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Thoughts From The Road

Oct 27, 2020, 11:07 AM | Updated: 11:07 am

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Greetings from Lake Garrison, Oregon.

It’s been a wild year, and like many my family has been cooped up a little more than they should. Kids are distant learning, and any vacations during the summer were postponed.

So being the Clark Griswold Dad/Husband that I am, I decided to grab a (cheap) house in a place we’ve never been (Oregon coast), and have everyone do their jobs/schooling from a much prettier locale.

As I sit here post-show with a couple of poles in the water, I’m thinking of all the things we take for granted, in addition to life and health.

As the parent of a newly-minted teen and a soon to be 12 year-old, I am all too aware that the clock is ticking before I’m an empty nester, and any time I can get my spawn off of their devices is time well spent.

I know when I return, it’s going to be like jumping into a pool filled with leg breaking currents. The day to day and responsibilities of home life are one thing, but knowing the election is a week from today is a thought that fills me with dread and pending (I hope), relief.

Sports and politics are cousins. We all generally pick a side, root for our team, and talk trash to our rivals. We get frustrated when our guys screw up, and hopeful when new talent that can lead us to the promised land bursts onto the scene.

Switching sides is probably more prevalent in politics and sports, and also- both sides have casual fans and fanatics.

We think about how much joy our side winning will bring us, and how we just couldn’t bear our side losing. Happens every time.

And life goes on. We remember what is truly important, and we make the best of what’s around. Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware that comparing sports and politics can only go so far- one is a welcome distraction from the day to day of real world problems, the other IS our real world problems. It’s also easier for some to say “no matter what happens, it’s not life and death. To some it IS life and death. Or at least- in the realm.

There is far more that unites us than divides us, even today. Sometimes I look around and see all the anger and frustration in our country, and I daydream about an alien invasion, like in the movies. Trust me, I’m not looking for Independence Day to come to life- but boy would that unite the world. Unfortunately in our country, the last time I saw us heavily united  was 9/11, and as we know now- that period was far more uniting for some than for others.

History has a funny way of focusing the microscope, and yes hindsight is 20/20. I can’t change what happens in an election, all I can do is vote. I can’t control whether or not my favorite team wins a game, all I can do is cheer.

But what I CAN do is try and be a good person. Raise my kids to be good people. Catch a fish or two, and try my best to distract people from the “real world”. Yeah, I’ll talk about serious stuff like everyone else, but I’ll do my best to remember what truly is and isn’t serious.

Human beings by nature are good people, and maybe I’m naive for thinking so. But in the end, it’s the relationships we make and the legacies we leave behind that truly matter.

We all have a footprint, maybe if we spent more time worrying about where our mark landed and less time thinking about the steps of others, we’d be in just a little better of a spot.

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