Hot and Cold

In 1993, Rookie of the Year debuted. It was a movie directed by Daniel Stern, who also played a character that was supposed to bring laughs. Okay, well he sort of did. The movie is about a young boy who ends up having an arm injury and after having the cast removed, can do incredible things with his arm. One skill in particular he learns is that he can throw a baseball very fast. It's not long before he gets picked up by his local major league team to pitch for them. Daniel Stern played a pitching/batting coach I believe. There is this one scene where Daniel Stern is talking to the young pitcher about what different players do to relieve pain and tension in their muscles. He says, some players use ice to treat the sore muscles while other guys think heat is the way to go, but what I do is take ice cubes and heat them up, "It's the best of both worlds."

This line by Stern is funny of course because the young pitcher and the audience know that if you heat up ice cubes, all you get is room temperature water, which does nothing to soothe aching muscles or to heal an injury. But Stern, playing the "dumb guy" is not smart enough to figure this out. So true to many things in life, it is the extremes in life that create things to happen. The smartest people, the most physically tuned athletes, the most talented musical composers, the greatest actors, the gifted writers, the most effective leaders, are all people that live on the exteremes. They are not a part of the norm, they are outliers, and for you stats lovers out they, they are greater than 3 standard deviations from the mean. If they were "normal", would they be well known and in most cases, very well respected?

This observation has been the cause of great frustation in my life as of late. Dating back to the Epic of Gilgamesh, man has attempted to defy the odds, find the secret to life, the fountain of youth, and the keys to success in this life. Man has built skyscrapers, walked on the moon, cured diseases, created laws, found lost relics and treasures, and designed facebook. All in an attempt to make a difference in this world, to matter, and in some cases, simply to be remembered.

I examine my dreams to further my education and I wonder why? Why do I need to get that degree? Why do I want to reach the top of my profession? Why do I want to start training to compete in the Ironman Triatholon? Why do I want to write a pulitzer prize winning novel or direct and produce a best picture film in the style of the Coen Bros.? Is it because at my death bed I will feel like my life was less meaningful because I did not accomplish great things? I am reminded of a quote that I saw on an old episode of the Twighlight Zone about a retiring teacher who quoted a hero of his when he said, "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." Will I be driven to accomplish more and more to fulfill that desire because I want to help others or because I want to be remembered, like some quasi form of immortatlity?

But probably the most important question yet, Why did I feel the need to write this blog? Well, I was sitting here wondering about what to write and I was reviewing my events of the day and I noticed that I was outside a lot today. I played a round of golf in the morning until noon, then went to a BBQ in the afternoon into the evening and it was very hot out today. While deciding what to write, I started to realize that I feel like I am coming down with a cold. Voila, two complete ends of the spectrum, it was hot and I have a cold. How ironic. That's it.

Peace out.