It's an All Play

A significant reason why I had really good attendance in high school was, yes, it was the rule of the house, and, because I was involved in sports.

I’m a major proponent of team sports and highly recommend that kids join in. If hitting, kicking, shooting, pitching, catching (did you ever notice how violent are our actions toward the ball?) are not your things, then be a manager, a scorekeeper, a mascot, a member of the pep band.

In those growing-up years of adolescence, it is important to belong and be part of something that is not just about you; it is about the team and a shared goal. You practice two-a-days and on Saturday mornings together, run together when you tick-off the coach, lose together, win together, have great stories you share together.

This is why I am so pleased that the U.S. Board of Education announced that students with disabilities must be given the opportunity to join school teams and that officials must make “reasonable modifications” to accommodate their desire to join and to play. A note to all advocates: Let’s keep watch on this and make sure students with disabilities are given every opportunity to participate and are not blocked by some schools who use the out of “reasonable modifications” to say it costs too much or distracts from the sport too much to allow their participation.

The benefits of this announcement are significant for all involved and are a huge step in creating a society where all belong, all participate, and all are given the opportunity to be a part of that ever-expanding, diverse group known as “us.”

sj;

Wonderful!

As has been previously noted in this blog, I am one who enjoys winter; I like the cold, I like the snow.

I know writing this when we’ve had a rather brisk week and on a day when the snow and cold made driving a bit of a challenge may not be well-received. I left my car in the North Side, caught the trolley, and walked home. It made me feel very Viking-like. I put on flannel.

Folks, we live in the Northeast, we should have winters, and significant accumulations of snow, and cold temperatures. As a kid, I remember spending the day sled riding down the old road, playing in snow drifts that were up to my waist, and running alongside my Dad as he ran the snow blower so the plume of snow would hit me. I like this winter stuff!

I spent six winters in Erie and it was grand! My first winter there, the city set a record for snow; the natives took it all in stride and one adopted the attitude that in a city that frequently got snowfalls in the double-digits, a snowstorm that brought six inches was considered a dusting.

As you dig-out and hunker down, I share this quote from Garrison Keillor:

Growing up in a place that has winter, you learn to avoid self-pity. Winter is not a personal experience; everybody else is as cold as you, so you shouldn’t complain about it too much. You learn this as a kid, coming home crying from the cold, and Mother looks down and says, “It’s only a little frostbite. You’re okay.” And thus you learn to be okay. What’s done is done. Get over it. Drink your coffee. It’s not the best you’ll ever get but it’s good enough.

Winter is wonderful!

sj

Draw the circle wide

Remember in early elementary school when you had the exercise that showed four items, three of which were easy to see related to each other and one was clearly different and the directions were to circle the one that does not belong?

The sad point is folks seemed to have learned that lesson too well.

We divide and wall ourselves off from each other on racial, economic, and religious categories.

In my old age, I have come to realize that we are much stronger and much more whole when we are at our most diverse. There is great benefit to being with different types of folks --- you learn more, have your edges softened, receive a deeper insight, and come to appreciate that you and your views are not the center of the universe.

On this day after the second inauguration of President Obama, I am reminded that the great democratic experiment of America is the continued extension of rights until all are afforded them. The president's great line from yesterday's speech -- "From Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall" --- highlighted this fact beautifully.

Let us work on drawing our cirlces wide.

sj;