Thoughts on Seabiscuit: The Importance of Team

As I am reading Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, there are many wonderful nuggets jumping off the pages.  I will do my best to share several of these with you in upcoming posts.  For now, I want to simply state the obvious point that the story makes: there is a strength and richness in a team that far exceeds the talents and gifts of the individual members.

Seabiscuit (the story) is really about four characters-- the owner, the trainer, the jockey and the horse. Hillenbrand does a wonderful work of introducing the audience to each one.  Not surprisingly, we find that each character, certainly with his own gifts and potential, was on a downhill slide-- not a complete failure, but far from where he dreamed he would be.

I love the way Hillenbrand ends chapter 6: "The scattered lives of Red Pollard, Tom Smith, and Charles Howard had come to an intersection. Their crowded hour had begun" (113). We see a wonderful picture of the convergence of gifts, talents, and shared ambition. We see the birth of a team-- the birth of a legend.

Maybe I'm Just Old-Fashioned, But...

I am quite perturbed by the trend in restaurants and other public places toward gender-neutral restrooms.  It's not so disturbing to me personally, but I think it shows a lack of honor and respect to women.  Having frequented men's public restrooms for the better part of forty years, I expect the worst, and my expectations are usually fulfilled.  My daughters, on the other hand, should not have to experience the filth associated with the men's room.

While some will argue that it is a move toward equality, I say it is a move toward dishonor and disrespect.  What do you think?

On Which Side Do I Pump Gas?

How do you know on which side  you'll find your fuel door?

Easy, stretch my neck in the mirror until and I find it and eventually memorize it, but then grow extremely frustrated to the point of screaming when I rent a car or take my spouse's vehicle and step out to realize it's on the other side, so I have to get in and drive to another pump which is probably in the top ten of common embarrassing moments, right?  whew!  let me catch my breath...

Well, just a few years ago I learned a little trick that you probably already know.  Most cars have a little arrow on the fuel gauge that indicates the correct side.  So, next time you go for a fill up, check the gauge and give your neck a rest.

My Coach Dale Brown Story

When I was a college student, I worked part-time as a security guard at the Country Club of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. My main function was to operate the gate-house of the gated community.  There were often functions at the clubhouse on Friday and Saturday nights, so our job was the most demanding on weekends. One Saturday night, a gentleman pulled up and said his name was Dale Brown and that he was going to the particular function at the clubhouse.

He didn't have to say his name for me to recognize him, since I had grown up watching LSU basketball. As I started to open the gate, I said something to the effect of My Dad and I have been fans of yours for a long time, Coach Brown. It's great to meet you.

I expected a Thank you at best, but his response surprised me.
"What's your name?"
"Barry."
"Well, it's great to meet you Barry.  Thank you!"  With that he drove away, and I called my dad as soon as there was a break in traffic.
--The story didn't end there.--
On busy weekend nights, when traffic was flooding out from parties and functions, we would sometimes leave the exit gate lifted, rather than making each car come to a near halt before exiting.  When the exit gate was in this position, it was very rare that anyone would stop-- unless they were upset about something.

Some two-to-three hours after meeting Coach Brown, a car stops in the exit lane.  I walk over to the door, and Coach Brown has his window down.  He says, "Have a good night, Barry."

Wow!  Do you mean a 21-year-old security guard would be important enough for this world-renown basketball coach to stop and greet by name?  Apparently so.

I was a Dale Brown fan before that night.  Now I respect Coach Dale Brown.  He taught me a valuable lesson that night.  Everyone we cross paths with is far more important than we typically think.  We should value people because people are valuable.

The Best Change Five Guys Needs to Make

A few years ago, our family made the switch from white bread to wheat.  Thankfully, most restaurants allow us this choice, but one of my favorites (Five Guys)

does not.  So, I will continue to suggest in customer surveys that Five Guys add the option of Wheat Buns.

Will you join me in making this request known?

Re-Learning How to Think Without a Computer

I suffer from too many distractions in front of my laptop.  Decided last week that I must return to journalling in order to retain any substantial thoughts.

The Target Effect

It seems that everytime I head to the check-out at Target, 80% of the customers in the store are standing around in three lines, staring at each other with frustrated looks.  

Am I the only one who consistently experiences this?

The questions that come to mind...
-- why have 24 registers, but only open 3?
-- is there a gravitational pull that causes all of us to check out at the same time?
--should Target have a couple of registers reserved for use by RedCard holders?