Before The Battle to Zorro Misfire
A General prepares for battle
Zorro prepares to battle a general
Before The Battle (free form poem)
The field that looms beneath my feet
Now covered with a thin live mist
In menacing retreat
-
The sun will show no favor
As it turns behind the clouds
Impending carnage in the air
Birds wait amidst their shrouds
-
How many gallant brave young boys
Will fall upon this day
While mothers scream and cry aloud
Another passed his way
-
It�s there the path that soon will bring
Our trained contenders hence
While we will make our final rest
Along this shaded fence
-
But as the dread hour draws nigh
I fall upon my knees
I pray to God to understand
My love for times as these
-
I hear my troops cast care free shouts
As they begin to sprawl
Just then I�m struck behind the head
�Hey coach, throw me the ball!�
A general (of a different type) prepares to do battle (of a different type) in the mist of this free form poem. As it turned out this whole poem was to draw readers in and mislead them. The trick was to find things soccer and an old fashion battle had in common. Now a soccer coach prepares for a battle (of a different type) and to rally in a laugh or two.
The picture is of the soccer fields at the western end of Golden Gate Park. When I had an early game, it was great to get there before anyone else and watch the mist from the grass retreat. How did I become a soccer coach? When my son, Peter, was a young lad he took up soccer. The parents of the team were very unhappy with the coach. To keep the team together, Arlene and another mom volunteered to coach them. At the first practice Arlene and the other mom talked to parent while the kids just stood around. I decided to run the kids through some exorcises I remember from my junior high school days. After discussing the practice with Arlene, she asked if I would continue to work with the kids. I went to a friend and soccer coach to bring me up to date, as to being a soccer coach. Arlene's talking kept the parents around, so I got their help working withe kids. A surprising after effect was that the team's school grades got better. The parents credited the soccer program for that. I would coach for 13 years. I was big in two major concepts. Run laps, but do not make young minds think running laps is a punishment. Young boys and girls are physically equal.
The game of soccer has just one type of team. The game of life has many teams. We are all members of teams. Many teams; our family, our communities, our job, our county, the human race and the list goes on and on. Our position may seem different depending on the size of the team. For instance: We may be more valuable to our family than our city or town. But here's fact: We are still us. "I don't do much for my town." Oh ya? Think of all the little things we do. Where do we throw our trash? Where do we park our car? How many smiles did we give away today? Get the picture? In a sport, the camera is on the ball. There is a lot going on in the field. Now consider this: At the end one team wins. I and others like playing regardless of the score. As long as I play my best, I always win. We always win. That's how special we are. The game of life is on, so Enjoy.
The game of soccer has just one type of team. The game of life has many teams. We are all members of teams. Many teams; our family, our communities, our job, our county, the human race and the list goes on and on. Our position may seem different depending on the size of the team. For instance: We may be more valuable to our family than our city or town. But here's fact: We are still us. "I don't do much for my town." Oh ya? Think of all the little things we do. Where do we throw our trash? Where do we park our car? How many smiles did we give away today? Get the picture? In a sport, the camera is on the ball. There is a lot going on in the field. Now consider this: At the end one team wins. I and others like playing regardless of the score. As long as I play my best, I always win. We always win. That's how special we are. The game of life is on, so Enjoy.
Some serious battle music: James Horner "An Epitaph To War"
What do Zorro and gun accidents have in common
According to an August 8, 2016 report issued by the NRA-ILA (National Rifle Association - Institute for Legislative Action) Since 1903, the earliest year of data available, the per capita rate of gun accident deaths has decreased 94 percent, from 3.1 to 0.18 deaths per 100,000 population. Over the last 20 years, annual numbers of gun accident deaths have decreased by more than half. Concurrently, Americans have acquired over 150 million new guns and today own approximately 350 million guns, an all-time high. Guns are involved in 0.4 percent of accidental deaths among the total population and 1.3 percent among children. Today, the odds are more than a million to one against a child in the U.S. dying in a gun accident.
What about before 1903? For this we turn to Zorro and the folks at Studio C. "Zorro's Misfire"
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Finding good players is easy.
Getting them to play as a team is another story.
Casey Stengel
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