Ironies, Referee’s, and Heat

I am sure there are plenty of blogs out there discussing Michael Jackson today, I do miss his music and his genius, and also the smile that it brings to Geneva’s face when we are anywhere and an MJ song is on! With that being said, I won’t be going in on it today because I’ve already celebrated his life with my host family here by watching like 20 videos last night!!! I can only hope to have such a positive impact on the world!!! Descansa en Paz Michael Jackson…

And now, our feature presentation…

Ironies, Referee’s, and Heat

Ok, so being here really gives me a lot of time to think (as I have mentioned before). There are a few ironies that have run across my mind in my time here. First, and I talked with Jessica about this one a few days ago, I Love Literature. Some of my favorite authors are Chestnutt, Wordsworth, Cullen, Dickenson, and Lee; that is Stan Lee. Yeah, I am a comic book and anime head, it gets me through and it doesn’t hurt anyone, don’t judge me... With all of the being said, that brings me to the subject of Cyclops from the X-Men. Has anyone aside from me noticed that he always has to look at life through rose colored glasses and that his character is completely the opposite of this prognosis? I mean he may be the most pragmatic character that Lee ever created! Just a funny thought that I had.

The second irony is the fact that soccer stars from the United States are more known world wide then they are in their own country. I had a conversation with Sarah Medrano in Puerto Viejo the other day during part of the game, and she said the most interesting thing to me. “All of the good soccer players in the US play for European teams.” Usually it seems that athletes from other countries are trying to get into the US to display their talents, but for soccer in the US it seems to be the opposite. Take the Bulls drafting Seraphim last night, and all of the international players the US has in its professional leagues. Why isn’t Soccer such a big deal in the US?

My third (and hopefully final) irony is all of the matching’s in the prelims of the WC. With the exception of the African nations, I think there were some pretty interesting Colonial matchups, for example, England tied with the US, and Portugal tied with Brazil earlier this morning. Just a thought of how soccer seems to be more of a mirror of how the world is or may be to a certain degree than other things.

Ok, referees... I will say that it was good to see some uniform inconsistency across the board today with the no calls. I have had my times of yelling at the TV when a goal (or two) have been called away due to some oversight, or just, well, I’ll just say oversight. The one thing that really makes me laugh about the refs in this or any WC is the handing out of cards. I don’t know what it is, but it is HILARIOUS to me!!! And the players look around like little kids with dirt on their hands in the school yard when they know they are about to get one. It’s comedy to me! The ref runs right up to the person, reaches in his breast pocket and boom, there’s the shameful yellow or red card for the whole world to see! You can’t even argue the call, you just have to sit there and take it! I’m laughing about it right now just typing it! Then what makes it worse, is that they write something on the back of it, like you are going to get a whooping for it later!! Like, “Oh I’m gonna remember this!!! Minute 76:34!!! Name: Worthy, Jr.” I may be the only one, but I find it pretty darn funny!!!

Lastly, heat… It was so hot here yesterday, I think it gave me diarrhea. It was bad, I mean sweat and the whole nine. Of course I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say that fluids are essential! (In my Ricky Bobby voice)” I would like to thank the makers of PowerAde, and the release of Moutainberry blue, it cools you off on a hot summer day…” I watched Gran Torino this morning, while just chilling in bed. I liked it, I mean it was a racial slur fest, that once again showed the Clint Eastwood is kind of the last of a dying breed of men, but it struck a cord with me. No matter how old people get, one should never lose the ability to find good in others, that, and I want to be that ornery and cantankerous kind of old man to my grandkids!!! Ok, on a serious note, especially coming off of Fathers day, it is important to have a friend, it’s kind of like being here in the Peace Corps. Well, not the violence, or the racial slurs, but the sharing of culture, and the imparting of something that you cherish to someone else who would not have the opportunity otherwise. In turn you become more human, and you continue to learn that the lessons you teach others are also lesson that you learn yourself. I don’t plan on ending my service the way that Clint ended the movie, but I think we all, to some degree, would like to leave somewhat of a sustainable legacy for those who are left in our wake.

I know usually I end my posts with a quote and some music, but I think I will just leave with a story and a question.

My little sister and I both played instruments in the band, me trombone/baritone, and her trumpet. We do have that bond that we share where we can listen to something and just sit back and say wow at its beauty. I think it comes from sitting in a band, or in front of one and just being able to admire the beauty in the sound that you can conduct or create. My little brother has always wanted to do things a little bit different than his siblings, which I think is really cool, even though we do give his share of grief about it. He has taught me something in it though; he can pick out the beauty in some things that I just never thought about, especially in music. One day after a rain storm two summers ago, the sun was just about to fade and it left a beautiful cast of gold and fuchsia on the remaining storm clouds over my mother’s house. I rushed for my camera, but to my dismay my batteries were dead. Frustrated, I stood there just to watch, wishing that I could get it on my memory card. As we finally took seats on the front steps Marx looked over at me and said “You know, some things may just not be meant to catch on film.” How much of life have we spent trying to catch things in a frame? How much time have we spent of trying to catch that perfect moment and not living in it or experiencing it? So with that being said, I was thinking about “No More 3x5’s” by John Mayer and letting everyone know the next entry will be nothing but pictures…(Ironic, eh?)