Pride of the Yankees

Anyone who has ever seen The Pride of the Yankees recalls vividly Gary Cooper's incredible performance playing Lou Gehrig, the Yankees' great first baseman from those amazing teams of the 20s and 30s. So potent was the 1927 Yankees lineup that included Gehrig, Ruth, Meusel, and Lazzeri that it became known as Murderer's Row. Gehrig was a mainstay with the Yankees, playing 2,130 consecutive games through aches and pains. He was voted the greatest first baseman ever by the Baseball Writers Association in 1969, and not many have come along since that could challenge what Gehrig accomplished. It seems the only thing that finally slowed down the Iron Horse was a cruel disease. Gehrig was stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a motor neuron disease that progressively weakens a person through muscle atrophy to the point that it is terminal for most people within five years.

Gehrig gave a famous speech in Yankees Stadium in which he said:

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body — it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that's the finest I know.
So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.

Gehrig's farewell speech encapsulated his view of life quite succinctly. He did not believe that he had been given a raw deal. He did not think of himself as royally screwed. No, he valued the blessing he'd been given and the experiences he'd had. He showed dignity and class in the face of adversity.

They say you never know the true character of a person until you see him in the worst of circumstances. I know a man who reminds me a bit of Gehrig. A colleague and friend is facing the same cruel adversary that Gehrig's name is forever attached to. He is fighting a difficult battle with ALS. And yet in the face of insurmountable odds he carries on. His fight is not one that can be won, but the way those battles are fought shows the true character of the warrior. This man is a warrior who is fighting the brave fight. He is a model for the rest of us and I am proud to call him my friend.



This man is the one who brought me to Doha, seeing in me the qualities of a teacher that would fit in well at the American School of Doha. There are people that we meet and we remember the circumstances quite vividly. I remember Skyping to interview for the job and seeing him in his office with palm trees outside his window. I remember his friendly smile and pleasant demeanor putting me at ease as I pondered making the leap to the Gulf. I even remember vividly enough the first meeting that I recall exactly what I was wearing. That is the profound impact that some people have on others. Not everyone has it, but those that do are truly unforgettable.

My friend is leaving today to spend time with his family back home. He has earned the opportunity to be with them and to take as complete advantage as possible of the time he has remaining. I will remember what I am wearing today, for I am wearing black in remembrance of a friend and a colleague I am likely not to see again in this life. My friend, thank you for being a fine example of compassion and discipline, listening and leading, struggling and persevering no matter what the odds. You are an inspiration.

Games Geeks Play

I've long pondered what an Olympiad would look like if left to the inhabitants of the United States' deep south. I have these visions of toilet seat horseshoes, pole vaulting out of the bull ring, and the cannonball high dive. However, as of late my mind has wandered a bit more in the direction of wondering what geek Olympiad would look like.

Now before you go getting all upset with me and accuse me of lobbing nasty words like "geek" around carelessly let me just be on the level and declare proudly that I am a geek. It's OK. I'm comfortable with that. I revel in it sometimes, especially when I have three or four different desktop operating systems running at the same time -- on the same computer.

So why might I have such a sudden interest in envisioning a steady stream of awkward people who can spell their names in binary code from memory participating in such a series of events? Probably because of this last weekend's happenings. See I coach a robotics team at my school and we have just participated in our culminating event of the year. 33 teams from all over the region gathered here in Doha to compete in the Botball Challenge at Carnegie Mellon University - Qatar. Our team went, competed and finished second. We were strongly in the running to win it too, but a couple of unforeseen issues snagged us and we had to settle for second. Still, this is a huge accomplishment for a team of students who will all return next year, save the lone senior who was our most skilled programmer.

Out of this it occurs to me that there are indeed games that geeks play that collectively could be consolidated into an Olympiad of sorts. Aside from the robotics work our kids did we had two other teams compete in a programming competition at CMU-Q, finishing second and fourth respectively. Definitely another geek game there as it's just not something that the rest of society does with great regularity. But the people we teach thrive on these things. Place them in front of a bank of computers, or better yet let them bring in their own laptops, and watch them bask in the glow of a backlit monitor. They draw energy from it. They are like plants in the sunlight, undertaking a form of digital photosynthesis. Oddly enough, after a time you will notice that they even lean toward their monitors as if soaking up radiation from the EMF put off by the devices themselves. It's almost a symbiotic relationship, where the computer draws digital stimulation from the student and the student gets mental nourishment from the computer. Quite a sight to behold, and quite gratifying when you've invested so much time in working with the kids to see them take on the same enthusiasm you have.



So where does this grand spectacle that is geek sport go from here? For us, it takes us to preparation for our next competition. We must defend our national championship in the National Robot Olympiad and hope to be a strong enough team next year to get to Manila to compete at the world level again. We are quite proud of our team this year. They are a great group of kids. They will be missed when they have gone, but we will expect great things from them in the future when they have gone on to compete in mental sports at the professional level.

You Should Have Heard Just What I Seen.

The vintage song Who Do You Love by Bo Diddley has that famous line in it. An incredible music artist whose music inspired some incredible acts, and a great guitarist that the world lost almost two years ago. Sometimes I just have that urge to listen to the old rock and blues classics, and Bo is one that periodically whets my musical palette. Not a great vocalist in the classic sense, but the deep down feeling in his music was what helped set him apart from many others of his generation. He inspired the likes of Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, and Clapton (if you need me to include a first name you've lived a deprived life.)

So why am I having one of those Bo Knows moments? Well, I'm looking back upon the week or ten days that have just passed and somehow it seems that in that time period I've seen a significant variety of stuff in just a day to day life. Someone I know once quipped that Doha is one of those rare places where you can see a Lamborghini and a truck load of goats on the same street. This is truer than most people realize, and extends well beyond just the fancy cars and livestock scenario.

For starters, we had the annual Powderpuff Football game at school. Now, a bunch of girls playing football is actually a lot of fun, especially when they've obviously put time into preparation for it. But what do you do when a bunch of junior and senior guys wear their cheerleader outfits to school on the last school day before the game? I for one gained a new-found appreciation for abayas. I've always found it interesting how well Scots can pull it off but it doesn't necessarily translate well to other cultures. Case and point:



So, with that behind us attention turned to other things, like bidding farewell to a couple of colleagues. Our principal is leaving us this year, and not necessarily on terms any of us might have preferred. He is struggling with an illness that will eventually consume him, and yet through it all he has persevered and has been an example to the rest of us of determination and class. A beautiful dinner on the lawn at the home of one of the employees was a fitting send-off to a good man and a fine leader. He and his wife, also in the school's employ, will be missed here. We shared some good times, good food, and wonderful tributes to a man who has helped shape this place into a great environment. Emotional for sure, but in a celebratory sense rather than one of mourning.

That dinner fell in the midst of our conference softball tournament. The names on the lineups make Major League Baseball's rosters look like the member registry at Augusta National Golf Club. Students from all over the region playing softball was quite a sight to behold. Not all of them were especially good, and in fact the caliber of play was frequently somewhere between Little League baseball and a Chinese fire drill. Still, a lot of fun to watch and a couple of very good championship games.

On the subject of colleagues and things going on with them, one of our teachers is an exceptional artist. Actually several are, but this one in particular has done work of a high enough quality to have its own exhibition. The Grand Hyatt was a nice place to attend a beautiful art exhibit, complete with nice snacks, good conversation and some gorgeous works. Of course no evening at the art expo would be complete without leaving someone confused, at least when I'm describing completion from my perspective. As Crystal and I, having completed the rounds through the exhibit, were standing off to the side and at the end of one of the displays, we were taking up casual conversation and doing nothing in particular. Apparently though it must have appeared that we were somewhat taken by an obscured piece of art as another colleague approached us to see what we were so intently looking at and conversing about. Upon seeing nothing on the wall she turned to us and commented on the stunning revelation that we were not even remotely engaging in a conversation about art, to which we informed her that it was our plan all along to lure some unsuspecting soul into our trap.

Now, anyone who has spent any length of time in this part of the world knows that rain is a luxury that even the greatest wealth of the shaikhs can't buy. We have to take it when we can get it, and in the last two weeks we've seen rain four times. Softball in the rain, happily just enough to knock down the dust, was quite pleasant. Then earlier this week we saw thunder and lightning the likes of which I had never seen. The sky was literally lit up constantly and the low roll of thunder carried on for the longest time. I actually got up to go out and see what was happening outside as the regularity of the flashes had me thinking there was an emergency vehicle with lights on in our neighborhood. Instead we were treated to quite the display of mother nature's light show.

Finally, last night we paid a visit to the Qatar Marine Festival, mainly because Crystal was keen to see the sand sculptures that were being created by artists from the world over. I would hardly suggest that I could do justice in a description and instead think these pictures say all that needs to be said.







Spectacular is a great description. Now, this is why Bo's words ring so true.

I'm Ready for a Long Vacation

The album Raised on Radio is one of my favorites by the band Journey. I love the song Be Good to Yourself, one of the best on a great album. I'm especially taken with the the last line in the first verse, the one I've chosen for the title of this entry. Why? Well, because it's how I feel right now. I'm ready for a little time out of the sandbox and back in the States.

I get this way toward the end of the school year every year. I start to feel ready for summer, perhaps a bit of senioritis plaguing me much like it does the kids who start checking out in November. On the other hand, I know that there is much that remains to be done so I can't exactly take two months off. Still, fighting the urge to clock out for April and May isn't something that most of use easily dismiss. We all feel that urge, and now that we live overseas the urge to be on a flight home to be with family and friends is all the stronger. I have to confess that I really do enjoy living abroad, and I am invigorated by all the awesome experiences it brings. It has changed my perspective on the world in so many ways, but I really do love the U.S. and am quite thankful to touch American soil every time we go home.

So now I look forward with great anticipation to time home as there's a very real possibility that we will be living in our own house again this year. Inspiration comes from many places and I can't help but feel myself a kindred spirit with Groucho Marx from time to time. His wit oftentimes mirrors my views on life in general, so his comment from Monkey Business seems quite appropriate: "Oh, why can't we break away from all this, just you and I, and lodge with my fleas in the hills? I mean... flee to my lodge in the hills." I'm ready to be in my house, if even for a short time, and enjoying the outdoors that surround it. I love the woods, the wildlife, the yellow jackets that nest along the timbers that border our driveway. OK, maybe not the yellow jackets. I definitely don't love them. In fact, I don't much like them. Nor do I feel warm fuzzies about the hornets that build nests the size of young watermelons on the sides of buildings and in bushes. There was that one time I nearly ran my brand new chainsaw into one of those nests, until I took a closer look at what I was about to cut. Let's just say I was happier not visiting the ER and leave it at that.

I still think it's a good thing for a person to get away from wherever he lives on occasion and go elsewhere. For us, home is in Qatar, but home is also in the U.S. where our best friends are. Home, as in where we live, will probably change several more times. We have no intention of stopping at Qatar. But we will always return to the States to enjoy a taste of home.

Why home? Well the obvious answer would be family and friends. Certainly they are important to us and we will spend the summer all over the place taking in their company. But there are many other things to enjoy. The occasional thunderstorm. Grass. Bathrooms without bidets. The smell of spent gunpowder. My truck. Gasoline that's five times as expensive as it is here -- or not. Actually I'm not looking forward to prices approaching $4/gallon, but I can buy it at Costco and save a few pennies after picking up groceries in industrial sized containers. Mayonnaise by the 55 gallon drum anyone? Maybe a cryo-vac sealed side of beef?

Anyway, I've passed the point where I have days off to look forward to. Those are all behind me for the year. I now have summer in my cross-hairs and I'm prepared to set it in motion. I'll persevere like Robert Frost, with "miles to go before I sleep," but once those miles have passed and I can check out for the summer I promise you that I shall take full advantage of that "sleep" to get the R&R that I'm so looking forward to enjoying. Then in August I will be quite happy to return to Doha, pick up my furry critters and settle back into a routine again, only to start the cycle over again.

One Night in Bangkok

I'm reminded of the old Murray Head song One Night in Bangkok, especially now that my last night here on this visit has passed by. As I reflect back on the time here I'm seeing some striking contrasts, much like the song which was set around a championship chess tournament hosted in the city. The gist of the song was that in the midst of all the seedy neighborhoods there are still signs of class and sophistication. Certainly we have seen both sides since we've been here.

In the time we've been here we've had lavish dinners in fine hotels, and we've sampled things off of the street, some of which we're not entirely sure what it was. OK, we know what it was but we can't identify the parts themselves. Fortunately nothing crossed our palettes that appeared to be made of a feline or canine nature. I'm not sure that our two loving 80 pound balls of fur in Doha would approve, and I am sure that they would know.

We've also seen fine automobiles on the streets, Mercedes, BMW, and so forth (including the beautiful E-class Benz outside the Sheraton) and we've ridden in a tuk tuk. Taxis? Another story entirely, and perhaps at some future point I will conduct an analysis of the taxi rides I've taken around the world. In the meantime, I'll keep my focus on thoughts about Bangkok.

I suppose it would be appropriate to hone in on the things we found the most interesting after giving a bit of time to expound upon some of the more disturbing things. Besides the weird is a good hook and you know you'll finish reading this if I give you the dirt up front. You never know -- I might just leave some dirt at the end too. But you'll have to read to find out.

Bangkok is not without its bars and sleazy places. Certainly nobody who has ever seen a movie set in Thailand would be lured into believing that it's all clean and family-oriented. The movies don't exactly lie, and in fact many of them are spot on with the women of the evening dutifully patrolling the streets seeking to rid them of scum by incarcerating them, albeit temporarily, in a no-tell motel. Oddly enough I began growing accustomed to the weird guys hanging out on the street corners, especially those that were strategically located near the aforementioned deluxe accommodations, distributing fliers for all sorts of strange things. It was not totally different than meeting an Amway distributor in some ways. He was trying to sell you something overpriced and not exactly of better quality than what you're already using in the hopes that you will part with your hard-earned money based on a picture in a catalog.

Even the taxi drivers were into the whole sales thing. One guy that drove us to a restaurant actually walked back in to inquire as to whether we were interested in going to the "ping pong show." Apparently ping pong involves some rather creative tricks with ping pong balls by women who have talented nether regions. How odd it was to have the guy approach us at our table and inquire about our interest. Had he been a westerner I am certain that his line would have been something to the effect of, "I'm apologize for I have been quite remiss in failing to offer you one of Bangkok's finest forms of entertainment. We have the most exquisite ping pong demonstrations you have ever seen and I would be quite pleased to deliver you to a suitable venue for an absolutely extravagant display of talent. May I interest you in such an event?" Not that we were terribly interested in ping pong (the real kind) anyway, but we definitely didn't want to take in an evening of juggling hoo-hahs and trumpets played from various orifices.

On the subject of salespeople, one certainly could make the case that the vendors on the streets were prime candidates for promising careers in used car sales. Seriously, a guy with a wristwatch fetish would have been in danger of an overdose at the Suan Lum Night Market. I finally looked at one of the guys hawking imitation Rolex watches and said, "If I wanted a watch I'd already be wearing one." His response? "How many you want?" Gotta hand it to them for persistence. I also recall some odd verbiage thrown around by one particularly cunning entrepreneur who referred to his watches as "genuine imitation Rolex" watches. Another westerner did manage a smile in my direction as I commented to my wife that "genuine" and "imitation" really don't belong together in that context. It's like saying that you're at the grocery store after "genuine imitation crab meat" when you could simply say "I'm going to the store to buy some processed squid." The way you say it really can make a difference to a less discriminating ear.

Now on the plus side, Bangkok has quite a lot to offer if you enjoy seeing Buddhist temples or snakes. We did visit the Wat Pho temple where the reclining Buddha is taking a nice long nap. Pretty cool overall, and the decorations were quite colorful.



On top of that we visited the Grand Palace which really wasn't much more than a large series of temples with a nice house stuck in the middle. Still, worth seeing.

Now snakes are an entirely different story. There were snake farms all over the area, including the one we visited in Thon Buri. Nothing like watching a guy tease a cobra then join him down in front to have a python wrapped around you to make you feel alive.



All in all, a trip well worth the taking. I would definitely go back, if only to suggest to some slick salesman that he's asking way too much money for a scantily-clad girl on the piece of cardboard he's waving about.