Who the F*ck Are You?

The street is a good place to think. Well, so long as you pay attention to your surroundings and don't get run over. Success so far.

Gotta love anybody who can poke fun at
his/her own mistakes.

Today I was struck a little by the comments elicited by my Facebook status post yesterday of an inspirational quote from Lance Armstrong. Now, the interesting thing about writing that I am finally coming to grips with is that people make assumptions about who you are or what you believe based on your written word. OK, so it's not exactly news to me, but comments on a recent Editors' Roundtable response assumed me to be a stereotypical liberal. Or at least the common perception of that. I found it humorous and a little insulting that idiot anonymous commenters like to think they know me or any of us by our response to one question.

Anyway, I'll set the record strait on Lance Armstrong and how I feel about him. Shrug. That's right, I don't really care. Though I am an avid bicyclist, owning several and using two wheels as my primary mode of transportation, I've never followed competitive cycling. I have a peripheral knowledge of Lance Armstrong because he was in the news for his dominance of the Tour de France, his fight with cancer, his comeback, subsequent doping allegations, his relationship with Sheryl Crow. ... But I rarely read more than the headlines. It's just not my bag, baby. And celebrity adoration and idolization is even less so.

But as I read the Morning Minutes column on page A2 of The Register-Mail yesterday, I really liked the quote of the day, by Lance Armstrong: "Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever." A friendly jibe from my close buddy Kent alluded to Armstrong's steroid (ab)use. I made a point about celebrated musicians who died of drug overdoses and how we typically just lament the loss and don't criticize their drug use. I also questioned whether Armstrong's steroid use was ever proven. Another friend chimed in that it was, and that there were plenty of other reasons to dislike Lance Armstrong, but he agreed that the quote was a good one.

So far I have never found a live animal. Wouldn't that be cool, though?

And I guess that's the point. You don't have to like someone to acknowledge wisdom or a clever quote or a good bit of acting or touching music. There is good and bad in all of us. And while the teacher (often parent) who says, "Do as I say, not as I do," isn't the best teacher, it doesn't mean he or she doesn't know his subject matter. But I will grant you it is better to lead (teach) by example.

That said, here is what I came up with as I tried to spawn my own pithy but inspirational quote. It is born of a drunken conversation with a couple of new friends Saturday night outside my favorite bar.

"Teachers, know that how well you are liked by present students is far less important than how much you are appreciated by former students."

Today's Stats
Temp: 63 degrees F
Distance: 3.5 miles
Treasure: 1 Wiffle ball; 16 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
Ruby and Carlos - James McMurtry
Mr. Pitiful - The Commitments
Wide Boy - Nik Kershaw
Misterioso - Wynton Marsalis Septet
Like No Other Night - .38 Special
Reconsider Me (cover) - Steve Earle & Reckless Kelly
Best of Times - Styx
No One Like You - David Crowder Band
Lucky Girl - Joni Mitchell
Nightingale - Norah Jones
Tom Sawyer - Rush
Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival