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What my musings are all about...

Blogging might well be the 21st century's form of journaling. As a writing teacher, I have always advised my students to keep a daily journal as a way of organizing their thoughts for future writing projects, a discipline I have unfortunately never consistently practiced myself. By blogging, I might finally be able to follow my own good advice.

The difference between journaling and blogging is that the blogger opens his or her writing to the public, something journal- writers are usually reluctant to do. I am not so reticent.

The trick for me will be to avoid cluttering the internet with more blather, something none of us need more of. If I stick to subjects I know: sports and literature, I believe I can avoid that pitfall. I can't promise that I'll not stray from time to time to comment on ancillary subjects, but I will make every attempt to be interesting and perhaps even insightful.

Friday, July 8, 2016

It's Organic, Like Eating Healthy

Kevin Durant said of his future teammates, "It felt like they weren't even in the NBA. It felt like those guys just got together and played pickup ball every day. I really enjoy pure basketball, and that's what I wanted."

The Bay Area has a history of playground basketball. . .

So, welcome to the Warrior Playground, Kevin Durant.Your presence has made the Golden Gate Bridge a little more Golden.

There, I couldn't be more clear, can I? I adore Durant's offense, his selflessness, his modesty, his desire to be a team player. These skills and traits are as natural to him as the limbs of his body.

But what about defense and boards? I'm not trying to be a "downer" in the middle  of  this joyful celebration, but we should not forget that Harrison Barnes was a strong defender and a strong rebounder. It is not that Kevin doesn't play D, but I don't think it's as "organic" to him as the other parts of his game. In the middle of all this bru-ha-ha, we should not forget that the Warriors are at their best on offense when they play lock-down defense. Those fast breaks, open shots, mismatches the last two seasons didn't simply materialize out of thin air.

I'm a basketball player. I have to think as one. The game is played on both ends of the court. I'm not telling the Warriors' coaching staff anything they don't know. But in this three-point-era, it's worth repeating again and again. D Wins Games.   

Paging through a book of poetry, I came upon this lovely, oldy-but-goody quatrain. It seems to me a very Warrior kind of poem.

Who Misses or Who Wins    by William Makepeace Thackeray

Who misses or who wins the prize
Go lose or conquer as you can;
But if you fall, or if you rise,
Be each, pray God, a gentleman.




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I apologize for this comment being in no way related to the post, but I could think of no other means of contacting you.

I'm currently traveling in Chile, and yesterday I visited Pablo Neruda's home in Isla Negra. Were it not for your love of the poet pushing you to share his work with your students, I would have been completely unaware of his significance to Chile and his impact on the culture here. As a student you often don't consider that there isn't always a specific and direct use for everything you learn. Sometimes it just makes you a more aware and interested citizen of the world. I would just like to thank you for the lasting impact your love of teaching has had on at least one student's life.

Julie Newton
Reno High School, Class of 2000