And Now For Some Good News.

My wife works in a high school. One of the students was a gifted basketball player. A mountainous, hulking man of a student, strong, masculine, just plain big. According to my wife he was always very polite, and respectful.

Another student in the school is a special needs student. His handicap is profound, twisting his arms and legs into odd angles and strange movements. He stutters, and has trouble coordinating his movements. He loves basketball, he wants nothing more than to be able to play. And he was doomed, by cruel, terrible fate to be disappointed in so simple an ambition. He watched basketball, he talked about basketball, and according to rumors his bedroom walls are adorned with posters of NBA players.

In one of the oddest twists of fate imaginable, a turn of events almost too hokey for Disney, a student was being mean to the handicapped student (why does that happen, and it always happens that way, doesn’t it? this poor child doesn’t  have enough problems without adding a heartless bastard to the debit column) and the basketball player came over and picked up the bully, held him up against the wall and said “leave him alone, he is my friend.” Oddly enough, he was.

Now the basketball star is off to college, playing at high level at a school where playing at a high level is expected, demanded. He still stays in contact with his “friend.” Even helping him get tickets to a game. A gentle giant, a man who gives back. A true star in a world full of ESPN manufactured personalities.

There is still something in this story that brings a tear to my eye. In a world gone mad with self aggrandizement here is a young man who took the time to give to someone who needed. It is easy to find stories about people who don’t give a damn about anybody. Easy to find examples of people willing to step on someone small and meek just so they can reach the good stuff on the top shelf. It is easy to think nobody cares about anything, society is a waste, humanity not so humane.

Very few people at the school know this story, it was not for publicity. My wife knows because she cares, she talks to all kids and they tell her things, sometimes heartbreaking, terrible things. But once in a while she will find a true gem. “Where you find the darkest avenue, there you’ll find the brightest jewel.”* And knowing my predilection for darkness she shares them with me. And the handicapped student shared this story with her, excitedly. Here was a basketball player, a star player, who was his friend.

He did not do this for any acknowledgement, just because it was the right thing to do, and still do, he is still doing it. I admit that college athletics is more about athletics and the obscene profits it generates, than anything to do with the positive impact of college, or the careful molding  and nurturing of young people, but sometimes, if you look hard enough you can find something bright and wonderful.

*Richard Thompson, Cooksferry Queen

Next year, and last year, all in one.

2016 is almost over. It was a year that seemed to last forever. It was a unfortunate year in many ways. Looking back it is difficult, at least before a 3rd cup of coffee (on the 2nd one now) to find any highlights at all. But, it is easy to see patterns forming. Extrapolating from these patterns is not difficult. So, before the Life Explained Year in Review we are going to have the Life Explained Bold New Predictions.

Donald Trump won the presidency riding the fame of a reality television show. His brash, abusive style unchanged from television to the campaign trail. Bullying his way through the primaries, insulting  his opponents, belittling the press, and attacking the solemn institution of American democracy. And the crowd went wild. No matter what you thought of his election it signaled a change. The most powerful office in the country no longer has requires any qualifications, experience not necessary. It opens the door to anybody who is comfortable in front of a camera. Which spells real excitement for

“Fake” news was a hot topic in 2016. People read it, passed it along, held it dear. Fake news, according to people who study these things, is nothing new. What really surprised most people was the willingness of people to embrace news so bizarre. If it supported their beliefs it was good enough for them, and good enough for the people they knew. It was shared, liked, loved, commented on in astonishing numbers. America loves a good bit of gossip, so much so that it has been institutionalized, given a place of honor in the national dialog.  This probably means the incidence of less than true news to skew public opinion will grow, expand. And here is a bold prediction, Americans will eat it up.

To recap, future elections will pit one television star against another, and propagandists will light the way. One thing that will be nice, we will have much higher voter turnouts for a Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West campaign. When we start bringing in professional wrestling stars it will get very exciting. Oh the anticipation.

There you have it, not only was this the prediction episode of Life Explained, it was the year in review, for no additional fees.

Let's hope they wait awhile.

Last night the sky was cloudless, and when I left for work this morning it was still dark, really dark.  The sky was an inky black blue, with thousands of little sparkles flickering everywhere.  If you looked carefully you could almost see the possibilities, but you had to look closely, and kind of quickly, because it was freezing.

There must have been millions of little lights, flashing their lovely little Morse Code messages.  "Hey, you are not alone."  At least I think that is what they were saying, it was too cold to write it down.  "dot, dot, dash, dash, dot."  And my Morse Code decryption skills were never that good, but you are free to try it tonight, and let me know if they are saying something else.  If it is "we are coming to destroy your planet, puny, helpless Earthlings" you don't need to tell me, I would just as soon not know.

But, what if they do come, just drop in to pay a visit, what then?  What will they see?  Honestly, if they travel across the terrible, immense vacuum of space and they show up here what would they think of this place?

"Greetings, good people of Earth, we come in peace."  Will be the message from the heavens.

"Great, welcome to our planet.  Let's set down and talk, as soon as we finish wiping these semi evolved, godless fools from the face of the Earth.  Then we can have a civilized discussion."

Moving on.

"Fantastic, we are so glad you are here.  And we would love to chat with you, as soon as we decide who we should allow into our country, and who we should kick the hell out.  Say, do you have the technology to build a very long fence?"

Meanwhile.

"Oh, it is so nice to see you, we will get together right after we take care of a few small problems involving infidels, and heretics.  You aren't an infidel, are you?"

And, more

"Hey, it is great to see you.  If you would let us finish marginalizing anybody who is different, and imprisoning those whose views are counter to what we accept as normal we can exchange ideas from our two great cultures, and both benefit from this most fortunate experience, I am sure you can learn so much from us.  Aren't you lucky?"

"Uh, thanks, but no."  Will be the next message from the heavens as the aliens throw their space ship in reverse and make haste away from our unfortunate little planet.

"By the way, we are going to bill you for the time and gasoline it took to this backward little planet.  We take most major credit cards, and cash, but don't even think about writing a check."
 Will be the last thing we hear from them until we get the invoice.

I am taking a collection to pay our bill to the aliens, don't hesitate to send a small donation, anything will help.