to light this one candle here at this time.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QMKzNSGsAyw/X_ITWLmpn9I/AAAAAAAAdr4/gF5pxThw6uw-Wummd84m3GNDge0N4vUjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s257/Neville%2BChamberlain%2Band%2BHitler%2B%2528NY%2BTimes.com%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="257" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QMKzNSGsAyw/X_ITWLmpn9I/AAAAAAAAdr4/gF5pxThw6uw-Wummd84m3GNDge0N4vUjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Neville%2BChamberlain%2Band%2BHitler%2B%2528NY%2BTimes.com%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler (N.Y. Times.Com)</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></div>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-3957928619502119492020-08-24T05:02:00.005-07:002020-08-24T05:02:59.918-07:00"Hurricane" Hanson - N.H. Soccer Star!<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">LOUDON’S BENAIAH
“HURRICANE” HANSON</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">HOPING TO MAKE
SOCCER HISTORY</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eM48JhuVZuI/X0Oq-eZi_6I/AAAAAAAAaUQ/MKs-rt4yCb8ckGrCYmBTJn2dp7aW2WnsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s585/Benaiah%2B3%2B%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="328" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eM48JhuVZuI/X0Oq-eZi_6I/AAAAAAAAaUQ/MKs-rt4yCb8ckGrCYmBTJn2dp7aW2WnsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Benaiah%2B3%2B%25282%2529.png" /></a></b></div><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Loudon
is known far and wide for its New Hampshire Motor Speedway and NASCAR racing.
But someday, perhaps soon, it may also be known as the home of Benaiah Hanson.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Who?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Benaiah Hanson. As he’s a 14-year-old soccer player—as
opposed to a decades-old racing institution—you probably haven’t heard of him.
Not yet. Until now. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Benaiah is presently in Texas, living a soccer dream with the
Dallas Texans U15 Boys Academy of the ECNL (Elite Clubs National League), a
home to national champions of youth soccer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So why didn’t Benaiah stay closer to home with Major League
Soccer’s New England Revolution Academy? The answer is that he was looking for
a career pathway that would not limit him to only U.S. Major League
Soccer, but one that could also include international
opportunities. And he'd already exhibited his soccer
brilliance with the Revolution’s U-13 and U-14 teams on the same Gillette
Stadium turf where Tom Brady sought a different football glory.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But Benaiah’s remarkable sports journey is only just
beginning—and an inspiring story it is.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rwanda
Calls</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The story starts in Africa, where in 2006 baby Benaiah lived
at the Home of Hope Orphanage in Kigali, Rwanda.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Enter Pete and Heidi Hanson. The Hansons were Concord High
graduates, Class of ’89, although they didn’t really know each other then. Pete
was a quarterback/defensive back for the Crimson Tide football
team and later played at Plymouth State. Heidi was also a sports
enthusiast who went on to Endicott College. Their paths crossed at a karaoke
night at Concord’s Szechaun Garden Restaurant during Thanksgiving weekend of
1999. They soon wed and in 2000 welcomed their first child into the world—Asia
Grace Hanson.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Devout Christians who attend Grace Capital Church in
Pembroke, the Hansons sought to help and serve others and so became
licensed foster parents. Their first call was for Macie Mae, a three-day old
baby whom they fostered in 2004 before adopting her in 2008.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Concurrently, Pete and Heidi learned about African
youngsters in desperate need from a missionary couple
who visited their church. The Hansons sensed calls for help from
Rwanda and so they tried to answer those “calls.” They spoke with a Gilford couple
who’d gone through the independent African adoption process and then committed
themselves to adopting a needy Rwandan baby.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5.0pt;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Actually two. A family friend mentioned the idea of
perhaps saving two lives, if they were going to travel all the way to Africa.
Figuring there was always room for one more, Pete and Heidi changed their
adoption application dossier to reflect their desire to adopt two
babies and bring them to America. This required serious fund-raising, lots
of paperwork, prayers, and frustrating unanswered phone calls to Kigali. But
telephones (and prayers) were eventually answered and arrangements were
successfully made. In 2008 the Hansons brought Benaiah and Luke to New
Hampshire.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
many folks associate Loudon with NASCAR, so too do many people associate Rwanda
with genocide. Almost a million Rwandans died during a horrific 1994 civil war
between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Many thought the country would never recover.
But a new nation arose from the ashes and bloodshed that inspired and gave hope
to the world. The country rebuilt and demonstrated enlightened progress. In
2008, the same year that Benaiah and Luke came to America, Rwanda became the
first country in the world to elect a legislature featuring a female majority.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
Benaiah (Tutsi) and Luke (Hutu) would become brothers underscored Rwanda’s
post-genocidal progress while providing hope for so many seeking inspiration.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So in the fall of 2008 Benaiah Hurricane Hanson and Luke
Washington Hanson came to Loudon, joining Macie Mae and Asia Grace in Pete and
Heidi’s growing family</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another foster baby, born in 2008, would join the family
permanently in 2012—Jacob Maverick Hanson.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
the Soccer Pitch</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">At age 7 Benaiah began playing on Loudon Freedom's U-9 Club
team. Already demonstrating blazing speed, “Hurricane” Hanson helped the team
go undefeated. He soon attracted the attention of the Seacoast Express United
Club and eventually settled into his natural position of striker. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Benaiah’s parents home-schooled their children, stressing
character, coachability and fitness. So it was no surprise that “Hurricane”
quickly became popular with teammates and coaches—for both his talent and his
“team-first” mindset. He became well-known in New Hampshire’s youth soccer
world and in the fall of 2017, at the age of eleven, moved up to play for
Seacoast Development Academy team out of Epping. Not intimidated by more
polished players (none were faster), Benaiah scored five goals in his second
game for his new team. Then four goals in his third game. Then four goals in
fourth game. After moving up to the Academy’s “A” team he scored four goals
against Valeo FC, a feeder team to the New England Revolution. This
put the young Loudoner on the MLS radar screen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In April of 2018, at the age of 12, Benaiah was invited to
Gillette Stadium for a workout sponsored by the Revolution. The Hansons were
euphoric. They admittedly didn’t understand everything that was happening but
knew something special was unfolding. But four days before the Foxborough
workout a major setback occurred. Benaiah broke his leg during a home game in
Epping.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now what?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We
prayed about it,” explained Heidi. “We told the Revolution about the injury but
they said to come anyway.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It turned out that surgery was unnecessary and the leg was
set. The Hansons made the long drive to Foxborough while Benaiah agonized about
the missed opportunity to show the Revolution what he could do. Pete, Heidi,
and “Hurricane” expected a pro forma discussion with the soccer officials and
then a long ride back to Loudon. But they were stunned when a team official
offered Benaiah a spot on the organization’s 18-member Development Academy U-13
roster for the fall.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t
worry about not being able to work out for us today,” said the official. “We’re
very aware of Benaiah’s abilities.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The ride back to Loudon turned out to be a happy one. Benaiah
did everything he was supposed to do to recover, eventually working out with
Phil Tuttle’s Elite Player Performance Soccer organization in Concord during
that summer. That fall he’d score nine goals in nine games, which included his
first action on the Gillette Stadium field.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When winter came, “Hurricane” continued to play indoors, to
include a game against an English team sponsored by the legendary Manchester
United organization. Despite being double-teamed by bigger Brits, Benaiah
scored a goal in a 5-4 loss before a huge crowd.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QRp4LjTzN7w/X0OrSHbiPlI/AAAAAAAAaUc/SfL9QBmu6eknY47D6GJKqrLkcFaxEwBSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1042/Benaiah%2B2%2B%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="857" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QRp4LjTzN7w/X0OrSHbiPlI/AAAAAAAAaUc/SfL9QBmu6eknY47D6GJKqrLkcFaxEwBSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Benaiah%2B2%2B%25282%2529.png" /></a></div><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">On to Texas</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5.0pt;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In 2019 Benaiah played on the Revs’ U-14 team as a
13-year-old and even moved up to U-15 for three games, scoring a
goal. During his fall season he was invited to do independent
training with The Pro Project, out of Massachusetts, which became instrumental
in his continued rapid development this past year. There he trained with older,
faster, bigger and more skilled players on a regular basis. Film analysis
helped him to view the sport strategically </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2020
beckoned as a break-through year. And then …</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">COVID-19.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
pandemic that turned the sports-world upside down also disrupted
“Hurricane Hanson’s” world. New England soccer plans and schedules were
modified or cancelled. Benaiah suffered extreme 2020 sports frustration—along
with countless others in this year of the Coronavirus.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5.0pt;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Hansons prayed on things and then, as in 2018, a surprise
opportunity manifested itself. After hearing about the Dallas Texans
soccer organization from a friend, Pete and Heidi reached out to a
Dallas coach. The ECNL’s Texans U15 Boys Academy based out of Farmers
Branch, Texas, offered Benaiah a roster spot. So Pete, Heidi
and Hurricane traveled to the Lone Star State on August 2 and learned that the
organization already had a preseason slate of “friendlies” scheduled. The
team favors a fast-paced European style of soccer—well-suited to
Benaiah’s skills. That the club plays outdoors on grass year-round was another
plus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The
organization was wonderful to Pete, Benaiah and me,” explained Heidi. “They
knew we faced a tough decision, dealing with many pros and cons. We all
love New England. But because we were friends with a family with a son on the
team, we finally decided that Texas was the place for Benaiah to continue his
journey.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Articulate
and well-read, Benaiah is a thinker and dreamer who is already working on a
book with mythological inspiration. He appears to be a major home-schooling
success story, a young man that almost any university would love to enroll. His
eyes sparkle as he describes his favorite soccer moments, including a “meg”
against Manchester United—where he pushed a ball between an opponent’s legs
and then outraced him to the ball.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
2008 plane ticket that brought “Hurricane Hanson” to America from a Rwandan
orphanage has led to a soccer ticket that just might take Benaiah anywhere. He
admits to dreaming about a spot on the American Men’s National Team someday.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
was pointed out to “Hurricane” that he’d only be 16 years old when the next
World Cup competition takes place in Qatar in 2022.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“That’s
correct” replied Benaiah with a big smile, and that soccer sparkle in his eye.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> #####</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-awCVlRBs2Fs/X0OqwPO024I/AAAAAAAAaUM/3sG0ppfg3xs_oXSzH651FJfp2PIyBgs9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s966/Benaiah%2B1%2B%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="920" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-awCVlRBs2Fs/X0OqwPO024I/AAAAAAAAaUM/3sG0ppfg3xs_oXSzH651FJfp2PIyBgs9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Benaiah%2B1%2B%25282%2529.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YTBolRpvToE/X0OrvSoZq1I/AAAAAAAAaUk/5HWyITvAwXcf2Khj58KPM04Fg6xWNH9GwCLcBGAsYHQ/s546/Benaiah%2B4%2B%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="546" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YTBolRpvToE/X0OrvSoZq1I/AAAAAAAAaUk/5HWyITvAwXcf2Khj58KPM04Fg6xWNH9GwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Benaiah%2B4%2B%25282%2529.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kh42W4XPzMs/X0Or3jEUk4I/AAAAAAAAaUo/45_QCM-OIyAao08Yay8Llp4TxKPp1K3DQCLcBGAsYHQ/s711/Benaiah%2B5%2B%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="711" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kh42W4XPzMs/X0Or3jEUk4I/AAAAAAAAaUo/45_QCM-OIyAao08Yay8Llp4TxKPp1K3DQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Benaiah%2B5%2B%25282%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Photos by Chris Aduama)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p>Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-61641878518051561222020-07-18T14:36:00.000-07:002020-07-18T14:37:50.392-07:00A Police Story<div align="center" class="yiv4749819746MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>The following story also appeared in the Concord (N.H.) Monitor on 7/15/2020</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b> <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/A-police-story-35214846" style="background-color: transparent;">https://www.concordmonitor.com/A-police-story-35214846</a> </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>and on the front page of the the Weirs Times on 7/16/2020 <a href="https://weirs.com/" style="background-color: transparent;">https://weirs.com/</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7v51APuojCI/XxNpVlmxwnI/AAAAAAAAZZ8/pxSZLvjTZWId6MgfO3f4Yow2AbrrodxlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Jeremy%2BLevy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7v51APuojCI/XxNpVlmxwnI/AAAAAAAAZZ8/pxSZLvjTZWId6MgfO3f4Yow2AbrrodxlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jeremy%2BLevy.jpeg" width="234" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">JEREMY LEVY AND A POLICE STORY</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">By Mike Moffett</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Los Angeles native Jeremy Levy was 19 that day in 1992 when he drove to an L.A. junior high school where his mother taught to pick her up and make sure she got home safely. But as they stopped briefly at a Wilshire Boulevard intersection, the Levys were terrified by an approaching mob. Protesters advanced up the street, smashing every storefront window and every parked car. Unlucky pedestrians were assaulted. Terrified, Jeremy gunned the car’s engine, whipped around a barricade, and took an alternate route home.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">The violent scenes of anarchy were seared into Levy’s memory. It was May 4 and the rioters were enraged by the acquittal of L.A. police officers accused of brutality in a videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King. Sixty-three people died in the chaos while many hundreds more suffered severe injuries.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy knew that force was needed to counter the mob violence but he understood that it was excessive police force that sparked the conflagration in the first place. And so it was that he first recognized a dichotomy that’s challenged so many communities for so many years. How can those charged with maintaining order do so while still retaining the humanity and compassion essential to effective law enforcement?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">To Protect and Serve?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Raised in L.A. County, Levy was imbued with a sense of duty to help those in need. Hence his trip on that May 4 to protect his mother. And the imagery of that awful day actually propelled him on a journey where he eventually became a policeman himself—one who’d later receive national recognition for his work.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Young Levy took a job at Macy’s Department Store in what he described as “loss prevention,” monitoring video screens to catch shoplifters. While protecting store property he learned that there was a spectrum of potential responses to thievery. Not every miscreant needed to “have the book thrown at them.” Levy felt that while some thieves were incorrigible others could be steered in better directions with firm but compassionate action. He discovered a rewarding balance whereby property was protected without permanently damaging every perpetrator.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy went on to earn an EMT license and then sought to become a City of Los Angeles Park Ranger/Patrol Officer in 1994. Despite some wonderful qualifications he was not hired. He tried again in 1995 and was again turned away, essentially due to race, as it was explained to him. Levy is white, and the focus was on minority hiring, in part in response to the King riots. The rejection was frustrating but it gave him useful insights. He tried again in 1996 and was finally selected.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">While patrolling the trails of Griffith Park Levy further developed his interpersonal skills in responding to all manner of public situations. He moved on to work in San Fernando Valley before leaving the Rangers to attend a Federal Law Enforcement Academy in Petaluma, Calif. This positioned him for a seasonal law enforcement opportunity as a federal ranger at Lake Mead, Nevada—near Las Vegas.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“It was a crazy job,” recalled Levy. “There were many accidents, deaths and drownings but our presence there saved some people and that was incredibly rewarding.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">In 1999 Levy decided to go “all in” with law enforcement and was accepted at a Nevada police academy. Sixty cadets started with 40 completing the training—including Levy. He was now a cop with the famous Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. LVMPD featured around 2500 officers tasked with the unique challenges of policing Sin City.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy worked downtown from 2001-07. The work was sometimes boring but often exciting. With experience came better judgement and the enhanced interpersonal skills so important to successful police officers. Inevitably there were stressful and dangerous situations and not all Levy’s colleagues could cope with it all. But Jeremy realized that he seemed to have “the right stuff.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“There are few things more rewarding than saving lives,” explained Levy. “And we saved a lot of lives.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">As one of many examples, Levy described how he prevented a jumper from hurling himself off the top of a parking garage, eventually grabbing the man as he was about to leap to his death. The jumper later thanked Levy for intervening the way he did at a desperate time. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">"Dealing with delirious or delusional people has too often resulted in officers deploying firearms when peaceful approaches may work," observed Levy.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy’s compassionate instincts and laudatory record reflected the best of his Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). His efforts earned him recognition as 2005 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department CIT Officer-of-the-Year and then 2006 National CIT Officer-of-the-Year.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"> Then in 2007 he was rewarded for his unique talents when he was named as an LVMPD Peer Counselor, a job he’d hold until 2020, helping numerous officers suffering from PTSD with all the associated interpersonal pathologies. Levy explained that while Ph.D/therapists certainly are well educated they can't necessarily relate to clients or patients in the same way as a peer who knows what its like on the streets.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">J</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">ob stress often leads to depression and addiction," said Levy. "Some cops head down a road towards suicide. I want to think we helped many of them turn around and choose life over death.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"> also lauded officers' families and pointed out that the stress of police work takes a heavy toll. The divorce rate for police officers is around 80%. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">"Officers receive medals and recognition for heroic acts but medals should also go to their spouses who hang in there with them."</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy explained that both male and female officers run a higher risk of broken relationships—not only with spouses but also with children, friends and relatives. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">"The suicide rate for police is twice the national average" added Levy. "And rates of alcoholism and prescription drug abuse are also disproportionately high. Daily exposure to traumatic scenes is just not healthy."</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy feels that academies do well at teaching policing but wishes they could somehow also educate family members as to how to better live with police officers.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">10/1</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">The expression “9/11” sadly resonates with most Americans over the age of 25. But Las Vegas cops also have “10/1.” October 1, 2017 was the day that Stephen Paddock barricaded himself at the Mandalay Bay Resort and opened fire on a large crowd of music fans attending a festival below his suite on the 32<sup>nd</sup> floor. Fifty eight people died immediately while 413 were wounded, with hundreds more injuries occurring during the subsequent panic. It was the worst mass shooting ever in the western hemisphere.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">The casualties included police officers and Levy was quickly en route to provide support at various hospitals.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“It was horrific,” recounted the veteran policeman. “The hospital lobbies were littered with countless seat belts, of all things, as they were used as tourniquets in so many vehicles that rushed victims to the hospitals.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">The tragedy’s aftermath reinforced Levy’s faith in the innate spirit that animates communities in response to tragedy and carnage.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“It seemed like everyone in Las Vegas pulled together, at least for a while,” said Levy. “Kindness and hugs abounded.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">The sobering reminder of human mortality unified the people of Las Vegas, regardless of race or status. Folks seemed to better appreciate the first responders who put their lives on the line to serve and protect.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“Most cops are very sensitive but they often mask that sensitivity to project the strength that people expect from them,” explained Levy. “Internalizing emotions can take a toll that sometimes leads to outbursts in certain circumstances. That’s what I dealt with in 12 years of peer counseling.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy explained that many policemen struggle with a challenging “identity duality.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“We want the bad guys to fear us and the good folks to love us. But the good and bad are not always so easy to differentiate. It takes a toll and many cops develop emotional armor and sometimes cynicism to get by. Some deal with things better than others. And yes, some cops get brutalized by the demands and do bad things. But it’s ha</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">rd </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">to </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">see people define all police by the actions of the worst cops.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy added that 2020 has been an especially challenging year for law enforcement.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“Most cops are caring human beings who want to be valued,” said Levy. “They struggle with being vilified after putting their lives on the line.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy’s troubled by calls to defund or eliminate police and having witnessed so much—from the King riots in L.A. to 10/1 in Las Vegas—he cringes at the notion of the thin blue line being erased. He knows the danger that would bring to every community.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“Police brutality is a symptom, not a cause of societal problems,” Levy added. “We need to focus on root causes.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Levy retired from LVMPD earlier this year and now lives with wife Jacqueline and son Jaxon in Orange County, Calif.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“I needed to decompress a bit and recharge my batteries after being responsible for the emotional well-being of 2500 cops.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Still, Levy remains an advocate for his brothers and sisters on their beats.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">"The disconnect between some communities and police pains me. If only people better understood the true spirit of police officers and their motivation to serve and their desire to be valued. Too many officers are walking wounded with broken hearts that need healing." </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">But Levy emphasized that he has no major regrets and is very proud of his career in law enforcement.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "new times" , serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">“There’s nothing more rewarding than saving lives and I think we cops save a lot of lives, in many different ways.” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: serif; font-size: 12pt;">Startin</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "new times" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">g, perhaps, with Levy’s own mother back in 1992.</span></div>
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<i style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">(</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Weirs Times columnist</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"> Mike Moffett was introduced to Jeremy Levy at an Orange County coffee shop by his friend and co-author Fahim Fazli—a veteran Hollywood actor. The above story came about following a conversation there.)</span></i></div>
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<i style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "new times" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Mike Moffett and Jeremy Levy at an Orange County coffee shop, along with "Gracie."</span></i></div>
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Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-33160273466350266742020-06-07T06:33:00.000-07:002020-07-18T14:37:07.018-07:00Riverside Speedway and the Indian Stream Republic<a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/Riverside-Speedway-34612131">https://www.concordmonitor.com/Riverside-Speedway-34612131</a><br />
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Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-61722255050568472192020-04-04T10:31:00.002-07:002020-04-04T10:31:35.526-07:00OPTIMISM, GRATITUDE, AND BABE RUTH<br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">OPTIMISM,
GRATITUDE, AND BABE RUTH</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Optimism—even, and perhaps especially in
the face of difficulty—has long been an American hallmark.” – <a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/pamela-druckerman-quotes" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">Pamela Druckerman</span></span></a>,
Franco-American journalist and author</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, an optimist sees a glass as half-full while a pessimist sees
the same glass as half-empty. And during unsettled times both perspectives
manifest themselves. But while realism is important, optimism is healthy. As
long-suffering Brooklyn Dodger fans used to say, “Just wait ‘till next year!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then there’s optimism’s first cousin—gratitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As Amy Collette—author of <b><i>The Gratitude Connection—</i></b>put
it: “Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights
a fire of joy in your soul.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But to experience real gratitude one needs context. One can’t
truly appreciate blessings unless one knows what it’s like <b><i>without</i></b> those
blessings—which brings us to our current COVID-19 pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If Americans knew more history, they’d have more context,
gratitude, and optimism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Two months ago, most folks were probably unaware of the 1918
influenza pandemic which killed scores of millions. Now people know much more
about a deadly scourge many times worse than what we’re now facing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My grandmother, Yvette Lussier, lost a younger sibling to that
1918 pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then she lost another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And then another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It was a sad month for the Lussier family up in St. Liboire,
Quebec, when they had to bury three children. But current circumstances that
remind us of past events can teach us important history and provide context
yielding gratitude and hopeful optimism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Obviously I’m grateful Yvette survived. And Americans today
probably have it better than 99% of the people who ever walked the earth.
Indeed, until midway through the last century, most human lives were “nasty,
brutish, and short,” to quote Thomas Hobbes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A recent book rates a plug here: <b><i>WAR FEVER: Boston,
Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War</i></b>, by Randy
Roberts and Johnny Smith. It profiles three Boston people—symphony conductor
Karl Muck, Harvard law school grad Charles Whittlesey, and Red Sox star Babe
Ruth—and how 1918 and World War I changed their lives and
subsequently our world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Muck was a Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor who was arrested
for pro-German sympathies, imprisoned, and then deported. His story is a
reminder about how civil liberties need to be protected in times of crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Whittlesey joined the U.S. Army in 1917 and as a major commanded
the “Lost Battalion,” a 600 man army unit that was cut off and surrounded by
Germans in September of 1918. Whittlesey and his men refused to surrender,
despite going four days without food or water. Eventually 194 unwounded survivors were rescued.
Their story helped inspire Americans to victory two months later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Babe Ruth, of course, became the penultimate American sports hero
in 1918. That was the season that Ruth—perhaps baseball’s best pitcher—started
playing regularly in the field. He led the Major Leagues in home runs that year
as Boston won the World Series in a season that was cut-short due to the flu
epidemic, similar to this year’s MLB schedule being curtailed by COVID-19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ruth took on each day with gusto and experienced life to its
fullest. His optimism and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">joie de vivre </i></b>served him well. He
set another home run record for the Red Sox in 1919 before going on to some
other team where he became an American icon. I don’t think he’d have flourished
had he been a pessimist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So this time of quarantines and social distancing affords us
opportunities to ponder history and find context to make us wiser, better,
humbler—and perhaps more optimistic as 2020 unfolds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And as those Brooklyn Dodger fans used to say: “Just wait
‘til <b><i>next</i></b> year!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-74845339204581384602020-03-20T11:04:00.001-07:002020-03-20T11:04:19.123-07:00A GRANITE STATE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE<blockquote style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.3333px;" type="cite">
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<b><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">A GRANITE STATE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">By Tim Lang, Mike Moffett, Reed Panasiti, and Howard Pearl</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Granite Staters are created equal, with certain unalienable rights—to include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And when government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Yes, we’re paraphrasing Thomas Jefferson’s wondrous words from the Declaration of Independence. And it’s time for us to declare our independence from an increasingly radical and tyrannical Democratic legislative majority in New Hampshire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">We’ll explain, as Jefferson explained in 1776 when he wrote that “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jefferson went on to list numerous complaints again</span><span style="font-size: small;">st </span><span style="font-size: small;">the King of England to justify our Declaration of Independence</span><span style="font-size: small;">,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> e. g. “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Space doesn’t allow us to list as many grievances as did Jefferson in 1776, but we’ll give you a fair sampling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to impose an unwanted income tax (SB1 - 2019 session) involving Family Leave Insurance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to impose an unwanted tax on ski tickets (HB1652-FN)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Democrats sought to impose</span><span style="font-size: small;"> unwanted</span><span style="font-size: small;"> new sales taxes, such as on electronics (HB1492-FN-A-L)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought an unwanted tax increase, from 8% to 40% (HB1699-FN-A) on electronic cigarettes just 63 days after voting for an initial vape tax.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to ban wood stoves (HB290 2019 session)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to raise our utility bills (HB365, SB205 2019 session, SB159 and HB1218-FN 2020 session)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to tell our federal government and defense department what our nuclear weapons policy should be. (HCR7 - 2019 session)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to allow boys to play on girls sports teams by defeating HB1251.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to allow girls to play on boys sports teams by defeating SB480. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to allow schools to administer more intrusive non-academic and privacy-threatening surveys (SB 196).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to give illegal aliens drivers' licenses and thus the means to vote for Democrats (HB 397).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Democrats sought to curtail 1<sup>st</sup> Amendment rights by with legislation aimed at silencing critics and curtailing political dissent (HB 1159).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Democrats sought to curtail and abridge precious 2<sup>nd</sup> Amendment rights (HB1101, HB1115, HB1143, HB1285, HB1349, HB1350, HB1374, HB1379, SB719, HB1608). while taking the wrong position on Red Flag laws (HB1660)</span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Democrats opposed the wishes of most Granite Staters concerning a helmet law (HB1621) and a s</span>eat belt law (HB1</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">622).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Democrats want to prohibit 20-year-olds from buying cigarettes and 17-year-olds from getting married but they want to let 16-year-olds vote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Democrats vilify charter schools using profane language... “F*** charter and religious schools.” (Rep. Tamara Le, Hampton).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Democrats then turned down $46 million in federal money for charter schools.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Democrats passed an assisted suicide bill but killed a "Born Alive" bill, a "Selective Birth" bill, a</span><span style="font-size: small;">nd a </span><span style="font-size: small;">"P</span><span style="font-size: small;">arental </span><span style="font-size: small;">N</span><span style="font-size: small;">otification" bill.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Democrats humiliated and publicly reprimanded an 80-year-old female legislator and a disabled se</span><span style="font-size: small;">nior citizen for missing dubiously mandated sexual harassment “training.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Having wasted so much time reprimanding such legislators, the House unnecessarily had to run a subsequent session <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" rel="nofollow" style="color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-color: rgba(127, 127, 127, 0.38); text-decoration-line: underline;">until 4 a.m.</a> to try to complete the people's business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">There are literally dozens more examples of radical Democrat conduct that could be cited. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">Thank the heavens above for Governor Sununu’s fifty plus vetoes—with at least as many to come in 2020.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When confronting tyranny in 1776, our founders mutually pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Most of them </span><span style="font-size: small;">suffered </span><span style="font-size: small;">greatly for their principles, but their efforts resulted in a wondrous and unprecedented system of government where change occurs using ballots, not bullets.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">So in 2020 we in New Hampshire have the power to correct the perilous course that our ship of state took after the last election. We just need to show up and vote later this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: small;">If only overcoming tyranny had been so easy for Jefferson and our brave founders in 1776!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">(The authors are the founders of the Legislative Beer Caucus</span></i>—<i><span style="font-size: small;">two dozen current and former legislator-activists who believe that socializing can lead to communication and understanding among all parties. Their motto is “We have fun and we get things done.”)</span></i></span></div>
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#Jefferson #beercaucus</div>
Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-29971411611481471392020-02-27T10:44:00.004-08:002020-02-27T10:44:54.000-08:00HELICOPTERS, HOGS, HEROES, AND BOLDUC<div class="yiv4029406633yqt8992983951" id="yiv4029406633yqt25501">
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(l-r) LtCol Mike Moffett, USMC ret,, GySgt Tim Weiland, USMC ret, BGen Don Bolduc, US Army ret, and Bryan McCormack of Laconia</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">HELICOPTERS, HOGS, HEROES, AND BOLDUC</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">by Michael Moffett</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As a sports writer, I sometimes look to Sports Illustrated for column ideas. So I was struck by a major piece in the January 30 issue of SI on hunting wild hogs—aka feral pigs—in Texas. So is hog hunting a legitimate sports topic?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Well, if it was good enough for Sports Illustrated, then it was good enough for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hog hunting resonated because I’d actually been invited to participate in a real Texas Helicopter Hog Hunt on February 22—one such as described in the SI story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The unlikely invite came about after General Don Bolduc and I were guests on a local radio show—<i>Cail and Company</i>. A veterans’ organization called “Helicopters for Heroes” (H4H) subsequently invited us to attend its annual weekend retreat in Ennis, Texas. The focus there is on vets with Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and the weekend includes banquets, concerts, special guest speakers and cookouts, as well as shooting and hunting for those who desire such activities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">General Bolduc was a perfect invitee for such an event, as the Laconia native made 10 combat deployments to Afghanistan and is a nationally-known advocate for sufferers of PTS. He honestly addressed his own PTS challenges on a CBS-TV <i>60 Minutes</i> segment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">H4H founder Philip Brooks spoke at the February 21 banquet to attendees who’d come to Texas from all over the country in search of healing and camaraderie. Brooks told of past participants who’d been on the brink of suicide before reconnecting with fellow veterans at H4H to renew their spirits and replace hopelessness with hope.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">But General Bolduc stole the show. The Granite Stater eschewed the podium and microphone and walked amongst the many tables with his service dog Victor, speaking to scores of vets about his own experiences, and explaining why the condition is best described as PTS—<i>not</i> PTSD.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The only flag officer to publicly acknowledge his own PTS, Bolduc described how his military career was probably cut short by his open advocacy for traumatized veterans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“Acknowledging that you need help is a sign of strength, not of weakness,” Bolduc said to the big banquet hall crowd, which was absolutely quiet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">But when the general concluded his heartfelt remarks the attendees stood and gave him a standing ovation. Many of the vets had tears streaming down their faces.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The next morning found us at the Staubach Ranch to meet with locals and youngsters, observe static displays of historic military equipment, and do range and skeet shooting. The mixing and mingling created many opportunities to bond and share experiences—good and bad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And then there was the helicopter hog hunt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As the SI story pointed out, Texas is plagued by millions of wild hogs running amok. They decimate crops, devouring fields of corn, sugarcane, wheat, oats, melons, pumpkins and whatever else they find appetizing, typically leaving farmland too ravaged to harvest. The feds estimate the total annual damage done by wild pigs is $1.5 billion. A USDA researcher called them “the worst invasive species we’ll ever see.” Feral pigs disrupt entire ecosystems by competing with local wildlife for vegetation and by rooting out seedlings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So there’s a perpetual open season on hogs in the Lone Star State. And as part of the H4H Weekend, they had seven helicopters flying veterans with rifles over the Texas tundra to take out the marauding pigs. Experience has shown that for many vets, getting back on a chopper—rifle in hand—to go on missions with trusted comrades is effective and cathartic therapy to deal with painful memories.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">But it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I’m not a hunter and I hate flying. Even slight turbulence causes panic, white knuckles, and the occasional involuntary and embarrassing “Whoa!” that unsettles everyone within earshot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It probably goes back to some bad helo experiences in the Marine Corps, and memories of carrying bodies of fellow Marines down from a horrific mountaintop CH-53 crash in Korea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Of course, the vets in Texas wanted to see the General fly out to take on the pigs. But I knew Bolduc himself had survived a terrible helo crash in Afghanistan and perhaps, like me, was averse to flying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Bolduc is also a U.S. Senate candidate, and I pointed out that some might exploit the imagery and optics of the helo hunt against him while reinforcing negative stereotypes of veterans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“I don’t care about any of that,” said Bolduc. “I am who I am. Let’s go!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Inspired by the General’s authenticity, I accompanied him and two other shooters to a Vietnam era UH-1 (Huey) chopper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“Live free or die, General!” yelled a vet with a southern accent—New Hampshire’s state motto being well-known and respected throughout the military. We were handed AR-15 rifles and three full magazines. They tied us in—two on each side—and up we went.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As we ascended, I was surprisingly euphoric. Flying over the Texas landscape I suddenly understood the appeal of the Wild West to adventurous spirits. And I marveled at how we were just handed weapons and ammo to fly and hunt, and I felt bad for the 99% of Americans who’d never experience such freedom in our age of over-regulation, over-protection, and litigation that brave pioneers never had to contend with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We returned a half hour later, having done our part to reduce the number of rampaging razorbacks ravishing the landscape. At the evening banquet, it seemed like everyone was in a great mood as H4H accomplished it mission of bringing folks together to benefit from therapeutic bonding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On Sunday afternoon I departed Dallas/Fort Worth airport on an American Airlines flight that soon encountered turbulence. It didn’t bother me a bit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Thank you General Bolduc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And I pondered as how to write about a H4H weekend that included camaraderie, bonding, healing, politics, flying, and hunting. Could I make a sports column out of hog hunting?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Yes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If it was good enough for Sports Illustrated, then it was good enough for me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">#####</span></div>
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Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-19822554829984117822020-01-30T10:54:00.000-08:002020-01-30T10:54:06.365-08:00TULSI, MARCO, AND HILLARY'S SHADOW<br />
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">TULSI, MARCO, AND HILLARY'S SHADOW</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">By Michael Moffett</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So I was with a state rep friend on a Saturday night last November at the Salt Hill Pub in Lebanon watching football on the Pub’s TV. Dartmouth was beating Princeton in a game played in Yankee Stadium, of all places. Then Tulsi Gabbard walks into the bar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Seriously. Not a joke. Tulsi Gabbard really walked into the bar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My friend and I later moved to a function room to hear what the Hawaiian congresswoman, war veteran, and presidential candidate had to say. We both agreed that her politics didn’t mesh with ours—doctrinaire liberal positions that she HAD to espouse to compete in the primary, positions that will be problematical in the general election for whomever wins the Democrat nomination.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">aside from </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">her unfortunate positions, Tulsi was an engaging, appealing breath of fresh air</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">especially compared to the septuagenarians against whom she’s competing. We liked her.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fast forward to January 25.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was with some compadres at the Meredith American Legion. And Tulsi walks into the bar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Seriously. Not a joke. Tulsi Gabbard really walked into the bar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">As a fellow Legionnaire, Tulsi had every right to join us at Post #33. Patrons there chatted her up and she was very gracious, answering questions and patiently posing for photos with fellow veterans and non-veterans alike. That she's now suing Hillary Clinton for $50 million for defamation only enhanced her luster—at least for some of us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And then I thought of Marco Rubio, of all people, whom I’d met at a nearby Meredith restaurant in 2015. Like Tulsi, Marco was young and appealing and I signed on as a supporter for the Florida senator and GOP presidential candidate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then teaching at NHTI-Concord, I later received a call from a Rubio campaign official asking about Marco coming to our college to meet with students and staff before doing a campus taping for the CBS Sunday Morning show. I was thrilled. As a former Public Information Officer, I knew how difficult it was to get media attention for NHTI. Rubio’s visit—with its attendant national media coverage—would shine a light on my beloved NHTI. I referred the campaign official to the college president’s office to work out the details.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The campaign official soon called me back, and explained that the president’s office could not have been less welcoming to Rubio—basically pushing him away. He ended up going to Manchester Community College instead. I was stunned and dumbfounded. A major missed opportunity for NHTI! Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I soon found out why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hillary was coming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Having committed to host a Hillary visit, the college didn’t want to risk having her high profile visit unfavorably compared or contrasted with a Rubio visit. So the students missed out on meeting Marco.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Note: NHTI now has a different administration from what it had in 2015.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The day of Hillary’s visit I and seven other professors (all women) walked from our North Hall offices toward Little Hall to see Hillary. But the surrounding streets were barricaded and Little Hall was locked down. A campus security officer, who knew all of us well, seemed embarrassed when he sheepishly told us we’d have to stay away. Hillary would meet with the then-president and two students in front of lots of cameras and media. The show was closed to everyone else. So we and the students missed out on seeing Hillary—as well as Marco.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The machinations of Hillary’s people, both at NHTI and nationally, thwarted most potential 2016 challengers, other than Bernie Sanders—who famously routed her in that N.H. primary. Those machinations dispirited the Democrat party and helped elect Donald J. Trump as our 45<sup>th</sup> President. Thank you Hillary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hillary’s not a 2020 candidate, but her shadow still looms large over our body politic, as she again tries to undermine Sanders. Of course, she’d earlier referred to Tulsi as a “Russian asset,” hence the Gabbard lawsuit. We’ll know in November how it all plays out, but the Hillary factor could help Donald Trump to win it all once again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tulsi proba</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">bly won'</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">t win</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> the N.H. Primary on Feb. 11, despite having moved to Goffstown a couple months ago. Which is probably a good thing for Republicans, because if she did win the Dem nomination she’d probably be the toughest opponent for President Trump.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">No matter how many bars she walks into!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">#####</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "New Times", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Michael Moffett of Loudon is a retired professor and Marine Corps officer, and a former state representative.)</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;">The founders of the Legislative Beer Caucus recently linked up with presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) at Meredith American Legion Post 33. (l-r) Tim Lang (Sanbornton), Mike Moffett (Loudon), Gabbard, Reed Panasiti (Amherst), and Howard Pearl (Loudon).</span></div>
Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131622553697100184.post-29731735600740841502019-12-23T08:14:00.000-08:002019-12-23T08:18:10.986-08:00CAP CADET JONATHAN WINSLOW TAKING FLIGHT AS NEW U.S. CITIZEN<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Jonathan, Glenn, and Mary Winslow</i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">CAP CADET JONATHAN WINSLOW TAKING FLIGHT AS NEW U.S. CITIZEN<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Michael Moffett<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">BARNSTEAD, N.H.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> – As young
Jonathan Winslow was interested in flying, the 13-year-old happily accepted a
scholarship to attend the Ace Academy’s summer flying program at Laconia
Airport in 2016. And the more he learned, the more excited he became about
flying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The adopted son of Glen and Mary Winslow,
Jonathan is one of those youngsters with ambition and a sense of adventure who
is willing to work at actually getting to the heavens as opposed to just
observing the sky from the safety of Belknap County’s terra firma.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Ace Academy experience enabled
Jonathan to meet Captain Julie Panus of the New Hampshire Civil Air Patrol
(CAP). A senior member of the Lakes Region’s Hawk Composite Squadron, Panus put
in a plug for her unit and encouraged Jonathan to consider the CAP experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“My brother, Michael Meserve, was a Civil
Air Patrol Cadet in Rochester,” said mother Mary Winslow. “He loved Civil Air
Patrol, so Glen and I were delighted that Captain Panus alerted Jonathan as to the
opportunities available in joining Hawk Squadron.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Hawk Composite Squadron is one of
several squadrons that make up the New Hampshire Wing of the Civil Air Patrol,
a non-profit organization that’s the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.
The CAP squadrons are committed to three core missions: Aerospace Education,
Cadet Programs, and Emergency Services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Jonathan went on-line and learned about
Civil Air Patrol and wanted to know more,” explained Mary. “After attending a
Hawk Squadron Open House at Holy Trinity School in Laconia he knew he wanted to
join, which he did in October of last year.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now a senior airman (looking for
promotion) with Hawk Squadron, Jonathan wants to be an Air Force pilot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So can Jonathan acquire the “right stuff”
that pilots famously need to succeed? Time will tell, but if he’s anything like
his parents he already has lots of right stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ADOPTING ANGELS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Angels are also believed to take wing from
time to time, as evidenced by the wonderful work that Glen and Mary have done
as parents. The two met in Deerfield, and after dating for five years they were
married on Sept. 10, 1988. Daughters Brittany and Madelyn were born in 1990 and
1995 respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Possessors of strong social consciences,
the Winslows became aware that not every youngster was lucky enough to be born
and brought up into a safe loving environment the way Brittany and Madelyn
were. So in 1998 Glen and Mary trained to be foster parents so they might be
eligible to bring a less fortunate child into their home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After moving to Barnstead in 2001, they
reviewed some photos of Haitian children posted by an American adoption agency,
and they both independently focused on Grace, an eight-year-old who was in an
orphanage near </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Port-au-Prince.
Mary went to</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Haiti in August of 2004 to make
arrangements for Grace, but while at the orphanage she saw Jonathan, then a
starving one-year-old who only weighed ten pounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I couldn’t believe he was that old,” said
Mary. “He was so tiny. I knew we had to try to help him.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mary tackled the necessary administrative
requirements and arranged for health care and by June of 2005 Grace and
Jonathan were ready to travel to America. Mary returned to Haiti with Madelyn
to get the new Winslow family additions but got stuck there for 16 days as
Haiti was in the midst of a coup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“White people were being kidnapped or
robbed, as they were thought to be rich,” recalled Mary. “I did have a bunch of
cash on me for the adoption transactions so I was quite nervous. But Ernst, our
interpreter, found us a driver who drove a really beat up, crappy car, and no
one bothered us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mary and Madelyn spent what they had to,
which combined with prayers positioned them to return home to New Hampshire on
July 7, 2005, with Grace and Jonathan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The adventure was exacting, but adding two
children to the Winslow family proved exciting and rewarding. So Glen and Mary
decided that their family had room for more. New Hampshire’s Division for
Children, Youth, and Families</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> helped the Winslows identify
adoption candidates in greater Laconia <span style="color: black;">and in 2010
they adopted eleven year-old twins Edward and Elisha. Nicole followed in 2011,
which then gave Glen and Mary seven children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite the fact that the Winslows lived
in a small house, they made things work for their growing family. A
self-employed carpenter, Glen worked hard to help pay the bills while Mary
homeschooled the youngsters. Glen cashed in his retirement accounts to help pay
for the adoptions and the family seemed to always find a way to make things
work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“God provides,” explained Mary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But they weren’t done yet. Not at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On January 21, 2012 a little girl was born
drug-addicted in Manchester’s Elliot hospital, the sixth child to a mom who
needed help, and to a father who was incarcerated. Enter the Winslows. Soon
Rosalinda Marguerita had a new home in Barnstead.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having adopted kids from Haiti, Laconia,
and Manchester, the Winslows turned their sites to Bulgaria, where adoption
agencies were trying to place children in dire need. Mary found her way to the
Balkans and the Winslows added three more children, Zoey, Jeremiah, and
Joyanna.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Zoey was six years old and not much more
than ten pounds, and despite Mary’s best efforts, he didn’t make it. But in
2014 Jeremiah (10) and Joyanna (7) were safe in New Hampshire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jeremiah flourished and learned American
lessons quickly, first from Mary and then at Prospect Mountain High School.
Joyanna also did well as a new Granite Stater, but struggled with some health
challenges—consequences of some dubious medical practices in Bulgaria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In November of 2015 (National Adoption
Month) the Winslows met Amy, then 26, and working at a Wendy’s restaurant. A
victim of abuse years earlier, Amy sought stability, a measure of which Glen
and Mary realized they could provide. What followed was a non-traditional
consensual adult adoption. While Amy now lives on her own in Concord, she is
now part of the Winslow family with all its associated love and support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Particularly aware of how many children
need help around the world, and by now experts in the international adoption
processes, the Winslows inevitably were alerted about situations where
youngsters needed help. Glen and Mary often provided people with advice and
guidance on adoption matters and helped connect prospective parents and
prospective adoptees with the proper authorities or resources necessary to save
lives. And despite the size of their family in 2017, the Winslows returned to
Bulgaria when they became aware of a particularly needy child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Enter Annabella, also known as “Peppy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Peppy was a six-year-old with Down’s
Syndrome who was in dire need in a Bulgarian group home, after an horrific
experience at an orphanage. When no one else would help, the Winslows knew they
had to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now nine years old, Peppy is a happy
Granite Stater.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given the international flavor of the
Winslow household, Mary has put the sign language skills she learned at
UNH-Manchester to good use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Not only is sign language useful with our
less verbal kids, but it’s a useful skill for our kids who also love to talk,”
said Mary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">SUCCESS AND SORROW<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A big family means lots of work, but also
lots of joy and laughter, at least with parents like Glen and Mary. But
inevitably there are also those stressful and sad days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Like when Joyanna died. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The little girl
came down with a fever associated with foot reconstructive surgery and those
prior Bulgarian medical practices. On July 20, 2019, her heart stopped beating.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her life was honored and celebrated at a
funeral which was held in a Pittsfield church and attended by around 500
mourners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Jonathan’s fellow Civil Air Patrol cadets
showed up in uniform,” said Mary. “It was very moving and impressive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">CITIZENSHIP<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All of which brings us to November 5,
2019, and the United States Customs and Immigration Services building in
Bedford, N.H., where 16-year-old Jonathan Winslow would complete the last
requirement for full American citizenship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a big day for the Civil Air Patrol
cadet, and an important step forward on a journey that Jonathan hopes will see
him realize his dream of becoming an Air Force pilot. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Family members and friends were there of
course, most prominently being Glen and Mary, exuding that special and positive
aura of serenity that so often marks people of faith. And as people of faith,
they believed that somehow little Joyanna was also witnessing and celebrating
right along with them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Civil Air Patrol may have given
Jonathan Winslow the opportunity to fly, but it was Glen and Mary Winslow who
gave him wings!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#####<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Michael Moffett is a columnist for the Weirs Times, a retired Marine
Corp officer, and a Senior Member and Lieutenant Colonel with the New Hampshire
Civil Air Patrol.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p>"The Winslows!" </o:p></span></div>
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<br />Michael Moffetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259480367043705850noreply@blogger.com0