pruning is a good thing (I wish I remembered that)

I want to throw out the papers that have been sitting on my windowsill for months. The one in front of me now is dated 12th April. That makes it more than three months old. (If you didn't read the date, the yellowed front would probably give the age away.)

Anyways, upon second reading of the article I'd wanted to save, I've decided that there's just one line worth preserving. And it's going to be posted right here.

April twelfth started the second week of the regular season in the MLB so this article was talking about bets, projections & prospect for various teams around the league. It featured the Blue Jays but also mentioned other teams that seem to have been sold short (or sold out) by the prophecies forced on them.

Woolsey writes, "With higher expectations sometimes come elevated pressures and resultant explosions.
"Already this season, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has confronted his critics saying: 'If you don't want to watch the way I'm managing, it's easy -- be a Cub fan or talk about something else.' And, this: 'This is my seventh year here, and I'm here for a reason. I'm not here because I'm Kenny's friend (GM Kenny Williams) or Jerry's buddy (chairman Jerry Reinsdorf). I'm here because I think I know what I'm doing.'"

I really like this. I think it's important for people who are being unfairly criticized or heckled to defend themselves. Yes, people in that position tend to ignore most of what's thrown at them and I think that's good, in an effort to preserve sanity. But this was a good retort. I like it. "No one asked you (random fan) to watch the game or to evaluate my performance." That's not to say that pro sports don't like or need fans but it is to say that if you choose to be a fan of a particular franchise, you're also consenting to take it the way it is.

Yep, we can hope for better, and we can cheer players to exceed expectations or escape slumps. But to lash out at players, coaches, admin as if they owe you something or have failed you personally it's no good.
I'm thinking this is a bit like marriage...when you pledge to take the other in sickness & health, for better or for worse. It's so easy to commit to both sides of that coin on your glowing matrimonous day, but when Year Four of Leukemia hits maybe you forget your promise to be just as faithful.

Christians like to talk about how God "takes us as we are", how He doesn't expect us to change and be perfect before we can meet with Him or be accepted by Him (and, of course, that the Holy Spirit changes us and continually perfects us AFTER we have met Him) and we try to act the same toward other people, i.e. loving them unconditionally.
When you show affection or care for the whole person, not just the likeable or lovable sections, it means much. It means much to know your failures and shortcomings can't take you out of your loved one's good books. AND it provides encouragement to the one who's fledgling to actually work it out (instead of feeling worse, feeling abandoned, etc.).

So, the moral of the story is, be nice to people.


Woolsey, Garth. "Can Blue Jays top a humble 68 wins?" The Toronto Star. 12 Apr. 2010: S2. Print.