STEVE

The recent passing of Steve Jobs bothered me more than the loss of any public figure in quite some time.  The outpouring of affection world wide left little doubt there were millions who felt the same way.  Why was his loss so moving?  I can only speak for myself but I feel quite sure there are many common threads among all of us who admired him.

I am sure I am not the only one who noted the irony of his passing coming at a time when there were protests in many major cities against, I’m not sure what, but seemingly targeting the evil “CORPORATIONS”.  There is no doubt that some small part of Steve’s being had a commonality with those in the streets but by the time you mixed in the rest of him you ended up with a different animal. 

To me he personified why it is critical to keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive in our country.  Why we can’t give in to the encouragement of mediocrity to the point where excelling is resented.  Steve and his partner started with an idea and little money.  Many, many others have started with an idea and little money.  Some make it and some don’t.  But I doubt if there is any single factor more important to our standing in the world today than the concept of having a CHANCE to reap the rewards that can come from hard work and the courage to take a risk. 

Steve certainly took risks.  Not all projects were winners.  He left his company for a spell and then returned to lead Apple to new heights.  He made a huge leap of faith in purchasing Pixar from which Toy Story and other high quality animated films changed the movie going habits of a generation of kids and their parents.  He fought a very public battle with cancer.  In the pursuit of his dreams he was very charitable and provided jobs for thousands of people. 

As the face of Apple we watched and admired as he launched product after product.  An entire generation of techies took his sense of low fashion to heart.  The faded levis, spectacles and black, mock turtle neck sweater he wore to introduce one razor thin, world changing gizmo after another, became Silicon Valley chic.  Board rooms and stock holders meetings looked like a gathering of skate boarders. 

His funky, against the grain, non-establishment computer appealed to the rebel in everyone.  The bite-out-of-the-apple logo a symbol of freedom of expression.  The i this and the i that changed the way music was played and people communicated and a visit to an Apple store became more energizing than a 5 hour energy drink. 

We should hope that our country NEVER loses whatever magic it has that encourages those from within as well as those who have immigrated here to give it their best shot.  All Steve asked for was the opportunity.  I never met the man but I feel like he was a friend.  I only wish we could have sat down for a cup of coffee.             

I AM A FAN

                                                                                      

I love football.  I loved playing it, I love watching it and the guys that play the game are my kind of guys.  It is my favorite sport.  But I like all sports.  I am a little slow coming around to curling, synchronized swimming and that sport where gymnasts twirl around a stick with a scarf attached to it, but even those have their appeal.  The reason they do is they have fans.

Fans can be anywhere from a lone parent watching a loved one compete on a cold, drizzly day, to a face painted maniac, dressed like a circus clown, and everywhere in between.  They can be encouraging or showing support for an individual or team at the local park or they can be full-on, early arriving tailgaters that stay well after the final lights are out.  They can also be sharing pizza, gathered around a friends TV set.  And like me, quite often, alone in front of my TV just as excited as if I was there.  

The point is they are in the game.  For a few moments they remove themselves from their everyday life long enough to lose it for a while.  During that time all that is important is enjoying a competitive event and whether your team wins or loses.  Everything else is out there somewhere but lost for the time being. 

I love it when I am watching a game and the camera settles on a group of fans who must have spent more time on make-up than the cast of the Wizard of Oz.  Yelling, screaming and carrying on.  If their family is watching I am sure they would deny knowing them.  How cool that people can let it all hang out for few hours.  It even spills over to water cooler talk about the great play made to save the day or the official’s horrendous call to cost your team. 

Granted there are those who cross the line into rather deviant behavior.  The soccer beer hooligans come to mind.  Mob behavior and destruction are their calling card if their team should lose.  To say alcohol may have been involved is a laughable understatement.  Death threats and worse dot the history of the sport as do payoffs and bribes. 

The passion inherent to any sport is subject to the same extremes as politics or religion.  The difference is the core of sports is a game.  Bruised feelings aside the worse that can happen is your teams wins or loses.  Nothing earth shattering.  This from a guy who wants to lock himself in a closet when his team loses.  But I do recover quickly and am there cheering loudly at the next game.  That’s the beauty of being a fan.

Fandom is the best therapy known to man or woman.  I am not a scientist or psychologist but I would venture to say NASCAR fans, tailgaters, fans of major sports such as hockey, basketball, baseball, football, soccer and all the other sports of any kind, come Monday morning are among the more balanced, stress relieved people on earth.  It’s all good.   

PEOPLE CAN BE CRUEL

There was an article in yesterday’s L.A. Times Magazine about a deaf football player.  I found it of great interest because he went to a local high school and is now a star player for UCLA and because I am also deaf.  His deafness was described as hearing virtually no sounds without the use of hearing aids, which describes mine as well.
 
While he has reached great success as an athlete it was his story of growing up that brought back many memories.  Specifically, the treatment he received from others.  He refers to kids calling him stupid and making fun of those things in his ears.  I remember well those kinds of comments and many more including “you talk funny”. 

While the experiences of Derrick Coleman and mine were very similar there was one difference.  He put on a pair of pantyhose over his hearing aids to protect them and hold them in place.  Being a bit older than Derrick the hearing aids I wore as a kid were held in the chest pocket of my shirt with cords running up to my ear pieces.  Thus when I played football I could not wear my hearing aids.  I had to rely 100% on lip reading.

Due to shyness at being seen with these hearing aids on and being very active in sports I often did not wear them at all.  As a result, as Derrick talks about, you do not enjoy being around people and become very quiet. 

The memory that came most to mind after reading the article was a painful one.  Our city had a very competitive flag football league.  I was the quarterback of the team and we had managed to win our league and advance to the championship game.  A few days before the big game the coach called me aside and said he was removing me from the team.  He explained to me that the other kids felt I was removed from them and aloof. 

I was crushed.  I cried as I told my Dad that night what had happened.  It still hurts today as much as it did then.  My Dad insisted that I be the bigger man and be on the sidelines to cheer my team on during the game, which I did.

I tell this story because it is good to be reminded that there are quite often very good reasons why people behave the way they do.  It behooves each of us to be understanding and compassionate.  While we are most certainly entitled to our own thoughts regarding others, I can’t think of many circumstances when making hurtful comments is justified.

In my own case if I was given a do-over I would not change anything.  God compensated me in so many ways I feel guilty.