Easy to be hard......

 Oh life, what fun you are.  Oh life, what fun you ain't (sometimes).

Danny Duffy, ye of Royal pitching fame - once said "I've finally got pitching figured out."  Of course, twelve anxious reporters wanting a story yanked out their pen, paper, tape recorders (I'm old, I have no idea what they use to capture sound in an instance like this nowadays)... anyways, baited breath. (Stymee halt.  The hell does baited breath mean and is that how you spell it or is it bated breath?)

Glad you asked (kinda) and as far as bated or baited I seen both.  So since I said "I seen both", it's pretty obvious I have no idea about grammar.  As far as whatineheheck bated (baited) breath means, I guess Shakespeare used it long ago, but basically it means holding one's breath in anticipation.  The hell was I?

Oh yeah, Duffy.  "Figured it out."  Turns out, the yoke was on the twelve reporters because Duffy explained "I've figured out that there is no figuring it out, you'll never know everything about pitching, so if I believe I DO KNOW everything about it, I'm in trouble."

Kinda like life.  And women. (VICTOR!)

This blog is over, there is no figuring life out.  jk.  There really isn't, but sometimes things help.

I like the idea of the reporter dudes having their Big Chief tablets handy to record matters of importance.  I "Googled" something about good advice in life and one of the suggestions was to always have pen, paper because you never know when  you'll hear something new, impactive, a great idea, etc, yada.

Got buddy who, after softball games we'd gather to have a Pepsi, when someone would start to tell a joke, he'd yell "HOLD IT!... I never remember 'em so I gotta write it down." - He'd then grab his always nearby notebook, nod, giving approval for the Paul Harvey of the joke.

Isn't that what life is made up of? Listening to ideas, spitting out whatya don't like, saying 'meh' to the ones that are 'meh', and then recording, remembering, telling one's self "I've GOT to remember that."  Impactive stuff.  Usually simple.  Seems life's instructions about this damn hard life are generally simple.

Pimple.  Wart. Scab. <-- that's me.  I am human hear me roar. Inotherwords, by writing this blog on things that have helped me cope with the 365 bit, I in no means think I know everything. (Like ole' Danny Duffy.... Yes, he's wise, but he also fell asleep in line once in his car at Burger King, they couldn't awaken him and he got arrested.)  Insomemorenotherwords, I ain't preaching.  Got it?  Gracias!

Listen more, talk less. I love this one. I have a big mouth (keyboard) here, but in 'real life', were there a table full of us, you'd find me taking in more input than opening my trap and letting 'put' out.  True. Yes, I too have had those phone calls where you ask, they tell...and tell.. .and tell.. and tell.. and after you hang up you think "they didn't learn one damn thing about me." And that's ok. If they woulda wanted to, they woulda asked.  MORESO though, listen more, talk less has really helped me learn along the way.

Learn from wise ones. I never heard anyone spit that statement out along the way. Shoulda. Since Facebook is the 'newstand' where one comes across this blog - I've so learned from Facebook, and wise ones. Death in the family?  I scroll thru the list of prayers, thinking "whatintheheck can I say" as I do - and whoop, there it is, a wise one has written something perfect.  There are no perfect people, but time and time again, valuable lessons are learned by keeping a keen eye/ear on the wise ones we happen upon in life. (And are lucky to have happened upon them.)

Catch them being good. In an interview to hopefully become an elementary PE teacher I heard this one.  It was one of the Principal's guiding principles. Accentuate the positive (catch 'em being good.) It makes 'em feel good about themselves, and good behavior then has a tendency to repeat. We all love to be complemented.  Sure, it can't be hokey, but when it's earned it's hella impactive.

Be a fountain, not a drain. This is for my friend David Soltys, because the Royal's announcer he dislikes (Rex Hudler) always says this.  Turns out his mother used to say it to him every morning of his life.  Pretty decent advice.  I slip, you slip, we all slip   - but the more we concentrate on the positive, the bigger the fountain becomes.  Fountains can be tourist traps.  They also cleanse the body, the brain, helping one to smile, feel a little better about life and themselves.

So, whoop there it is.. the BLT..  PB&J (I always preferred peanut butter and bananas).. the mac and cheese (Patooey!). inotherwords, the lesson(s), life and wise people teach along the way.

Life.  Easy to be hard. 

Write the good shit (sorry, kinda) you hear down, like by softball buddy Dale.  Oops.  Slipped.

Listen more, talk less.  That was from a long article about former KU football coach Mark Mangino. I will never admit to getting advice from anyone connected to KU, so this blog will self destruct in two minutes.

Learn from wise ones. That quote is actually mine.  In life I frequently find myself LOST.  Wise ones = GPS on how to live better.  Thank God for wise ones. Or, as Three Dog Night, Easy To Be Hard would sing "especially people who care about strangers, who care about evil and social injustice."

Last but not least, Good Night Irene. (Irene was the Elementary Principal who espoused "catch 'em being good.") That advice has really helped me in life.  Every aspect.  Family, friends, teaching, coaching, simple being - a  better person.

Life is easy to be hard.  Zits, warts and scabs, we all got em. Along the way, if you learn anything from anyone that a lightbulb goes off and "hey, I should remember this", grab your Big Chief, write it down.

Peace out, love, Victurd