Our Ohio atmosphere

Since moving to Ohio, we’ve been asked many, many times why we would move here from California.

Here is an image of the atmosphere we had in front
of our condo today.

          It’s a fair question, obviously. The bottom line is that we like it here. We have friends here in Ohio and we enjoy the atmosphere. In fact, the atmosphere is picturesque. I have attached some images of the picturesque Ohio atmosphere.

          Tonight, the atmosphere is less warm than it has been at other times of the year. Our special thermometer, which has a remote atmospheric sensor we keep outside that communicates with a special atmospheric receiving gizmo that we keep inside the house, relates that the current temperature outside is 15.6 degrees and falling.

          The good news is that we’ve had no rain this week. But you can see in the images how the non-rain has piled up in the neighborhood. Sort of odd, huh?

This view shows our street after the atmosphere
was pushed to the side.

 

          Odd enough that I have to wear heavy boots and three pairs of clothes when I walk the dog at night. But we’ve adjusted to the climate and our dog has not seemed to notice much difference. She hasn’t complained anyway.

          We have a beautiful park across the road from our neighborhood and I walk along the trails there frequently. Parks have a tendency to become housing tracts in California but it doesn’t seem as likely to happen here. Thus, for an avid photographer there is another bonus: Neat stuff for the old image collection.

Real ice, real atmosphere!

          No joking: We like living here. We miss our family and friends back in California, but our new surroundings are pretty neat. Look at the image of the ice hanging from our neighbor’s roof. In California, we’d have to hang fake ice from the rain gutter. Here we have the real thing.

          You should try it sometime. You might like it.

 

          Happy New Year and thanks for reading.

Loose association

Mind doctors would call this loose association, but that’s their problem:

          I’m sure you noticed that the team which knocked the New York Jets out of the playoffs was the Tennessee Titans. Why does this matter? Because the original name of the Jets franchise was the New York Titans. Sammy Baugh was the original head coach, but you knew that, right?

          Who was Sammy Baugh? Really? Never mind.

          Want to know why Tim Tebow never had a legitimate chance to play an important role for the Jets this season? So do I. Tebow did something last year that the Jets haven’t done in a while: He won a playoff game.

         Remember the playoffs? Ask former Colts coach Jim Mora about the playoffs or check his comments on the subject on YouTube.

           Congratulations to Tebow’s former team, the Denver Broncos, for their terrific season in 2012 and good luck to them in Jim  Mora’s playoffs.

            The Broncos have accomplished something many NFL coaches might guess was impossible: Using their third starting quarterback over the course of two seasons and running their third offense in two seasons, they have won the AFC West.
            The truth is, this is a statement about the quality of the coaching staff in Denver. Those guys are tremendous. They won games in wacky circumstances last year, retooled, and won again this year. Great stuff.

And how about head coach Jeff Fisher and the job he did with St. Louis Rams this season? They’ve missed the playoffs, but they’ve won seven games so far, a dramatic improvement over their 2011 disaster. Remember another Rams coach, a guy that took over a failing franchise and turned the team into a winner in one season, making the playoffs in his second season?

             That was George Allen in the 1960s. The team had the makings but didn’t win before Allen got there.
             Allen took over a team with a good, young quarterback (Roman Gabriel), a man who became the franchise-leading running back (Dick Bass) and a highly-regarded defense. Sound familiar?
             One key to Allen’s success was his devotion to special teams. I believe he made the Rams become the first team to hire an assistant specifically to coach special teams. The guy Allen hired? Dick Vermeil.
             Years later, Vermeil became the Rams’ head coach. He took over a failing franchise, made the team competitive and then lost his starting quarterback in the final pre-season game of Vermeil’s second year. He turned to a promising young quarterback and won the Super Bowl that season.

The quarterback? Really? Kurt Warner.

That Rams Super Bowl victory was the second time Vermeil coached a team to the big game. Years earlier, he coached the Philadelphia Eagles to the NFC championship before losing to the Raiders in the title game.

Vermeil’s starting quarterback in Philadelphia? Ron Jaworski, formerly a quarterback with the Los Angeles Rams.

While playing for the Eagles, Jaworski frequently played against the New York Giants. So what? Well, keep reading.

Warner, of course, eventually played for the Giants. He had a winning record but he was demoted anyway in favor of a promising young quarterback. That young quarterback has now won two Super Bowls with the Giants.

I know you know that young Giants quarterback was Eli Manning.

Manning beat the New England Patriots in both his Super Bowl wins. So what? Keep reading.

 

Two years after they won the Super Bowl, the Rams were heavily favored to win the big game again but they lost to…hey you know this right? The Patriots.

But it gets better. After Warner was dumped by the Giants, the Arizona Cardinals hired him. Warner eventually led the Cardinals all the way to the Super Bowl, where they were beaten in heart-breaking style by the Pittsburg Steelers.

Yeah, the Steelers. The same franchise that beat the Rams in their first appearance in a Super Bowl, back when the Rams were known as the Los Angeles Rams.

 

When the Rams finally won their first Super Bowl victory, I’m sure you all know who the head coach was of the team the Rams beat, right?

Come on, you know this. It was Jeff Fisher, who coached the…wait for it…hey, why haven’t you been paying attention?

Fisher coached the Tennessee Titans back then.

 

Loose association? Maybe, but thanks for reading.

 

Family and friends

                It is Christmas time in Ohio. It’s the same everywhere else, I guess.

          We’re lucky enough that we’ll see much of our family this year and we very much hope it means the same for you and yours.

          I remember one year when I had either just graduated from college or was a semester away from finishing and I did not make it home on Christmas Day. I don’t recall whether I had to work early the next day or had some other issue, but I could not go home for that day.

          A friend heard me say that I would not be going home and she insisted that I come spend the day with her at her parents’ home. I believe my friend had a boyfriend and that he was there (I’m not sure, this was a very long time ago), but otherwise it was me and the family.

          When I arrived at the house that day and knocked on the door, my friend’s mother welcomed me and she must have known how awkward I felt because she made me feel right at home very quickly. It was a warm and comfortable day and I’ve never forgotten the kindness of my friend and her family.

          I hope that all of you have a warm and happy Holiday Season and that you are able to share it with both family and friends.

 

          Thanks for reading.

Brown is best

Readers: Updated!!

                He hasn’t played a game since 1965. Some of his records have been surpassed. And yet he is the gold standard for professional football running backs.

          It is silly to use words like always, never or ever when talking about sports records because they can all be broken. But I always say there will never be a back like Jim Brown again. Ever.

          I like Browns’ running back Trent Richardson, the rookie from Alabama. Hard runner, productive on a team that has struggled. He recently broke the team record for touchdowns by a Browns rookie, scoring his 11^th TD in his 14^th game. Brown shared that record, having scored 10 TDs as a rookie in 1957.

          The NFL played 12 games a year when Brown broke in.

          No disrespect meant toward Richardson. He is a tremendous football player and would, no doubt, be much more productive on a better team. But if you compare the numbers as a whole, Jim Brown’s rookie season is amazing. In those 12 games, Brown rushed for 942 yards (Richardson has 897 to date), averaged 4.7 yards per carry (to Richardson’s 3.5), averaged 78.5 yards per game (to Richardson’s 64.1) and did all that on 56 fewer carries.

          When OJ Simpson became the first rusher to top the 2,000 yard mark for a season, he did so during a 16-game season. The single season record had been Brown’s 1,863 set in 1963, when the league played a 14-game schedule. Brown’s 1963 numbers seem astonishing, even now. In 291 carries, Brown scored a dozen touchdowns, averaged 133.1 yards per game and 6.4 yards per carry. If you give Brown his average per game and give him two average games, he has another 266 yards. That adds up to 2,129 yards, which would surpass the current record.

          Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings back who is threatening the current NFL single season mark, seems unlikely to reach 2,129 yards this year.

          For his career, Jim Brown carried the ball 2,359 times. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry, a first down every second carry. He averaged 104.3 yards per game. This in a career that spanned the 12-game era (first four seasons) and the 14-game era.

          So you can do the math or read it here: Over his nine seasons, Brown could have played in 26 more games had the schedule been 16 games long. Multiply his 104.3 yards per game by 26 games and you add (rounding down) 2,711 more yards to Brown’s career total of 12,312 yards. That total would be 15,023 yards.

          The all-time career rushing mark? Emmitt’s 18,355, produced over 15 seasons with the Cowboys and Cardinals. Brown’s projected career mark would put him third behind Smith, Walter Payton (16,726 yards) and Barry Sanders (15,269).

          As it is in the real world, Brown is still ninth on the all-time list.

          In the four decades since he played, the game has changed. Even the playing fields have changed. But Jim Brown’s numbers don’t change. They remain the best of all time.

 

          Thanks for reading.

Black and White images of color

If you read this blog you know I enjoy photography and the study of history. I am passionate about taking the opportunity to combine those two interests when the chance avails itself.

In a development (forgive the photo humor) that is completely out of step with my general personality, I like to experiment with both the camera and with the resulting image. During my nine years as an instructor’s assistant at a community college in California I helped students learn about black and white film photography and, whether the students learned anything or not, it was an amazingly educational experience for me. It was during this time that I first began to experiment with my images.

I have some examples here, accompanied by a description of what each set of images contain.

 OBJECTIVE: Using my Photoshop program, render images from two Civil War battlefields from their current appearance to something approaching their 1863 look. Then convert the color images to black and white images that show the way photographers of the era might have shot them.

TOOLS: My trusty Nikon D90 (one image required a monopod) and Photoshop Elements 11.

TIP: It helps to know what you are looking at from an historical perspective. I have studied both battles.

 This first set of images is at Gettysburg on the northern end of the Wheatfield, aimed south. Little Round Top is visible in the background. I had to do some light Photoshop clone stamp work to rid the image of some monuments (which were not there at the time of the battle) for the black and white version. The Wheatfield saw some awful fighting on July 2, 1863. The 20-acre location changed hands, I believe, six times before the Confederates finally gained possession. The inclusion of Little Round Top is appropriate: After chasing the Federals from the Wheatfield, a group of Southerners marched against the small hill, only to be pushed back to the Wheatfield.

From the north end of the Wheatfield at Gettysburg.

Same image, with some monuments.

The black and white image gives off a stronger statement, I feel, than the color shot. Understand, they are different versions of the exact same image, but the B&W has a different feel.

 The second pair is also from Gettysburg, in the area where the cavalry units met on July 3, 1863. The fighting in this area started with an ambush, so I ducked behind some handy trees and collected this image of the Rummel Farm. It is a working farm today, so I had to be sure the buildings do not look too modern when I framed the image.

Here the black and white image is actually an infra-red application. I like the way this increases the contrast between the black of the leaves of the tree I am behind with the lighter colors of the farm buildings and the grassy area between the two.

 

 

 

 

 

Here I like both images. The infra-red application makes a neat difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third collection comes from the site of the Battle of Chickamauga. Look at the color image to see the monuments I removed before converting to black and white. The tall monument is the South Carolina memorial, sitting on a portion of the hill leading to Horseshoe Ridge. This was a terribly dangerous place to be on July 20, 1863. The Confederates pushed up this hill most of the afternoon before finally taking control around sundown.

 

 

Lesser known than Little Round Top, this hill was the location of some grizzly fighting. When I see this image, I think of the Confederates disappearing into the trees on their way to the source of the bullets and cannon balls the Union soldiers were shooting at them.

 

The color image was captured in the early spring with the colors are not dramatic.

Even knowing then history, the color shot is not too exciting. But converting the image to black and white changes my reaction. Does it do anything for you?

 

 

 

 

Finally, one of my favorite markers at Gettysburg. I think the history explains itself. The black and white image gives this marker a gritty feel. Every time I see it, I think about the men who helped locate the spot and I assume they were veterans of the fighting there. I wonder what they saw and heard, mentally, as they determined the spot where the marker should be placed decades after the war.

Full disclosure here: I burned in most of the lettering for the images of this marker. Age has made the marker difficult to read in a photograph.

 

You will doubtlessly be able to find ways to experiment, photographically. It is my hope that one of those experiments will be with a film camera loaded with a roll of black and white. You’ll find that shooting with a film camera forces you to generate better habits because you don’t have an endless supply of images. Digital photography, with all of its technical advantages, makes for lazy photographers.

I encourage you to visit Civil War battlefields and bring a camera. But do so with at least a general understanding of what happened there. Visit with enthusiasm, by all means. But walk with respect.

         Thanks for reading.

Keep them in your thoughts

                Our family’s thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by the terrible killings in Connecticut today.

Maybe Chicken Little was right

If you grow up in Southern California, you know about air pollution. The region has been over populated for roughly 60 years now, so too many cars put too much bad stuff in the air. Industry really isn’t an issue any more. Not too many industries left in California, due to the tax structure the state has.

Now, when a native Californian relocates to the Midwest, there is every reason to believe the bad air is a thing of the past. There is no car pollution in the Midwest. Even the regions where heavy industry formerly created problems are now much more healthy places to breathe.

So imagine my consternation this week when I discovered the horrible pollution issue where I live. ‘How can this possibly be,’ I wondered to myself. The internet said the air quality is good here and they can’t put anything inaccurate on the internet.

A good walk ruined by this terrible, new pollution.

I was walking our dog on a cold, cloudy day when the skies apparently became so filled with pollution that this white stuff began falling to the earth. Incredible. And it spread like crazy. Pretty soon, this white pollution covered every lawn, street, house and car within view. This stuff is so dangerous; it makes a quiet crunching sound when you walk on it.

Air so bad that it makes you cough, sure. I get that. But air so bad it falls to the ground and crunches when you walk on it? I never thought I’d see the day.

So I asked my wife about it. She taught second grade for many years and is a repository for all knowledge useful in life. Her answer was not at all helpful. She told me, “You’ll get used to it.”

That didn’t help much.

The next day I drove across three states and back in order to accomplish some important business and saw still more of this white stuff. I saw cars covered with what seemed to be a thin layer of the same insidious pollution. Parts of the ground where the morning shadows had not yet receded were similarly hidden. I asked someone in the store where I was shopping if any white stuff had fallen from the sky recently and she answered in the negative.

“But the cars are covered with it,” I protested. She said it had been very cold the night before.

In California, the summer air is normally more polluted than the non-summer air (Southern California does not really have winter months) and it appears that the Midwest has just the reverse. We did not see this white pollution until after the summer months were gone.

All I can figure out is that something in the summer climate stops this white pollution from forming. But then there is some kind of change in the atmosphere during the fall and the molecules that create this stuff are then able to come together and form something really bad.

I postulate that these hybrid molecules, whatever they are, cause the air temperature to drop. They continue to get larger and heavier until they simply crash to the planet surface, bringing misery to all in their path.

Let’s get back to the woman I met in the store. Remember, she explained the white stuff on the cars and the ground appeared after a cold night. I can only guess her comment means that this white pollution can somehow generate itself here on the earth’s surface, given the needed circumstances.

Yikes, that’s a scary thought. I mean, what if you have to walk on it sometime?

“That’s why I bought boots for the winter,” my wife explained.

I asked why the government has done nothing about solving this problem and my patient wife said the government does what it always does when things go wrong: It sends out trucks with shovels so it can push the stuff to the side and wait for someone else to solve the issue. I asked, logically, “What about driving on this stuff?”

 

She said the government salts the roads.

“I don’t want to eat the stuff,” I whined to my wife. “Besides, too much salt is bad for your heart.”

For no reason at all, she picked up a magazine and threw it at me.

All I can figure out about this terrible pollution is the following:

It either brings winter on or is brought on by winter.
It can form itself at ground level or in the sky.
It is crunchy.
It tastes better with salt.
It causes such an uproar that perfectly nice people end up throwing things at each other when it appears.
It may be caused by communists or some other political force because the government has decided silently to do nothing about it except shovel it onto the lawn (instead of under the rug).
 
           Maybe you know more about all this than I do. I hope so. But whatever it is, I’m done asking about it. My wife might find another magazine to throw and I might not be able to duck quickly enough next time.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

The Zack Attack

I’m sure you noticed the latest player signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball club, pitcher Zack Greinke. The Dodgers seem to be in a hurry to spend every penny available before the Mayan calendar sends us all the way of the Incas.

          Nothing here against Greinke; he’s a fine hurler who won 15 games against only five losses last year. He nearly had a good earned run average, finishing the season at 3.48. Former Cy Young Award winner, right? Probably a good guy.

          But those stats are not worth $147 million, even if the money is spread thin over six long years.

          It used to be that a pitcher had to win 20 games a season to earn really big money. On some ball clubs, that is still the truth. Not so much in Los Angeles, at least not any more.

          This is the same town where Koufax and Drysdale used to win 25 games between them before the All-Star break. It’s the same town where Clayton Kershaw…wait a minute. What does he make?

          Good grief. Remember Fernando Valenzuela? Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, World Series champion. He sparked Fernando Mania. When he pitched, the Dodgers sold every ticket they could print. He’s still attracting fans as a broadcaster on the Dodgers’ Spanish radio network.

          Valenzuela was worth $24.5 million a year. He never got paid that much, but he’d have been worth it. Can you imagine anyone else making that kind of a difference to a team?

          There once was a player named Louis Norman ‘Bobo’ Newsome. He was a major league pitcher, a right hander. In 600 Major League games, Newsome won 211 and lost 222. He compiled a 3.98 era and recorded 31 shutouts. He was mostly a starter but also went 15-15 in relief with 21 saves. He struck out 2,082 and walked 1,732.

          Popular? I should say. Everybody loved Newsome. In fact, he was so well liked that he played for virtually every team in baseball. Twice.

          Newsome played for two Major League teams in the same season seven times and played for three teams one year. Newsome should have had a part time job as a lobbyist in the halls of Congress because he played five different stretches for Washington. The Dodgers had him twice.

          Playing for the Tigers, he went 2-1 in the 1940 World Series with an era of 1.38.

          But Bobo Newsome never earned anything close to $147 million, at least not on the baseball field. Bad luck for Bobo, he played in the wrong era. Despite his heroics, he earned significantly less than $147 million.

          The truth is that I hope Greinke gives the Dodgers the boost their starting rotation seemed to need at times last season. It would be great if he and Kershaw can give the team the same kind of one-two punch they had with Dandy Sandy and The Big D.

          If Greinke produces numbers that are, well, Newsome-esque, then the Dodgers have spent wisely. If it doesn’t work out that way, then Dodgers fans will be left to wonder what $147 million really buys anymore.

 

          Thanks for reading.

Learning to see what's out there

          A successful photographer has an eye that sees the world as if a photograph has already been printed. My son has that eye. He is a creative, artistic photographer.

A solo walker on a path near Horseshoe Ridge at
Chickamauga National Military Park.

          Even if you are more of a mechanical photographer than an artistic one, you still need to look at the world in front of you and understand what photographic possibilities stand in front of you. The more experiences you have, the better chance you have to project the possible images each situation offers.

          The first image here was captured in the early spring on the grounds of the Chickamauga National Military Park in Georgia. Notice how stark the landscape is, especially with the man walking down the path by himself.



A quiet path in a park in Tallmadge, Ohio.

          Flash forward to September of this year. As nature began to change colors, I thought about the stark image at Chickamauga and added the fall colors. That led to the next image, captured during a walk through one of the parks in Ohio.

          Take a look at the world around you. There are plenty of ideas that will make great images. There are stories waiting for you.

There is a funeral home here in my town named Newcomers. We drive by the place once or twice a week and we remark on it every time. Okay, it’s an eye-catching name for a funeral home and you can fill in your own wisecracks.

One way in, no way out.

          But that isn’t why the picture had to be taken. Take another look at the sign for the driveway and then think about it.

          This is a classic image of an idea that sells itself. This stuff is out there, you just have to keep your eyes open and understand what you are looking at. Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective, once said, “You see but you do not perceive.”

          Push yourself to perceive.

 

          Thanks for reading.

Alabama to win SEC title game

          If you read this blog a lot, as you should, you know I missed on my prediction about who would play in college football’s national championship game. I might still get part of it right.

          I called Kansas State falling out of the number one spot in the polls, but I had them losing to Texas, not Baylor.

I sort of thought Notre Dame might make it to the title game, but the more I really studied things, the more clear it became that Southern California would upset Notre Dame. Then USC lost its starting quarterback and that was that. Things became as clear as mud.

          That’s my excuse, anyway. Best I can do for now.

          This weekend, Alabama plays Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, what is now a national semi-final elimination game.

          I believe, as I did in August, that Alabama will play for the national title in January. Thus, the prediction here is that Alabama will beat Georgia in what should be a terrific game. These teams have similar strengths and few weaknesses. Expect a slugfest, an old fashioned SEC heart pounder.

          I don’t believe Georgia has enough firepower to beat the Alabama defense, but the Crimson Tide can’t make mistakes on either offense or defense. A few turnovers by the ‘Bama offense, the kind of thing that happened in the loss to Texas A&M a few weeks ago, would be all Georgia needs. A big play or two by Georgia’s offense due to Alabama defensive miscues could do the same thing.

          This is will be like a fight between the two best bullies in the neighborhood, a real backyard slobber knocker. The winner will fight another bully in another backyard.

          The pick here is Alabama over Georgia, partially because it seems as though Alabama’s defensive front will be able to slow down Georgia’s excellent running game just enough to force the Bulldogs to pass in obvious situations. It says here that Alabama’s defensive front will be able to put enough pressure on the passing pocket to force Georgia mistakes.

          Georgia’s defensive front will have to both stop Alabama’s inside running game and contain the Tide’s edge rushing. The Bulldogs’ defensive middle might jam things between the guards, but the Crimson Tide will find the edges to be available for profit. This is a great match, Alabama’s offensive front and Georgia’s defensive front.

          We do not expect to see the same mistakes in the Alabama passing game that cost it the win against Texas A&M. It was ‘Bama’s passing that ultimately beat LSU in the 2011 national championship game and again when the teams met this year. We think Alabama’s passing game could be the deciding factor again in this game.

          Don’t ask me the score in this one. Just look for Alabama to win.

 

          Thanks for reading.

It's a major award!

                We traveled to one of Ohio’s great spots, the house in Cleveland where the exterior shots were filmed for the movie A Christmas Story.

My daughter and I pose in front of The Major
Award from the movie, "A Christmas
Story" in the house where some of the movie
was filmed.

          The film is my favorite holiday movie.

          My wife was disappointed in the place, but she does not like the movie. I love the movie and enjoyed visiting both the house and the museum. I was hoping to see the Bumpus dogs, but I guess they were making an appearance somewhere else that day.

When I watch the film in the future, I’ll be sure to say out loud, “Hey, we were there.” I hope I don’t upset anyone. I learned a few things that I’ll watch for the next time I see the film.

Amy, my wife, was also disappointed when she visited Plymouth Rock a few years ago. She feels it’s just a big rock on the edge of the surf. I, on the other hand, insist that the Rock is unquestionably the very rock the first Pilgrims first stepped upon when they arrived on the North American shore. It is the finest rock I’ve ever seen and I saw a lot of surf rocks during my years in California.

I guess your appreciation for a landmark depends on what you expect in the first place.

I hope you have not been disappointed by this blog.

 

Thanks for reading.

Heads up!

          I’m a football fan. Always have been, always will be. I have a lifetime of really great football memories and the next ones are just around the corner.

          So I am concerned about the future of the game. Right now, the future of the game must include a very serious look at head and neck injuries: Both prevention and treatment. After years of avoiding the issue, the National Football League is now dealing with this very serious problem.

          I believe collegiate and high school programs will benefit from what the NFL uncovers and how the league acts in the next few years in this regard and that is exceptionally good news for the vast percentage of players who never make it to the professional level.

          So, a few thoughts here on that topic from a non-medical professional.

          Concussions have always been a part of football. We’re hearing more about it now, but they are nothing new. Ask anyone who played the game. I had one and I never played beyond Pop Warner ball.

          I believe the newer helmets have changed, somewhat, the way some players approach the game. The current generation of the helmet is better and safer that what players have had in the past, but that improvement may be leading to riskier play. I do not blame the helmet manufacturer for many of the injuries we see now. Players and coaches must look at what they are doing as they are injured.

          I think every level of play needs rules about helmet-to-helmet contact. Players need to play with their heads up. This includes offensive players. If a ball carrier lowers his head as a tackler approaches, it isn’t proper to penalize the defensive player if there is helmet-to-helmet contact and the defensive player does not lower his helmet prior to impact.

          Now, a ball carrier can lower his shoulder pads without lowering his head. A tackler can lower his shoulder pads without lowering his head. Blockers can do it, too. But coaches must coach the techniques involved every day at every level. That is especially true for the coaches of younger players. My coaches told me to keep my head up. I didn’t listen and the result was a knockout.

          Years ago, when artificial turf was introduced (I think the Astrodome was the major first field to use it), the invention was hailed as the solution to knee injuries in football. It wasn’t. Football is a game where large bodies fly around at amazing speeds and crash into each other. Knee injuries, unfortunately, still happen.

          But I believe the use of artificial turf contributes to the severity of head, neck and other injuries because players are faster on fraud sod, making the collisions harder to avoid and causing them to have greater impact. So I hope some genius studies the correlation between injuries on the lawn and injuries on the fake stuff. There is something to be learned there.

          The NFL has a role to play in making improvements in this way to game and the league is working on it. The players, coaches, medical professionals and equipment makers have to buy in as well.

None of the needed work will be done until everyone finds a way to work together. Some of the universities that field big-time football teams also have excellent research medical programs. It would be in the best interests of everyone if the league worked with some of those researchers, who also have an interest in making football safer.

          It can be done, but first we need a healthy dose of Want To, the key ingredient to solving any issue. If every stakeholder gets some Want To, progress will be made.

          Wish I knew how to can that stuff. I’d make a fortune.

          Thanks for reading.

Happy Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving Day and I’m thankful.

          I’m thankful for my family’s good health. All of us seem to be in good spirits and good life situations and I am grateful for that happiness.

          I am very grateful that my wife hasn’t thrown me out yet.

          I am grateful that I am not a hockey fan.

          I am constantly grateful for the job I have, working for a terrific company. My wife and I recently moved to Ohio. Our living situation is comfortable and I am grateful to all the friends who helped us make that happen. This was an eight-year process.

          I am grateful for the third win captured early in the current football season by the St. Louis Rams. That’s an improvement over last year, so they can lose all the rest of their games and still talk about their season-to-season improvement. The suspense is over and I’m calmer. Everyone is grateful for that.

          I am grateful for living in the world’s best nation. Regardless of how I feel about the tremendous lack of leadership we have right now, this is still the best place to live. On that topic, I am grateful every day to the men and women in our armed forces for the work they do, the stresses they face daily. Our soldiers, sailors (both Navy and Coast Guard), marines, airmen (and airwomen), National Guardsmen (and Guardswomen) and reservists keep the wolves away. If you’re reading this and in the service, thanks.

          And I am grateful to you for reading. Happy Thanksgiving.