Armchair Pundits

On Dangerous Ideology

Here, Dennis is further elucidating the point I made in a previous comment, in which I referenced Charles Krauthammer. A neccessary read.

posted by Grisby @ 2:32 PM 0 comments

Huh?

I know this is possible, but it is certainly a little nuts. It would undoubtedly be more authoritative, if Mrs. Grisby was authoring this post; however, having witnessed the birth of my three children I can assert confidently what I have observed. Namely, my wife delivered all three without medication and even more impressive hardly a sound. The latter can be attributed to her other-worldly concentration and fortitude.

That being said, was it a walk in the park? Hardly. Did she endure a physical pain greater than any physical earthly discomfort previously encountered? Absolutely. In spite of this, there were no wild gesticulations, cursing of the husband or screaming. This speaks much to my wife's character and pain tolerance. None-the-less, is this true for all delivering mothers? Hardly-and nor should it.

That people have different levels of pain tolerance is patently obvious. Second, the lack of medication (in our case) was due to the rapidity of the birth. I have heard of women meditating to such a deep level of tranquility as to block out all sensations of pain. It is possible, but rarer than one would think. Medications exist for a reason, so why not take advantage of all that our technological advances afford?

In light of his ridiculous comments regarding post-partum depression, a story such as this certainly doesn't help Cruise with his moonbat image.

posted by Grisby @ 9:17 AM 0 comments

A Few Questions

President Bush has been out stumping on his rationale for the war this past week. Touting himself as the Educator in Chief, he has been explicating the decison making processes in the White House. Not surprisingly, the usual round of suspects have been criticizing the effort.

I for one, wish the administration would have undertaken this task sooner. You know, the whole a charge unanswered thing..... I think a more proactive strategy could have raised the level of debate in this country, but I guess it's better late than never.

Now all that aside, I have a few questions that I would like to see answered (note: If you are having trouble commenting, download Firefox, and come in that way, rather than explorer) and they are thus: If we, as a certain senator has called for, pull out all of the troops by year end, how does that help the Iraqi people? How would such a decision effect the GWOT? What message does this send our enemies?

posted by Grisby @ 9:26 AM 4 comments

Ode To Kirby

In May of 1985, my family moved back to Minnesota from my father's previous duty station. As an energetic boy, I had always been in love with the game of baseball. Enamored by the lore of Ruth, Williams, Robinson, Gherig, Dimaggio, Maris, Mantle, Mays, Clemente, & Kofax, as regaled to me by my dad; I dreamed of batting titles, home runs and the World Series. That summer, I was introduced to some new ball-players, that would become local heroes. Namely, Brunansky, Hrbek, & Kirby Puckett.

Now, even the most casual peruser of the first paragraph can't help but note that of the litany of players on my list, the majority were Yankees. My father, a former New Yorker, possessed a strong affinity for the Yankees from his childhood. As the first-born son, what dad esteemed, I esteemed. While Dad had stories of Mantle & Maris, I belonged to the Bronx Bombers fan club of Reggie Jackson & Dave Winfield. That is, until the summer of '85 when I became reaquainted to the Twins. Even now, I still have some affection for the Yanks, but since that summer, the summer I first saw Puckett play, it has always been subordinated to my Twins.

I say my Twins, because that group of players, lead by Puck, had a chemistry that drew the community to them. In fact, this team actually played some serious ball. The affectionate pejorative of Twinkies was to be no more, and two seasons later the lads from Minnesota would bring us our first World Championship.

Fast forward a few years, and now as a college student, I would try desperately to get into Game 6, but literally couldn't find a scalper to get a ticket. Back to the dorm by the third inning, I watched on the big screen as Kirby robbed Ron Gant of crushing hit and a certain RBI. By the time the 11th inning rolled around my voice was strained. With a swing of Puck's bat and Jack Buck making the call-"And we'll see you tomorrow night" it was gone. The next night the Twins would claim their second World Championship and a bunch of exhuberent college students went swimming in their jeans and Twins jerseys.

Kirby and the Twins were an integral part of my summer ritual. I couldn't count how many games I caught but those summers were spectacular. The boys & I had the line-ups memorized and when we would play ball together, we would mimic each player and his batting style. I remember on one occasion, watching the Twins play the Brewers at my friend Chad's house. Puck went 6 for 6 and we were both convinced in that very moment, that Kirby was headed for Cooperstown. That was such a great game!

From childhood admiration to the respect of a young man, I grew up enjoying baseball and much of this was due to how Kirby enthusiastically played the game. Like Pete Rose, Puck was all hustle. Despite his difficulties in later years, he was the consumate ball player chasing endless summers. I can't imagine what it was like for him to have his career cut short in the fashion it was. I think he lost a vital part of himself that July afternoon in 1996. Perhaps that loss of identity, or purpose, contributed to his off-field woes following his Hall of Fame induction. I don't know for sure, but in the end Kirby Puckett did as much for the game of baseball as he did for the Twins. He brought life to both organizations, and that is something no one will debate. His contributions to the community made him OUR Kirby and he will be missed.

I met Kirby Puckett a couple times, and he was so friendly. In fact, in the fall of `85, the first time I met him, he autographed his rookie card for me. I still have it. Click here, here, and here for some tribute columns about Kirby. Now think back a couple of years and hear the inestimable Bob Casey "Now batting for the Twins, the centerfielder, number 34, Kirrrrrrrrrby Puckett." I blinked back a tear July 12, 1996 and I did so again last night. Touch 'em all Kirby.

posted by Grisby @ 12:54 PM 1 comments