I am thankful for the world news. It keeps me fully amused, and it always provides a steady stream of good rhubarb. As they say, it’s the gift that keeps on giving!
With that being said, it is once again time for another episode of the Rhubarb Report. This episode was a tough selection process, but once again, politics. music, and health care reign supreme. Herein you will find discussion of the “haves” – and the “have-nots”. The task is to figure out which one is which!
On this July 4, it has now been a total of 45 days since I became a citizen of the United States. It is my very first Fourth Of July as a citizen. It’s a brave new world now, isn’t it?
It’s not like life has changed a bunch. I filled out a voter registration card. That’s a big step. I now have the right to carry a US passport. My wallet is a little emptier now that I don’t have a Permanent Resident Card. And let’s face the facts – a Canada Day celebration and an Independence Day celebration both typically involve food, fun with friends, and fireworks. Not much difference there either.
One thing that does appear more readily to me is how the values of Independence Day – and the reason for its celebration – have been forgotten, or misplaced, or perhaps even ignored. Sadly.
The words are pretty simple. The phrase sounds reasonable enough: I am what I am. Or as Popeye once noted, “I yam what I yam and I yam what I yam that I yam”. Let’s be serious: who am I to debate Popeye, right?
These words could be used in the context of being present in the moment, right here, right now, with a deep sigh of acceptance and joy. If so, they would be five wonderful words with a beautiful meaning.
The unfortunate reality is that they are rarely used in that context. Sadly, these 5 words have become symbolic of excuses, indecision, and the paralysis of analysis. There is a fine line between acceptance and apathy, a line that seems to get crossed regularly these days.
Sitting at Moody Theater last week, it was hard to imagine that Buddy Guy is now 75 years young. Not much has changed over the years. He can still hit that one note that will make your head spin, he can still have you smiling with his control of an audience, and he can still have you amazed by his guitar prowess.
Let’s face it – Buddy Guy can tear it up now just like he did 30 or 40 years ago. If he’s lost anything, it would be a few hairs on his head. But other than that, he can still play with the same fire and brimstone that has been his trademark all these years.
It seems like just yesterday – make that circa-1991-yesterday or so – that I first saw Buddy Guy at Antones. As a blues guitar player myself, I knew the legend that was Buddy Guy. But I had no idea what I was in for that night.
In Episode 42, I mentioned the zombie apocalypse that took place in Miami recently. That was two weeks ago. A lot of crazy things have taken place in the sports world over that time period. Once again, Miami has been at the heart of the story. There is more rhubarb upon us yet again.
With that said, let’s explore Episode 43 of the Rhubarb Report, where the thrill of victory was a wild and wooly story unto its own on both coasts.
The Austin Convention Center was home to a virtual time machine this past weekend. No, “Back To The Future” wasn’t showing. It became the two-day home of Formula Expo, an exhibition of past and present Formula One cars and photos. Stepping into Formula Expo 2012 on Saturday was like stepping into my own personal time machine.
Formula One technology has fascinated me since the days of my youth. At a time when most of my friends were wanting to become doctors and firefighters and professional hockey players, I wanted to become an automotive engineer. I wanted to design Formula One cars. Part of the beauty of F1 has always been the highest level of technology and rapid rate of design implementation. It attracts the worlds top aerospace engineers for exactly that reason. I filled many a sketch book with F1 designs that I had conjured up in my imagination.
[Note: This is the follow-up post to “Sidewalk Surfing”]
That neon orange skateboard was like a launch pad, and Skateboarder Magazine became the rocket fuel. I would anxiously await its arrival every month. Stacey Peralta became one of my heroes. I was always bewildered by the antics and otherworldly photos of Tony Alva and Jay Adams. I read every article, and studied every photo. I knew this world inside-out, and backwards.
There was no question though: I was a long ways away from the skateboard epicenter in Dogtown. Total distance? About 2700 miles. And I lived in Brockville, Ontario, a place where prime skating weather of the non-ice variety lasted about 4 months, a place where hockey players far outnumbered skateboarders.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.