It does not seem possible that I have not posted here for three years but there you have it....retired and on the go. However, I have been so frustrated lately, like many of you, with the government shutdown that I found my way back to the place where my opinion counts....this space because it is mine!
My frustration with the current state of government is the failure by the Democrats and the media to communicate what is really going on. I understand the media. Each station has its own bias and they throw it a smattering of what the other side says but no one, I repeat, no one pulls it together and clarifies the issues. Even the Democrats are not very good at delivering their message mostly because they enable and excuse their counterparts. I know. I am one of them. But I am better now and ready to talk about what is happening to our system of government.
There are two events that are important.
1) passing the budget
2) raising the debt ceiling.
First came the budget and the Republicans were all about cutting spending and they went toe to toe with the Democrats ending in the Democrats caving in and giving them the austerity budget presented by Paul Ryan. People have forgotten or never knew that the budget presented by the Senate Democrats and President Obama was for 1.058 Trillion. The Republican's proposal led by Paul Ryan was for 986 Billion. This Republican budget makes permanent the sequestration level of cuts. And guess what?
The Republicans WON!! The Dems agreed to their figure of 986 Billion. This is important...!!! The democrats AGREED to the Republican budget!!! So, it's over right? Republicans win. Democrats give in. Game over. Not!
NO, no, not really because then the Republicans attached to the budget a condition that Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act be DEfunded. So when the Democrats agreed to the Republican demand for a budget at sequestration levels, the Democrats thought the game was over but it wasn't. The Republican team added time on the clock and a new goal post.
This was not acceptable to either the Democrats or the President and by the way, is unprecedented in history. There have been negotiations on the budget but never about funding legislation that had passed the Congress, was signed into law and upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court. The Republicans made the defunding of the Healthcare Act a condition of passing the budget.
This is contrary to our form of government. We are a Democracy, the only pure one in the world and to continue that system, we have to rely on the respect we pay to our laws, even those we don't like.
Well, this moved us to the deadline on point #1 and that shut down the government. And now, we move to point 2, the debt ceiling.
This is something that affects the global economy and our standing in the world. As we moved day after day with the government shutting down because it doesn't happen in one day. We have to turn out a lot of lights and let people out as we lock the doors. But that moves us closer to the deadline to raise the debt ceiling and suddenly, we have two financial issues held hostage by the Republicans. AND it is the Republicans. Make no mistake about that. They wanted the austerity Paul Ryan budget and THEY GOT IT!!!! It reminds me of a kid asking for an cookie and when he gets it, he asks for ice cream!! Well, the idea to defund Obamacare as a condition to pass the budget went South when the date for sign up came and went without the world ending and when the public said we do not want the government shut down over heath care. The Republicans got the message and stopped mentioning "Obamacare."
However, that did not bring the Republicans around to the point of accepting their win on the budget. The new goalposts are about conferencing/negotiating on a wide range of issues. That is code for entitlements. The R's moan about the lack of willingness by the D's to negotiate. But they fail to tell you that when the budget was first put into play in early spring, the Democrats asked the Republicans to conference on the issue. The Democrats asked and asked and asked and the Republicans said no, no and no. This went on for months and it was the Democrats who caved in and accepted the budget offered by the Republicans. No compromise....complete capitulation. But that was not enough. Not for the Republicans. Nothing is enough, it seems.
Now, the R's whine, let's negotiate. What about? Oh, a broad range of important financial issues, they say. Really!? Again, code for entitlements. And here we are up against the debt ceiling deadline. So the latest is from the R's....they will agree to a short term 6 week extension if the D's will negotiate on the budget. The government remains shut down and the items for negotiation are....what? Now, what I have done is give you the outline of what has been happening for the past several months and now I want to clarify, if I can, what I think it all means.
This is about government and it goes all the way back to the beginning of this country. Are we a collection of individual states, each with its own set of laws or is there one unifying Federal government that is above and more powerful than the states. Remember, we fought a civil war over this and the remnants of that are still with us.
Recently, Bill Moyers, in a column gave the opinion this is all about secession. And I think he has a point. We know it isn't about health care because no one mentions that now so what is it? A group of people, call them whatever you want, but they do not believe in government, at least not a Federal one. They do not want to give money for anything that is not local and controlled by them. Nothing for education, health, taxes, rules or regulations that interfere with them pursuing their lives and business.
Most of us realize that big government can be a problem and we must be vigilant about it but we also accept that if many things were left to each state to decide, we would have a very different country. One thing for sure, we would no longer have a Democracy and there would be more borders than those between Canada and Mexico. It would feel more like the old West with guns and vigilantes deciding what the law and punishments were. Women would do as told and go back to the idea of "barefoot and pregnant". And if you are a person of color or gay or female, well, think about it.
I believe some of this has to do with being afraid, the fear of the change that is happening in this country. We are not really a white, Christian, male society anymore and that is frightening to many. We are culturally diverse with different religious beliefs and free under the law to be treated equally. Doris Kearns Goodwin at the Gettysburg 150th celebration this summer talked about what makes this country different from others. It is the only country based upon an idea, that being one of equality and freedom. We are constantly being called and challenged to live up to that ideal and it isn't easy.
In summary, this is not about a budget or health care, this is about our form of government. The belief that we can all live without the federal government is the reason for this shutdown and a convergence of numbers and events have brought us to this point where a small group of people have shut down the government bringing this great country to a halt. You can hear them on TV saying, "It isn't so bad is it?" If the Federal Government stopped being what it is then 40 individual states take over. It is not progress it is isolation and regression.
This is a crisis of historic proportions and I pray Obama is up for this task. I think he is but he will need a wisdom beyond his years and strength of purpose that he has never exhibited before.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Jack Goes Boating
I love this movie and I am not alone. I have read several positive reviews (a few not so much) but this comment on a blog written by a person named Ruth was so unique that I thought it said it all---especially when it mentions the two movies close to my heart (for obvious reasons...)
Dear Phil,
It’s time for me to confess that I’ve been holding a grudge against you ever since the night I sat home and drank through “Love Liza” alone. When the picture ended, I telephoned my (then long distance) partner and sobbed into the mouthpiece for minutes.
On the short Spectrum of TV Trauma: if noticing the south tower falling before Peter Jennings did is at the most devastating end and seeing young Walt get kidnapped at the end of Lost Season 1* is at the least devastating end (still, severely disturbing), “Love Liza” fell smack dab in the middle.
Put a different way, all of my self destructive behaviors are linked to incredible pleasure. Except on that night, the night I watched your performance in “Love Liza”, I wanted to take a blade to my flesh. I wanted to bleed. I did (want to). But I’m healthier than that. I just cried incoherent sobs on the phone to a man who was too far away. But closer than Liza.
Last month, on my 41st birthday, a feature I had never heard of was showing 10 minutes from my office at the exact window of time I had available. Hmmm, I thought, Philip Seymour Hoffman has directed a movie? I was on such a high from my 94-and-counting Facebook birthday wishes, that I figured not even one of your heart wrenching characters could bring me down. If it got too rough, I’d walk out on you.
So I found myself in the darkness with a very damp face. “Jack Goes Boating” Ruth goes reeling. Oh, Mister Hoffman. You have created a beautiful love letter to the human race. This is a film I will watch regularly. I hesitate to slather too much praise for fear of diminishing its impact. So I will simply thank you. Thank you for carrying me back to Zion.
With love, respect and (it bears repeating) gratitude,
Ruth
———————
Monday, September 27, 2010
Summer Reading....aka "In Bed With Jamie"
This is not a recommendation for your summer reading (after all it is September/October!) but if you want, you can use it for your upcoming winter reading season. You see, I got my reading mojo back. It began happening in late Spring, probably around Easter when my niece recommended the Outlander series to me. The book she was holding was very thick, several hundred pages and she said there were others like it. I trust my niece and my sister, for that matter, especially when it comes to books so I went looking for this series I had never heard of---which doesn't mean anything. I have not been reading many books for several years. You see, my reading has been confined to law books, motion papers, judicial decisions and other legalese type stuff. Any recreational style reading was limited to vacations and that was not often. Mostly, I read the mystery genre and with my short attention span, Myron Bolitar served to pass time, nothing more.
And so, I began my summer reading with Claire and Jamie and I was hooked.....I read all seven very hefty books in about the same number of weeks along with a few others. (more on them later) For those of you who are or have been reading the Outlander series, you know what I am talking about---for the rest, take this recommendation with a word of caution. These books are addictive. It causes you to read into the night and even early morning....in the car, on a plane, everywhere. The books go with you to the boardroom, bathroom and the bedroom, on trips, to movies, restaurants because you need to continue reading whenever you have time, while you eat or if you are delayed anywhere; minutes is all you need. It becomes a part of your psyche. Why? I don't know; maybe that is why I am writing this, hoping it will lead me to a clearer understanding of my own obsession with these books. I know it has made me a better reader but less content with the formulaic style of my usual summer book fare.
First, the story. It is about a time traveling woman from the 20th century, Claire, who is a nurse, with her husband, Frank, are on a second honeymoon in Scotland in 1945 when she walks into a group of stones and time travels back in time to 1743. She finds herself in the middle of a fight between the English and some Scottish Highlanders. Of course, she is not dressed appropriately, talks funny and is eyed suspiciously by an English Captain and the Scotsmen. Is she a spy? a witch? It is then she meets Jamie and while trying to get back to her life with Frank in 1945, is forced to marry Jamie to save her life in 1743. Yes, it is romantic and I guess I am a sucker for that, more than I was aware I think. Maybe it is where I am in life but the romance is quite lovely. Yet, that would not be enough and it is not all you get from reading these books. There is history, English, Scottish, French and American---quite a broad canvas that Diana Gabaldon paints. She describes places, battles and events with such specificity that you can easily visualize what is happening whether it is a battle, a war, or the French Court. Even more stunning is the detail she provides about what people wore, ate and the weapons or tools used at the time and place. If you like history, this series is made for you. And the writing is good. Her story-line is what I have described but she creates many other characters and back stories until you have so many people you like and care about and then the surprises.....there are many. And so, here I am, in love with Jamie, caring about Claire, Fergus, Ian and Brianna and Roger and....... so frustrated that I caught up with my niece and sister and like them, I am waiting for the next in the series which will not be out for another year or so, thank you very much!!!
But, for just a minute, let me go back to Jamie---why is he so interesting? His looks are different, not necessarily handsome, even if I am prone to red-heads. He is the typical protagonist, strong, defiant, direct. You admire him for his leadership skills and his morals, even when the situation allows a practical application leaving the principles of right and wrong unclear and ripe for selfish manipulation. Jamie is never guilty of making decisions based solely on form over substance. Everything he does he explains with perfect rationale like when he chooses to leave his arch-rival alive not because Claire asks him to but because he sees where it will benefit Claire in a way she has not thought of but he has. We all have our favorite strong male fiction characters but Jamie is different, at least for me. I think it has something to do with his pragmatic constancy, his sense of duty and his "blood of my blood," "bone of my bone" love for Claire. Can this be real or is it only every woman's dream? Would men like Jamie? Or would they find him unbelievable and impossible to relate to? Even unbearable....
Enough---on to my other summer reading.
Other books I have devoured this summer include the Millennium Series with every one's favorite heroine, Lisbeth Sanders, along with another series written for teens and having a strong feminine lead, The Hunger Games. Add to the already long list, The Prodigal Summer, The Passage (another door stop of a book), The Pillars of the Earth (not so much), and three Jack Reacher books beginning with 61 Hours.
Another chick-lit (a label that does not bother me) is The Prodigal Summer beautifully written by Barbara Kingsglover. She draws you into her tapestry of land, foliage, birth, rebirth, death and loss. It is life she is describing through her characters, their homes and surrounding woods.....in the birds, the oak seedlings, the coyotes and chickens, even the mice....everything in a few square miles from butterflies to bees, animals to humans. Just a lovely book.
The Passage is something different. The back-drop is the future and it is not pleasant. Modern Man, looking for the ultimate warrior weapon, creates a virus that spreads to the general population by contact with infected zombie/vampire-like creatures who destroy life as we know it. I understand if most of you turn away at this description but the book has more depth than my limited use of language can describe. It questions choices and challenges the imagination exploring another time on earth, maybe not an end but a beginning.
And Jack Reacher---now there is one strong, silent type. A real man's man character created by Lee Child in a series of books definitely written for men. (shall we label it a male tale?) The specificity here is about the descriptive array of modern weaponry, loading and unloading guns and the details of machinery, trains and what-not. These are written for men... and a few strong women. I do think his latest, 61 Hours, is a cut above the rest ( I have only read two others, Without Fail and Gone Tomorrow). In 61, the opening sentences place you on a tour bus during a winter storm somewhere in the Northwest and Child holds you tight from there right through to the end. It was this introduction to Jack Reacher that made me check out the earlier books. I like this guy but am not "taken" by him. He has a moral code (ala Jamie) but no history, leaving him as more of a shadow figure than a fully formed human being. Maybe I shall have to start at the beginning with Jack. I will let you know if I do.
The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins,...is another future world, where governments rule ruthlessly and the individual is nothing more than a dot in their universe. We watch an annual sport called the "Hunger Games" which reminds me of a modern day version of an old story where a village has to pick one of its own to sacrifice for the safety of the whole for a year. Written for a teen audience, probably a Christian one, it has a lot of soft love and cuddling but no one really gets it on. I liked the lead heroine, Katniss, in the first two books, (The Hunger Games and Catching Fire) but found her a bit whiney in the third (Mockingjay). All in all, a good read. (It is being made into a movie so you will see it on the big screen soon.)
No need to talk about Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett....except to say it was very disappointing and after the wealth of historic information and realized characters in the Outlander Series, Pillars was shallow and boring, unless you find specific descriptions of buttressed ceilings exciting. Enough said.
Finally, the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson. All have been made into movies in Sweden, the third arriving stateside in October with an American remake on its way. I will confess, I did not read the first one, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo because I saw the movie and heard that they are quite similar. However, I read the final two, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. By the time I was deep into the third book, I realized I needed a guide to follow the very tricky espionage plot based on Swedish politics involving corrupt government officials. In other words, as the expression goes, you had to be there...and I wasn't. I think the first book and movie might be the best of the three. For me, it went downhill from there.
You can throw in a couple of other books, lesser known and not too interesting that I whipped through and the four or five, I started but still lay there unfinished. All in all......I am a reader in good standing, again. Don't you agree?
And so, I began my summer reading with Claire and Jamie and I was hooked.....I read all seven very hefty books in about the same number of weeks along with a few others. (more on them later) For those of you who are or have been reading the Outlander series, you know what I am talking about---for the rest, take this recommendation with a word of caution. These books are addictive. It causes you to read into the night and even early morning....in the car, on a plane, everywhere. The books go with you to the boardroom, bathroom and the bedroom, on trips, to movies, restaurants because you need to continue reading whenever you have time, while you eat or if you are delayed anywhere; minutes is all you need. It becomes a part of your psyche. Why? I don't know; maybe that is why I am writing this, hoping it will lead me to a clearer understanding of my own obsession with these books. I know it has made me a better reader but less content with the formulaic style of my usual summer book fare.
First, the story. It is about a time traveling woman from the 20th century, Claire, who is a nurse, with her husband, Frank, are on a second honeymoon in Scotland in 1945 when she walks into a group of stones and time travels back in time to 1743. She finds herself in the middle of a fight between the English and some Scottish Highlanders. Of course, she is not dressed appropriately, talks funny and is eyed suspiciously by an English Captain and the Scotsmen. Is she a spy? a witch? It is then she meets Jamie and while trying to get back to her life with Frank in 1945, is forced to marry Jamie to save her life in 1743. Yes, it is romantic and I guess I am a sucker for that, more than I was aware I think. Maybe it is where I am in life but the romance is quite lovely. Yet, that would not be enough and it is not all you get from reading these books. There is history, English, Scottish, French and American---quite a broad canvas that Diana Gabaldon paints. She describes places, battles and events with such specificity that you can easily visualize what is happening whether it is a battle, a war, or the French Court. Even more stunning is the detail she provides about what people wore, ate and the weapons or tools used at the time and place. If you like history, this series is made for you. And the writing is good. Her story-line is what I have described but she creates many other characters and back stories until you have so many people you like and care about and then the surprises.....there are many. And so, here I am, in love with Jamie, caring about Claire, Fergus, Ian and Brianna and Roger and....... so frustrated that I caught up with my niece and sister and like them, I am waiting for the next in the series which will not be out for another year or so, thank you very much!!!
But, for just a minute, let me go back to Jamie---why is he so interesting? His looks are different, not necessarily handsome, even if I am prone to red-heads. He is the typical protagonist, strong, defiant, direct. You admire him for his leadership skills and his morals, even when the situation allows a practical application leaving the principles of right and wrong unclear and ripe for selfish manipulation. Jamie is never guilty of making decisions based solely on form over substance. Everything he does he explains with perfect rationale like when he chooses to leave his arch-rival alive not because Claire asks him to but because he sees where it will benefit Claire in a way she has not thought of but he has. We all have our favorite strong male fiction characters but Jamie is different, at least for me. I think it has something to do with his pragmatic constancy, his sense of duty and his "blood of my blood," "bone of my bone" love for Claire. Can this be real or is it only every woman's dream? Would men like Jamie? Or would they find him unbelievable and impossible to relate to? Even unbearable....
Enough---on to my other summer reading.
Other books I have devoured this summer include the Millennium Series with every one's favorite heroine, Lisbeth Sanders, along with another series written for teens and having a strong feminine lead, The Hunger Games. Add to the already long list, The Prodigal Summer, The Passage (another door stop of a book), The Pillars of the Earth (not so much), and three Jack Reacher books beginning with 61 Hours.
Another chick-lit (a label that does not bother me) is The Prodigal Summer beautifully written by Barbara Kingsglover. She draws you into her tapestry of land, foliage, birth, rebirth, death and loss. It is life she is describing through her characters, their homes and surrounding woods.....in the birds, the oak seedlings, the coyotes and chickens, even the mice....everything in a few square miles from butterflies to bees, animals to humans. Just a lovely book.
The Passage is something different. The back-drop is the future and it is not pleasant. Modern Man, looking for the ultimate warrior weapon, creates a virus that spreads to the general population by contact with infected zombie/vampire-like creatures who destroy life as we know it. I understand if most of you turn away at this description but the book has more depth than my limited use of language can describe. It questions choices and challenges the imagination exploring another time on earth, maybe not an end but a beginning.
And Jack Reacher---now there is one strong, silent type. A real man's man character created by Lee Child in a series of books definitely written for men. (shall we label it a male tale?) The specificity here is about the descriptive array of modern weaponry, loading and unloading guns and the details of machinery, trains and what-not. These are written for men... and a few strong women. I do think his latest, 61 Hours, is a cut above the rest ( I have only read two others, Without Fail and Gone Tomorrow). In 61, the opening sentences place you on a tour bus during a winter storm somewhere in the Northwest and Child holds you tight from there right through to the end. It was this introduction to Jack Reacher that made me check out the earlier books. I like this guy but am not "taken" by him. He has a moral code (ala Jamie) but no history, leaving him as more of a shadow figure than a fully formed human being. Maybe I shall have to start at the beginning with Jack. I will let you know if I do.
The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins,...is another future world, where governments rule ruthlessly and the individual is nothing more than a dot in their universe. We watch an annual sport called the "Hunger Games" which reminds me of a modern day version of an old story where a village has to pick one of its own to sacrifice for the safety of the whole for a year. Written for a teen audience, probably a Christian one, it has a lot of soft love and cuddling but no one really gets it on. I liked the lead heroine, Katniss, in the first two books, (The Hunger Games and Catching Fire) but found her a bit whiney in the third (Mockingjay). All in all, a good read. (It is being made into a movie so you will see it on the big screen soon.)
No need to talk about Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett....except to say it was very disappointing and after the wealth of historic information and realized characters in the Outlander Series, Pillars was shallow and boring, unless you find specific descriptions of buttressed ceilings exciting. Enough said.
Finally, the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson. All have been made into movies in Sweden, the third arriving stateside in October with an American remake on its way. I will confess, I did not read the first one, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo because I saw the movie and heard that they are quite similar. However, I read the final two, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. By the time I was deep into the third book, I realized I needed a guide to follow the very tricky espionage plot based on Swedish politics involving corrupt government officials. In other words, as the expression goes, you had to be there...and I wasn't. I think the first book and movie might be the best of the three. For me, it went downhill from there.
You can throw in a couple of other books, lesser known and not too interesting that I whipped through and the four or five, I started but still lay there unfinished. All in all......I am a reader in good standing, again. Don't you agree?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Season Finale 24
In the frenzy of the final season of Lost, we have all forgotten another great series finale......24....I had to tape it and just finished watching. It was terrific and Cherry Jones ( President) and Gregory Itzin (Past President Charles Logan) deserve any award they can get. It set up perfectly a feature movie but that did not diminish the tv finale. It was great. I don't know how they can keep Jones for the movie.....but there must be a way. Sutherland (Bauer) has a great movie series ahead of him---something like the Ryan series but with a dark side. It has been a great ride.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Emily and her personal Idol Gives Back
When I listened last night to Annie Lennox sing Universal Child on American Idol, I thought of my daughter, Emily and how she made all of us, in spite of ourselves, participate in a global adoption that saved two Ethiopian boys. My Emily had the courage and determination to ask us for our help, for our money and she faced our doubts, concerns and questions about why she would do this. It seemed to us she had lost perspective, failed to get her priorities right about her own family, a husband and three young children and was placing more of a burden on herself, them and yes, on the rest of us, too.
There are so many ways we are called to service and I know now that Emily called her family to service for Michael and Yabsarra. When I was concerned about what she was doing, what the impact might be on their own three children, she answered my questions but did not really convince me she was doing the right thing. She needed lots of money and help in the form of babysitting support from friends who would care for her own children while she and her husband went to Ethiopia. She asked her friends and family for the support she needed and somehow, she had the strength to ignore our lack of enthusiasm and the courage to confront our opposition. In order to bring those two boys home, she had to accept we didn’t agree with her decision and still ask us to give her whatever was necessary to pay the agency fees and travel expenses. She understood better than any of us that what she was doing would really make a difference in the lives of two boys and she also understood the risks she was taking and the possible long-term impact on her family. I think what Emily did takes vision and faith. These qualities are essential when a great person walks down a difficult and different path.
I know now she was right. I could make a donation to Idol Gives Back but it would never come back to me in the same way my giving to Emily has. I have the benefit of seeing the tangible results of my gift by watching two boys grow, laugh, and experience life with a Mom and Dad, brother and sisters. Every day, my investment grows into amazing dividends. I know that my daughter Emily did more than set up a clinic in Durban, or work to eradicate Pediatric Aids in Cape Town, South Africa. She saved two children from poverty and disease and the devastation of daily hunger…she saved their lives and gave them a future.
And Emily made us all be a part of this wonderful life-changing event.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Meanderings....here and there.
I have been having idle thoughts lately and thought why not write some of them down. I pretend I am talking with a person next to me....you, the reader. So answer back!
Tiger's Version of Hell.
After the recent Master's tournament and Tiger's return to golf from what I am not sure. Sex rehab? Car accident? Broken golf club/marriage? The public's awareness of his disgusting choices for life numbing diversions? Anyway, I was reading various articles and was struck by an observation made about Tiger's comments after the tournament. I watched the interview and saw that Tiger looked sad, disappointed and had very few words for the interviewer. He said he had come into the match to win and he didn't. He finished fourth. End of comments. This from a guy who said he had learned something in the time he was away from the game. He would be more respectful. Really! as they say in that skit on SNL....Really!! Tiger had no words for the crowds at the Masters who greeted him warmly wherever he went, who were with him every step as he stalked the golf course seeking a victory. He had no words for the staff who welcomed him and cared for the beautiful course he was playing on. He had no words for the media who treated him in hushed tones as if he had been away caring for a sick relative and no words for the Course Security who kept away anyone who might cause him a second of discomfort by reminding him and others of his unsettling and unsavory behavior off the course. The only misstep was the overhead airspace and the trailing banner with the mocking play on Tiger's words when he said he wanted to return to the words of Buddhism with the flying marquee ...did you mean " bootyism"?
And no words about the winner. Forget everything folks---rewind! Tiger is still Tiger! And I thought again about how ironic life can be. Some people call it karma or justice but I believe Tiger has found his own version of hell. He gets to play whenever he wants, and he will always be in the hunt, make some brilliant shots, birdies and an occasional eagle but he does not win. As he put it. "I finished fourth" That is what "hell" feels like for Tiger.
Tiger's Version of Hell.
After the recent Master's tournament and Tiger's return to golf from what I am not sure. Sex rehab? Car accident? Broken golf club/marriage? The public's awareness of his disgusting choices for life numbing diversions? Anyway, I was reading various articles and was struck by an observation made about Tiger's comments after the tournament. I watched the interview and saw that Tiger looked sad, disappointed and had very few words for the interviewer. He said he had come into the match to win and he didn't. He finished fourth. End of comments. This from a guy who said he had learned something in the time he was away from the game. He would be more respectful. Really! as they say in that skit on SNL....Really!! Tiger had no words for the crowds at the Masters who greeted him warmly wherever he went, who were with him every step as he stalked the golf course seeking a victory. He had no words for the staff who welcomed him and cared for the beautiful course he was playing on. He had no words for the media who treated him in hushed tones as if he had been away caring for a sick relative and no words for the Course Security who kept away anyone who might cause him a second of discomfort by reminding him and others of his unsettling and unsavory behavior off the course. The only misstep was the overhead airspace and the trailing banner with the mocking play on Tiger's words when he said he wanted to return to the words of Buddhism with the flying marquee ...did you mean " bootyism"?
And no words about the winner. Forget everything folks---rewind! Tiger is still Tiger! And I thought again about how ironic life can be. Some people call it karma or justice but I believe Tiger has found his own version of hell. He gets to play whenever he wants, and he will always be in the hunt, make some brilliant shots, birdies and an occasional eagle but he does not win. As he put it. "I finished fourth" That is what "hell" feels like for Tiger.
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