Our greatest fear now is – being bored.
What!?! Yep. But wait…
To keep us from boredom…
There are some quickly growing sports all across the land
Lacrosse, for one, is gaining momentum every day…
And an Irish import too – Gaelic Football growing into a sport of choice…
So guess what – you don’t have to be bored…
Sports don’t just keep us from being bored, though –
They give us strength,
And they renew our faith…
But what now is the opposite of faith – is it doubt?
That’s what I used to think – and then I found…
The opposite of faith is not doubt – it is reason.
For in reason, there is logic – and an ordered way about –
Yet the treasure of faith is not logic or order – it is triumph, all through and through!
So you smile when you sit back and say that – you like the sound of triumph…
But it’s getting harder and harder to understand –
The smell of freedom…
Why? Because the smell of freedom smells like – the corridors of a VA hospital!!!
Not always an easy smell…
Trickery and deception are quite easy these days…
A new habit of life – to lie boldface, straight-away, to yourself…
Part of our fabric now, eh? Is it really true?
At least you still might parlay your memories, into their – proper places?
No, no – history is written by the winners, or so it has been for years…
Only now, somehow – it’s all about access…
For history – is about access to different perspectives…
And now, what was once considered normal – this is now disdained,
It almost seems as if – there is no normal history…
You want to be different, and still fit in…
You want to hear a story about a stolen kiss…
You know, or have found, somewhere, that deception is one way to lose…
But also you know, or have found, somewhere, that you can’t lose if you don’t play…
Speaking of being different, can you make mock outrage any better, like, perfected?
When faced with examination under the most unsparing light…
What would be revealed?
A smile that could restore your belief in God?
Or the reassurance that there is no doubt that there is the disadvantage of having intelligent friends – They see right through you.
So –
You want to believe that we are not living in a time and place where paranoia is a requirement…
Wow! Can you believe it – for life, yes – paranoia is now a requirement…
And, increasingly, it seems this is true –
If you stop being paranoid for just one wee little bit, the next thing you know…
You’ll lose something…
Loss is not an easy thing, and it’s hard to hang on to hope…
And it’s harder still to have an attractive personality…
Especially if you don’t have hope…
But on balance, it’s at least better than being…
No – Not having hope is not better than anything…
So, you’d give anything – anything there is, just not to be…
Empty as a pocket.
Remember, if you do nothing – you get nothing, and soon enough you’ll be…
Empty as a pocket.
By Dr. Rodney J. Blackman
Dr. Rodney J. Blackman is the Chair of Recreation Management at the United States Sports Academy, and can be reached at rblackman@ussa.edu.