Post Seven: Self Evaluation

One thing that intrigues me as I get older is how much I recognize about myself. I wonder how much of the way I act and the things I like have changed over the years and how much of it has always been there I just never thought about it or recognized it. I am becoming more comfortable with the quirks of my personality and understanding that there are some things that are just the way they are. That’s not to say that I can’t change or am unwilling to change, but some things people are going to have to just accept about me. If you take those things that people will make fun of me to my face and double it to include things laughed at behind my back, then you have quite a collection of idiosyncrasies that make up who I am. Two of those things I accept are time and money and my relationship with both.

If you know me then you know I hate to be late. To me “on time” is 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting time. Time is valuable to me and I believe other people’s time is valuable to them. When you tell someone that you will be there at a certain time then when you are late you are wasting their time. It’s disrespectful to make someone wait. Now I understand that sometimes circumstances cause people to be late. I’m not suggesting that I am never late, but chronic tardiness is selfish. You are saying that your time is more important than someone else’s. If we are to truly live a life of servitude then we should be more considerate of other people’s time.

I have often been accused of being “tight.” When I win the lottery, or change jobs so I can actually get rich, then I’ll loosen up the spending reigns. Otherwise, I plan to be frugal with what little bit I do have. Supporting a family and providing opportunities, some of the same opportunities I was given, requires financial commitment. I have not always been responsible with money and the lesson learned is that I need to be.

So make fun of me if you must, but I have accepted the fact that of the things that make up Sonny, these two ain’t changing anytime soon.

More songs you need to listen to…

Slave to the Grind

Skid Row

The noose gets tighter around my throat
But I ain't at the end of my rope 'cause
I won't be the one left behind
Can't be king of the world
If you're slave to the grind

What a Shame

Shinedown

There's a hard life for every silver spoon
There's a touch of grey for every shade of blue
That's the way that I see life
If there was nothing wrong,
Then there'd be nothing right

Somewhere in Time

Savatage

So what can I tell you
If life's the length of this play
Perhaps God gave the answers
To those with nothing to say

Post Six: Lyrics

I have always maintained that when it comes to songs I like it’s not about the words, it’s about the music.  If you think about it I think you will agree.  How many times have you sung the words to a song you like on the radio only to find out later that you were singing the wrong words?  Being a heavy metal fan I have often been asked, “Why do you like that song, you can’t even understand what they are saying?”  My reply is, “It’s not about the words, it’s about the music.”  There is something special about a song that just sounds good, regardless of what the song is actually about.  Many great musical arrangements don’t even have lyrics.  However, having said that there are many songs out there that do have moving lyrics, funny lyrics, or even negative lyrics.  I have decided to share some of the songs I like and a line or two of them that have thought provoking lyrics.  For most, if not all, of the songs I put on here for this and subsequent posts I enjoy the music.  Some of them I actually enjoy the whole theme of the song or several lines of the lyrics.  But they are on here because there is something I like about the line or two I have included.  I will refrain from sharing why the lines have meaning or why I like and appreciate them in the hope that you may find something about them meaningful, funny, maddening, or simply sad.  Silent Lucidity is listed first simply because in college it was the first song that someone actually pointed out to me the lyric as one that was thought provoking beyond your standard love, sex, drugs and alcohol line.  From then on I have always had my radar active for interesting lyrics.  After that they are in no particular order.  There will be plenty to follow.  Enjoy…

Silent Lucidity

Queensryche

If you open your mind for me
You won't rely on open eyes to see

Drops of Jupiter

Train

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong

New York City Don’t Mean Nothing

Savatage

Never take a ride to the edge of your mind

Unless you have a ticket back…

And if you're running blind
On a refueled mind
Better watch the time
And careful you don't go too far

Post Five: Field of Dreams

My friends over at I’m Just Sayin… recently posted A Top Movies of all time and covered all of the best movies ever produced. This was quite an undertaking and required a lot of research on their part. Part of that research included polling readers on their top five movies of all time. I had quite a time deciding on my top five but I have included my email to them and how my top five was chosen. My focus on this blog is related to a quote from Field of Dreams.

Apr 14, 2012

From: Kevin Horres

To: I’m Just Sayin…

Not there yet but maybe if I put something down it will help me get to a top 5. I told you I had a list of about 56 without even thinking too hard but I knew some of those wouldn't make the top ten.  Here is a dwindled list in no particular order...I will follow with a top 5 soon.

Star Wars (all good but episode IV will be the choice when the list is done)
Die Hard (all good but first will be the representative here)
Indiana Jones (all good but Raiders... will be rep here)
Borne Series (all good may be Identity or Ultimatum that makes list)
Star Trek II - Wrath of Khan (only Star Trek that has a chance)
Rocky (original will be chosen to represent)
The Patriot (Great movie with SC being represented well)
Braveheart (Surprised how much I like this movie too)
Christmas Vacation (Original great too, but this will be the rep for the series)
O Brother Where Art Thou (I was surprised how much I liked and still like that movie) 
Top Gun (when Goose died that was the first time I had to fight back tears from a movie)
Rain Man (I am a Dustin Hoffman fan and I once listed this as a favorite movie when I was in college)
Bull Durham (baseball, enough said)
Field of Dreams (baseball, enough said)
Tombstone (Val Kilmer at his best)
Sudden Impact (Dirty Harry at his best)
The Godfather (Epic, one I and II were best, but III was good many years later)

Notice that there are no Vietnam war movies or WWII movies which could easily be on the list.
No Tom Hanks movies which is unbelievable considering how many of his are top level movies.
No animated movies which there are plenty of good ones.
No "Classic" movies either which deserve all time great status. In fact...

While compiling this list I decided to eliminate any movie created before 1980. From '80 on I was old enough to really remember them as they came out so I will make my list based on that even though that will eliminate some of my top choices. Some of those "classic" movies (1930's-1960's) relied so much on the acting that they are still incredible to watch, and I love them, but my decision to eliminate them is final.

Here it is:

1. The Patriot (Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger as well as the historical significance of this film put it at the top for me)
2. Die Hard (Like I said all good but the first one is too good to not include)
3. Field of Dreams (some people complained that this wasn't realistic, no kidding it is a movie. But it captures the essence of baseball better than any other. And James Earl Jones' character puts it over the top)
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark (All are good, but this one is great. Wasn't until much later that I realized Indiana Jones=Han Solo)
5. Christmas Vacation (may be surprising, but as far as true comedies go this one is hard to beat for me)

Well, there you have it. Obviously there are plenty of great movies left off but I can live with this list.

Kevin

About to hit send...
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When it comes to baseball movies Field of Dreams ranks at the top of an impressive list for me. (In no particular order) Bull Durham, The Natural, Major League (series), Eight Men Out, The Pride of the Yankees are all incredible movies that capture the essence of baseball and/or the players of the greatest game. I realize that Field of Dreams isn’t a documentary about baseball but it is a movie that captures the essence of baseball. The quote I was referring to:

Terence Mann (Played by James Earl Jones): Ray (Kevin Costner), people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.

(http://www.moviefanatic.com/quotes/movies/field-of-dreams/#ixzz1znyUG0aV)

Baseball…no other sport has the statistical significance of baseball. Stats matter in baseball and more categories are added as time progresses. Those stats allow comparisons from multiple generations. However, sometimes it is difficult to compare players from different generations. I once heard Joe Morgan (one of the greatest second baseman of all time) say that one of the ways to rate players is how did they compare of players of their generations.  In other words, were they one of the best players playing during their careers? That is a good way to determine whether or not a player was Hall of Fame material. Field of Dreams captures the essence of baseball beyond the statistics and exposes the spirit of the game. The interactions portrayed by the players from different generations shows that baseball is timeless. If you will watch that movie with the mindset that it is actually a movie and not a documentary of something that actually happened, then you will enjoy it. You will also come away with a greater appreciation of the game of baseball and its impact on American history. Watch Field of Dreams.

Post Four: July 4, 1939

While searching for a good topic for the Children’s Sermon I was to deliver last Sunday, I saw in a sports devotion book a bit about July 4^th, 1939.  Since our church was celebrating Patriotic Sunday (always the Sunday before the 4^th of July) I wanted something related to that celebration. Below is basically what I said with some additions after the fact for this post.  It is a combination of the material from the devotion and my own thoughts on the subject.

The New York Yankees declared July 4^th, 1939 as Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day.  He had just retired from baseball because of “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis” (ALS) later known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Up until his retirement he had played in 2,130 consecutive games and had many other achievements.  Between games of a double header he gave a short speech in which he said, “Fans, for the last two weeks you’ve been reading about the bad break I got.  Yet today I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”  Here was a man who is still had plenty of baseball left in him but his career was cut short by a disease he didn’t cause to happen.  His attitude was one of gratitude for all the good things he did have which included a wonderful wife, good parents, and the opportunity to play baseball in numerous ballparks.  He didn’t focus on the bad, he chose to remember the good.  July 4^th is an opportunity for us to focus on the good of this country.  You can turn on the TV at any moment and find somebody talking about what is wrong with this country.  Never forget that we still live in the greatest country on the face of the earth.  We have our flaws, but there is no other country I would rather live in.  Many people since July 4^th, 1776 have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice to see that we have the freedoms we enjoy today.  There was another sacrifice that gave us freedom.  It was Christ dying on the cross freeing us from the bondage of sin.  In Christ we are free to love and serve one another knowing that He paid the price for our salvation. So remember this July 4^th to honor those who sacrificed to make this country great and thank God for the sacrifice of his Son so we can live eternally with Him.

Some thoughts on Lou Gehrig:

Lou Gehrig is the greatest first baseman to ever play the game.  His 2,130 consecutive games streak stood as a symbol of endurance and commitment for over 56 years until 1995 when Cal Ripken, Jr. broke that record.  The Iron Horse as he was known was often overshadowed by his teammate, Babe Ruth, but those who played with him or against him knew how good he really was.  He still has impressive career and single season feats.  One of those feats was 23 career grand slams which has since been tied this year by Alex Rodriguez (who is a topic for another day).  Gehrig’s ability to drive in runs was impressive by any generation’s standards.   The fact that he was so good at baseball and also so well liked because of his personality is truly a testament to how we should all live our lives.  His attitude in the face of a disease that took his life just two years after it forced him to retire is as impressive…is more impressive than his baseball career. It is certainly more impressive than my own attitude at times.  I strongly encourage you to research the life and career of Lou Gehrig.  A great starting point is the movie The Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper as Gehrig.