The Doc File

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:16:00 +0000

I took this picture at the gas station down the street from my house.

I think it does a better job of summing up why I hate the lottery than any essay could.

Facebook Theology

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:17:00 +0000

First person’s status:

“Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life.”

Second person’s comment:

“Jesus doesn’t kick field goals bro. He goes for the touchdown on 4th down, he makes it, and then he goes for the freakin’ sweet 2 points afterwards.”

There’s actually something significant there, I think.

Be More Like Thomas

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:06:00 +0000

The Incredulity of St. Thomas, Caravaggio

Doubting Thomas.

That’s what we call him. That’s what he’s remembered for. When the rest of the apostles told Thomas that they had seen the resurrected Christ, he didn’t believe them. He said that he wouldn’t believe until he had some tangible proof, until he had placed his hands in the wounds of Jesus.

Then he does get to see Jesus, and he immediately believes. And Jesus rebukes him mildly, saying that those who believe without having to see first are blessed.

And for this exchange, Thomas goes down forever as Doubting Thomas, as if that were the defining, overarching characteristic of his life.

But that doesn’t quite seem fair to me.

First of all, I think you could argue that Thomas didn’t show any less faith than the other apostles.

John 20 records that Peter and John believed after entering the empty tomb and seeing Jesus’ burial linens piled on the ground. Later, in John 20.19-24, Jesus appeared to Peter, John, and the rest of the apostles except Thomas. The rest of the apostles had the benefit of seeing first hand the type of tangible proof that Thomas was seeking, while Thomas just had to rely on the testimony of others.

Should Thomas have believed the other apostles? Sure, but the fact that he didn’t doesn’t automatically make doubt the primary characteristic of his life. Like the rest of the apostles, as soon as Thomas saw the evidence for himself, he immediately believed in the resurrected Lord.

Another, more admirable picture of Thomas that is often forgotten is found earlier in the Gospel of John, in chapter 11. Here, Jesus receives word that Lazarus is gravely ill, so He decides to return to Judea to see him (and ultimately raise him from the dead).

The problem is that Jesus has just come from Judea, where the Jews had previously tried to stone Him. The disciples try to talk Him out of His plan, but Jesus is determined, and Thomas bravely speaks up to the other apostles, saying, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

I would argue that this picture of Thomas—a man of courage and determination—is the defining characteristic of his life, and it is also supported by extra-Biblical historical accounts. Following the Great Commission of Jesus to make disciples of all the nations, Thomas is believed to have evangelized in the Malabar coast of India. Strong early tradition holds that he was martyred by spearing in Madras in 72 AD—he died for Christ, just as he was willing to do so many years before.

It’s not hard to find Christians who, like Thomas, experience moments of doubt. After all, until the hope that we have in Christ becomes reality, I think some degree of doubt is an inherent part of faith. And while Jesus did take a hard stance against the willful unbelief of the Pharisees, He seemed understanding of genuine doubt (see His reaction to John the Baptist in Matthew 11).

But Thomas overcame his moment of doubt, and once he made up his mind on what he believed, it seems clear that he stood by his convictions and devoted his life to following Christ.

Unfortunately, I think it’s much harder to find Christians who also possess that characteristic of Thomas—the courage to follow through with our convictions, and the willingness to live our lives for Christ and, if necessary, to die for Him.

I think it’s safe to say that the Church, and the world, could do a whole lot worse than to have a few more Thomases running around.

Gus Malzahn Is A Genius

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Here’s a good article from Sports Illustrated which basically describes how Gus Malzahn, the current Offensive Coordinator at Auburn and formerly a high school coach in Northwest Arkansas, is a genius when it comes to running an offense.

This comes as no surprise to me; I’ve been saying it for a long time.

Thanks to Jared for the article link.

“Cancer In The Clubhouse”

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:40:00 +0000

For those of my readership who are ultimate frisbee players, this is a really good article about Kurt Gibson, a key factor in the dominance of Florida ultimate over the last few years and one of the elite ultimate players of today.

Darwin And Irreducible Complexity

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:43:00 +0000

In On The Origin Of Species, the work in which Charles Darwin first put forth the theory of evolution, he wrote:

“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.”

Had Darwin lived an additional 120 years or so, he would’ve become familiar with the compelling argument of irreducible complexity, which basically demonstrates that, indeed, there are many complex biological systems that “could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive slight modifications.”

And I’d like to think that Darwin (unlike many of his scientific successors) would be intellectually honest enough to not just ignore the implications of such an argument.

Observation #6

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:58:00 +0000

In a pennant race, there’s a fine line between reeling someone in and just reeling.

Junk Mail

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:52:00 +0000

Of all the different forms of “junk” correspondence that I encounter, I would submit that junk faxes are the most annoying.

The somewhat ironically-named “courtesy call” on the phone is annoying, but you can always just hang up when you realize that’s what it is. It’s pretty easy to sort junk mail from the other legitimate stuff that comes to your mailbox, and it’s easily thrown away as well. Junk e-mail really isn’t a problem as long as you have a decent filter in your email system.

Junk faxes are the most annoying though, because in addition to wasting your time (which all the above examples do as well), they also waste your resources. Every time we get a junk fax at the church office, a sheet of our pristine 8 1/2 x 11 Office Depot copy paper is wasted. That might not seem like a big deal, but since we seem to get a couple of junk faxes per week, when you multiply it out over the course of a year, that’s 100 or so sheets of paper. Which still isn’t a major expense, but it is certainly annoying.

Most of these junk faxes offer cheap insurance rates, or inform me that I’ve won free vacations, or tell me that I’ve been selected for some version of “Who’s Who.” But one time a while back, I got one that was a little more interesting:

Dear Personnel Manager,

If there is a piece missing from your organizational puzzle, I believe my background and qualifications will fit perfectly with your company’s needs.

I am a results-oriented, seasoned professional who regards principle, balance, and professionalism as strategic components of my business philosophy. I have a proven ability to reach targeted goals and have gained diverse experience in sales, management, and marketing. I believe I can be an asset to your firm.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to explore how my experience could best meet your needs. Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,

Some Random Guy Who Apparently Didn’t Realize That The Service He Subscribed To Would Also Send His Resume To Random Churches

Attached to this cover letter was a resume that contained the following highlights:

Over 10 years experience specializing in Sales, Account Management and Business Development.
While working at a parts store, was instrumental in the successful acquisition and assimilation of two competitors.
Also while at the parts store, developed a culturally diverse marketing strategy for the location capturing 75% of the established Hispanic market and 95% of the established Asian market.

So after originally lampooning the idea of us receiving this guy’s resume, maybe I need to give him a call.

If hiring him would help us with the successful acquisition and assimilation of our “competitors” and also help us to capture the local established Hispanic and Asian markets, he’d be worth anything we could pay him!

A Prodigy

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:57:00 +0000

prod·i·gy (noun). 1. A person with exceptional talents or powers. 2. An act or event so extraordinary or rare as to inspire wonder.

Usain Bolt is a sprinting prodigy. I had never really heard of him before the 2008 Olympics, but then I sat back in amazement with everyone else as he blew away the field in the 100m and broke what was thought to be an unbreakable record in the 200m as well.

This week at the World Championships in Berlin, Bolt once again won the 100m and 200m, and shattered his own world records in the process: a 9.58 in the 100m, and a 19.19 in the 200m. These times are so extraordinary that they absolutely inspire wonder.

To me, what’s even more impressive than the numbers Bolt is putting up is the distance between himself and his competitors. He’s not racing against a local high school track team or a bunch of fairly-athletic guys. He’s competing against the very fastest men in the world—athletes who spend all of their time honing their craft and trying to shave hundredths of seconds off their times.

And it’s these men that he’s blowing away in competition, in the case of the 200m, by more than half a second.

That’s a prodigy.

Church Signs

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Of my many work-related responsibilities, one of my least favorite ones is being in charge of changing the message on the church sign we have out front. People who go to church where I do could probably guess that this is something I don’t like doing much, because it gets changed very irregularly.

It’s somewhat of a pain to drag the ladder outside, pull down the old letters, come up with something new to put up, make sure we have enough letters for the new message, pick out and arrange the new letters and put them back up on the sign (which is partially broken and therefore makes the process somewhat more difficult).

Really, though, it’s not that hard to do, and I would probably change it on a (more) regular basis if I was convicted at all that it was important—if changing the sign out front actually did any good or was worthwhile.

Instead, I tend to think that church signs do more harm than good—someone driving by is more likely to be turned off by a hokey saying than they are encouraged by a thoughtful one.

For example, one local church that I drive by regularly recently proclaimed the following message on their marquee:

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN TEXTING

While I agree with this message, I’m not really sure that I would include it in the thoughtful category.

On the other hand, maybe the person who put it up was having trouble coming up with new ideas and decided to embark on an ongoing series. If that’s the case, they may have discovered a gold mine. Just consider the possibilities:

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN FACEBOOK

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN BLOGGING

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN MYSPACE

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN TWEETING

You don’t even have to stay mired in the world of technology, because this is a very versatile theme:

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN VEGETABLES

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN TELEVISION

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN MCDONALD’S

PRAYING IS BETTER THAN READING CHURCH SIGNS

Well, you probably get the idea, and I’ve spent too much time on this anyway. There’s other stuff I need to be doing—like changing our church sign.

The Return Of Michael Vick

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:32:00 +0000

The news came out Thursday that the Philadelphia Eagles had signed Michael Vick to a 2-year contract, and little else has been talked about on ESPN since.

Vick became the ultimate athletic taboo when he got in trouble in the summer of 2007 for his involvement in an illegal interstate dog fighting ring. Since that time, Vick has served 23 months in prison, declared bankruptcy, and is now on the verge of re-entering the NFL.

I was never a huge Michael Vick fan in the first place—I thought he was overrated on the field and had somewhat of a “character problem” off it—and like everyone else, I was disgusted by his treatment of the dogs that he fought.

That being said, I really thought the public outcry against Vick was (and, judging by the reaction of many to his signing with the Eagles, still is) excessive. What Vick did was wrong and abhorrent, but at the end of the day, he killed dogs, not people. Meanwhile, Donte Stallworth kills someone while under the influence, and the response of the media and the public is nowhere near as hostile as it was for Vick.

Vick showed a lack of humanity in his treatment of his dogs, and he paid for those actions by serving two years in prison, having to declare bankruptcy, losing two seasons in the prime of his career, and falling far from the summit of the athletic world where he had been.

Now having paid for his crime, he’s been given a second chance, and I wish him nothing but success as he tries to make the most of it.

A Most Unpleasant Way To Start The Day

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:48:00 +0000

I am a morning showerer. I have to start off each morning with a shower, or I just don’t feel like I’ve really woken up.

But on rare occasions, I shower at night, and when that happens, I’ll sometimes skip my morning shower so I can sleep in a little bit longer. However, if I don’t shower in the morning, my hair is out of control, so I’ll still go wash my hair in the bathtub (which takes much less time than a shower) to make it more manageable.

Last night, I showered after playing ultimate, which means that this morning, I slept in a little bit and then went to the guest bathroom to wash my hair. I was bending over the bathtub, with my head under the faucet and the water running,when it happened.

A snake came out of the drain, about six inches from my face.

After realizing that I wasn’t hallucinating (I had just woken up after all), I jumped up, shocked and speechless. Unfortunately, I had no snake-killing device in hand, and since I’m not Bear Grylls, I wasn’t about to grab it with my bare hands.

After a few seconds, the snake went back down the drain, and I haven’t seen him since.

We called a plumber, who basically said that it wasn’t all that uncommon, that there was nothing they could do, and that we should keep the drains closed and toilet lids down and eventually the snake would leave.

This seems like a less than ideal solution to the problem—anyone have any better ideas?

I guess the good thing is that I discovered the snake rather than Caroline—if that had happened, I’m pretty sure that we’d be moving.

New Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:52:00 +0000

I’ve been gone a lot this summer, and I finally got some pictures up from some of my travels.

I am cautiously optimistic that my hectic summer will now begin to slow down, and that this post will signal an end to what has truly been a pathetic few months of blogging.

Cry, The Beloved Country

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:00:00 +0000

I read Alan Paton’s Cry, The Beloved Country at the beginning of the summer and meant to write about it long before now, but then the summer busyness that comes with youth ministry set in and I’m just now getting around to it.

Simply put, this is one of my all-time favorite books. I love Paton’s poetic style of writing, and I thought the story was incredibly moving and powerful.

Cry, The Beloved Country is set in South Africa in the late 1940s, before apartheid, but certainly in a time of profound racial strife.

The main character in the book is Umfundisi Kumalo, an elderly Anglican priest (“umfundisi” is Afrikaans for “parson”) who leaves his native village to go to the great city of Johannesburg in search of his son Absalom, who he hasn’t seen or heard from in a long time.

Kumalo has never really been away from his village before, and the old priest is completely overwhelmed by the size of the city, and the different customs and behaviors he sees there.

The book touches on several heavy themes—racism, theology, politics, the breakdown of the native village, crime, environmental concerns, and others—but I just want to focus on one quote that I really liked.

While in Johannesburg, Kumalo becomes close friends with Umfundisi Msimangu, a younger priest who helps him in his search and comforts him as he endures one heartbreaking discovery after another. Time and time again, Msimangu goes out of his way to help Kumalo in any way that he can.

At one particular moment in the book, the old priest is so moved by the overwhelming love and kindness that the younger priest shows him that he begins to pay him a compliment. Kumalo tells Msimangu that he has never known anyone like him, but before he can go on, the young priest interrupts his compliment and rebukes him, saying, “I am a weak and sinful man, but God put His hands on me, that is all.”

I think there’s profound meaning there. Often, I think the world can be put off by Christianity because people assume that Christians consider themselves to be better than everyone else (and certainly some do).

Instead, we should have the attitude of Msimangu. He wasn’t willing to take credit for his good deeds, but instead said that it was God’s influence in his life that made those deeds possible. That’s how we should be. We should strive to show the world that any difference or “betterness” on our part isn’t because of us—it’s because Jesus changes our hearts and allows us to be different.

“I am a weak and sinful man, but God put His hands on me, that is all.”

Francoeur Sent To The Mets

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:56:00 +0000

So I’m a little late in commenting on Jeff Francoeur being traded to the Mets, but better late than never, right?

I, like virtually every other Braves fan, became a big fan of Francoeur during his rookie season in 2005. Francoeur started off on a tear, hitting over .400 for his first month with prodigious power and he also threw people out all over the basepaths. He seemed too good to be true.

And, well, he was.

Opposing pitchers began to figure out that Francoeur would swing at anything, and that if they didn’t throw him fastballs down the middle of the plate, he was a pretty easy out. And since then, to put it mildly, he’s struggled. Without going into the all-too-brutal statistics, over the last two seasons, Francoeur had devolved into one of the worst everyday players in baseball, and was showing no sign of turning things around this year.

Overall, I guess I’m not sad that the Braves traded Francoeur, but I am sad that he never turned out to be the player that we hoped he would be.

I hope he beats the odds in New York and reclaims some of the considerable potential that he seemed to have back in 2005.

Flea Market Find

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:37:00 +0000

I spent most of last week in (or en route to and from) Denver, Colorado for a wedding.

One of the undoubted highlights of the trip was visiting a flea market and finding an affordable ($12) 1950 Bowman baseball card of Preacher Roe, the only Harding University alum to play in the Major Leagues.

I’ll be in town for the next several days, so hopefully that will result in a little more activity on the blogging front.

Little Things

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:46:00 +0000

I’ve always taken great joy from the “little things” in life and also from watching other people.

These two elements combined the other day while Caroline and I were eating at a Mexican restaurant.

Two young men, probably in their early 20s, were eating in a booth adjacent to ours, and when one got up to use the restroom, I noticed a mischievous grin appear on the face of the other. Once his friend was out of sight, he reached for the salt shaker, started cracking up, and poured a generous amount of salt into his companion’s drink.

After stirring it in, he apparently decided he hadn’t added enough, and then added a second helping. He then sat there, eagerly watching the restroom for his friend to return.

When he finally did return, the look on his face after drinking his salty beverage and his friend’s reaction to that look were absolutely priceless.

The whole episode made my day.

1984

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:20:00 +0000

After planning to do so for a long time, I finally got around to reading George Orwell’s 1984. I must say, I was disappointed.

I realize it was written in the late 1940s and that this was a scary time, but Orwell seems more than a little bit pessimistic.

On second thought, considering the clothing trends, popular music and hairstyles of choice of the 1980s, maybe Orwell’s prediction was somewhat rosy by comparison.

I Have A New Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Technically, it’s Caroline’s dog. She had been wanting a puppy for quite a while, and I told her that once she was out of school for the summer we could get one. So yesterday, we drove to Harrison, Arkansas and adopted one from the animal shelter there.

This is Jasper. He is a border collie/lab mix, and although he was very shy at first, he has warmed up to us pretty quickly.

So far, he seems to be pretty smart. Not only has he already taken interest in playing frisbee, but last night he somehow figured out which room was ours and whined and yelped outside our window all night. Good times.

Glavine Gets The Axe

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:38:00 +0000

So the Braves have now parted ways with Tom Glavine as well, deciding to release him yesterday.

I’ve been a Braves fan for as long as I can remember, so I hate to say this, but after his dealings with Andruw Jones, John Smoltz and now Glavine, it’s really starting to look like Braves GM Frank Wren is a heartless jerk who has no sense of history or loyalty.

Of course, he is trying to paint a different picture:

“It’s not a business decision from our perspective,” said Wren, who watched Glavine in Class AAA Gwinnett last Thursday. “It’s a performance decision.”

Glavine, who had season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder last August, has acknowledged that he has pitched with shoulder pain since spring training, when the velocity on his fastball was only in the upper 70s. He had been reaching the mid-80s in his recent outings, according to scoreboard readings.

But Wren said those scoreboard readings were inaccurate. While the result of Glavine’s six scoreless innings Tuesday night were good, Wren said what Braves scouts have seen was not.

“In low-A ball, the pitching line is not a relevant factor in whether the ‘stuff’ could get major-league hitters out,” Wren said.

When asked why the Braves just didn’t break ties in spring training, Wren said, “We were very hopeful there would be a different outcome. We were hoping Tom Glavine would pitch for us.”

It’s hard to take Wren’s statements at face value.

First off, there’s the issue of Glavine’s velocity. Scoreboard readings indicated that it had improved from its low point in spring training, but Wren dismissed those readings as being inaccurate. How convenient. It’s also worth pointing out that Glavine’s fastball was always laughable and was never what made him a good pitcher. It seems a little disingenious for that to be such an issue here.

Also, Wren said that the fact that Glavine pitched well in his rehab starts (throwing scoreless innings, retiring 12 consecutive batters, etc.) didn’t matter because “…in low-A ball, the pitching line is not a relevant factor in whether the ‘stuff’ could get major-league hitters out.” That does make some sense. After all, Tom Glavine will probably be able to strike me out with regularity when he’s 65, but that doesn’t mean he’s big league material. Of course, that doesn’t address the fact that in his previous rehab start, Glavine threw five scoreless innings at Class AAA Gwinnett, which isn’t low-A ball.

Maybe the worst thing that Wren said was that bit about how the Braves were hopeful that Glavine would pitch for them. Really? A guy who has won 300+ career games on guile and a mediocre fastball did the same thing in his rehab starts, but that wasn’t good enough. Seriously, what were you “hoping” for? That Glavine would start hanging out with Roger Clemens and suddenly develop an upper 90s fastball? That he would discover that he could throw a devastating screwball with his right arm?

Look, I don’t know whether or not Glavine belongs in the major leagues anymore. I honestly thought he should’ve retired last season after his injury. Maybe the Braves shouldn’t have even signed him this year.

But they did. They signed him to an incentive-laden contract, which didn’t guarantee much, but indicated he’d be given a chance if he performed well. Fastball velocity aside, I think Glavine earned that chance, pitching well in the rehab opportunities that he had been given.

Frank Wren disagrees, but his treatment of the whole issue seems more than a little shady.

Further reading: Buster Olney echoes many of my own sentiments.

I Used To Like Summer…

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:00:00 +0000

So The Doc File has taken a backseat the last few weeks as I have been swamped with other things including work, travel, and a few computer projects that have eaten up much of the free time that I usually use to blog.

As a youth minister, summer is always a busy time for me, and the “summer grind” seems to start earlier every year. That being said, I am hopeful, maybe unrealistically so, that things will improve in a few days, and then I’ll have a chance to write about some of the things that have been floating around in my head.

The Summer Of Weddings

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:33:00 +0000

One of my good friends is getting married on Memorial Day, so tomorrow Caroline and I will pack up the car and head to Nashville, Tennessee, and The Summer Of Weddings will begin.

I call it that because, by my count, there are at least five weddings between now and the end of July that I am expected to be at. Three of these weddings are out of state, and combined, will represent almost 4,000 miles of car travel. I’m not a big fan of car travel.

Oh, and while I’m complaining, I forgot to mention that weddings are undoubtedly one of my least favorite things in the entire world.

Oh well, at least this wedding should involve seeing a bunch of friends and playing a lot of ultimate.

Happy Memorial Day.

Waterboarding And Abortion

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Ken Blackwell has written an interesting article pointing out the irony that the same Obama administration that claims to be morally horrified at the idea of waterboarding mass murderers also approves of Partial Birth Abortion.

A couple of interesting tidbits:

“The purpose of the Geneva Convention was to give warring nations a strong, positive incentive to behave according to international norms and not to engage in conduct that “shocks the conscience.” When we give Al Qaeda or Taliban terrorists prisoner of war status and Geneva Convention coverage—without demanding anything of them in return—we abandon one of the great achievements of the Geneva Convention.”

“Our new president abhors torture, unless it is the torture of the unborn. In that case, it is not torture at all, but simply inducing fetal demise. This great international uproar over what is and is not torture has been generated because of the treatment of three known mass murderers. The slaughter of innocents in their thousands elicits no international outrage. This is part of what Justice Breyer sees as evolving international standards of decency.”

I’m not dismissing the torture of captured terrorists as a non-issue (although I think the discussion of whether or not waterboarding constitutes torture is a valid one).

I’m just saying that the torture issue, in scale and severity, doesn’t compare to abortion.

An Open Letter To Brett Favre

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:23:00 +0000

Hey Brett,

So the news outlets continue to report on the possibility of you coming back, again, to play in the NFL after “retiring.” I just wanted to write you to say—please don’t.

As you may or may not know, I vigorously defended your decision to come back last year. While you took a lot of flak in the press about how you had turned your back on Green Bay and sold out your fans, I took your side.

I pointed out that in an NFL where criminals like Pacman Jones and Ray Lewis can get repeated chances to play, and where screwups like Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco continue to have the opportunity to screw up, it seemed unfair for a Hall of Fame quarterback who has always served as a good role model to take so much heat for making the mistake of simply changing his mind about retiring.

I still believe that, but c’mon Brett, enough is enough.

After spending all those years with the Packers, are you really going to play for your third team in three years? Did moving to a new team last year really work out so well that you want to do it again? Is it just that you want to go out on top? Do you really think that playing for the Vikings is going to give you that chance?

You’ve had a great career—one of the best ever. Isn’t that enough? Realistically, what can you do at this point except tarnish your legacy?

If you come back, again, I won’t root against you, or hope that you get injured while playing. I might even be happy if you play well.

Just don’t expect me to take your side anymore when everyone calls you a dork for not knowing when to call it quits.

In The Midst Of A Busy Week…

noreply@blogger.com (Luke) — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:17:00 +0000

The following words seemed appropriate:

“The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

—T.S. Eliot