The Stuff of Legends

“I was convinced that luck was a matter of knowing what one wanted and then being willing to work to make the wish come true.” 

~ I Walked with Heroes, Carlos P. Romulo

Barely a week into checking out this autobiography of Gen. Carlos P. Romulo from the Peace Corps library in college, my circle of friends and I decided the opus was overly replete with the author’s narcissistic indulgence.  So before finishing the book, I returned it and moved on to the next title.  This was back in the summer vacation of 1963.

Almost half a century later, I still wonder whether if I were not too impulsive in my youthful exuberance to pass judgment on the great man’s style, and persevered through the rest of the book, I could have learned something that could have altered the trajectory of my career.  Whether you loathe him or you love him, Dr. Romulo’s narrative resonates with the stuff of legends.

Little wonder therefore that these ruminations would haunt my reverie while watching Tiger Woods slug it out in the back nine with Bo van Pelt on his way to capturing his third PGA Tour victory this season, at the “AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods.”  The string of victories Tiger garnered this year were such stuff as legends are made of in more ways than one.

Firstly, it seems uncannily coincidental that he would break the thirty-month victory hiatus by winning the tournament hosted by King Arnie, the most beloved of living legends in golf.  Then after faltering through a few significant events, notably including the Masters and the Players, as if to hint that maybe the Bay Hill triumph could have been a fluke, he would capture Jack’s Memorial trophy, giving notice that he was back for good measure.

Aside from tying Jack’s record of 73 PGA Tour victories, Tiger’s triumph was noteworthy for winning a tournament hosted by yet another living legend of golf.  Tying Jack’s record at the tournament hosted by Jack himself was a definite veritable tale of legends.  Then he would fizzle midway through the U.S. Open, once again rekindling the embers of doubt into a virtual smoldering.

But the dramatics on the 12th hole at the “AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods” would ooze enough intoxicants to quench the fire of anguish in most Tiger Woods acolytes whose faith may have been shaken by the U.S. Open fizzle.  As if to recruit himself into the roster of living legends of golf, Tiger virtually asserted that this year he would concentrate on winning mostly tournaments hosted by living legends of golf.  Thus he broke Jack’s record by asserting himself into the mix both as a host and a contender and not just a pretender to the record.

The victory catapulted him to the top of the FedExCup leaderboard, a comfortably familiar territory.  The intimidation factor may have been blunted some but the Tiger come back appears unmistakable.  After surpassing Jack’s total victories tally, he can now refocus on Jack’s Majors tally.  So I may venture to prognosticate: after the Congressional is done can Royal Lytham or Kiawah Island be far behind?

I certainly hope not.  Then my prognostications on page 304 of my book, Flirting with Misadventures, shall have been at least partially vindicated:

“I am as certain as that the sun shines in the East come morning, that a rehabilitated (and forgiven) Tiger Woods is infinitely a more valuable asset to humanity than a fallen, disgraced, and damaged colossus of much more than just golf.”

Dramatics Déjà Vu or Simply Serendipity

The great Jack Nicklaus himself conceded that it was one of the greatest golf shots he had witnessed.  I refer to Tiger’s hole out chip off the greenside rough in the 16th hole of the Memorial Tournament which marked his taking the lead away from Rori Sabatini and eventually hoisting the championship trophy.

Without rehashing the serendipitous historical significance of this victory, (e.g., seventy-third to tie Jack’s record at Jack’s tournament) which has been amply commentated upon by both broadcast and print media, let me hasten to hope that it would trigger the beginning of a resurgence in Tiger’s winning ways.  Not that I harbor nostalgia for a dominant player in American golf.  Rather, a sterling season by an accomplished performer would provide an appropriate challenge for the young guns of American golf to aspire to surpass, effectively instigating a constructive rivalry in the process.

Editorializing on the Escalade Affair which marked the inception of the hiatus in Tiger’s trophy production, chapter 27~~Dearth of Accountability—Tangling with a Tale of the Tiger~~p.299 ff, of my book, Flirting with Misadventures, concluded thus,

“. . . I appeal to Elin Nordegren Woods’ infinite goodness to give the transgressor a second chance.  I am as certain as that the sun shines in the East come morning, that a rehabilitated (and forgiven) Tiger Woods is infinitely a more valuable asset to humanity than a fallen, disgraced, and damaged colossus of much more than just golf.”

This is only the copyrighted version of my bona fides as an unapologetic, albeit not unconditional, enthusiastic Tiger well-wisher.

On page 300 of the book http://www.flirtingwithmisadventures.com/aboutthebook.htm, I noted with unmistakable emphasis:

To Tiger’s laudable credit, he elected to own up to the shenanigans and vowed to make amends when he announced his decision to take “an indefinite break” [from golf] to repair his marriage.  We can only wish him well.  It is indeed heartening that he seems to have the support and encouragement of his fellow professional golfers.

It would indeed be most delightful if a resurgent Tiger can seal the deal of his comeback by hoisting the trophy come this Fathers’ Day.  Then the tour and the rest of the world are put on notice that the quest to surpass the majors trophy tally of Jack Nicklaus shall have been fully re-engaged.

A Borrowed House

‘‘The notion that my White House would purposely release classified national security information is offensive,’’ [President] Obama said during a White House news conference.

With all due respect, Mr. President: It is NOT your White House.  It is your administration using the people’s White House.

It is the people’s White House and it is lent to you to enable and facilitate you dispose of the job of leading the country.  And let me say that in almost three and one-half years you have done a very lousy job so far.

During your administration the country has grown the national debt to more than the size of the gross domestic product.  The credit rating has for the first time been downgraded to less than AAA.  Unemployment numbers were higher than we have seen in a few generations.  You played more rounds of golf than played by all your predecessors combined.  You campaigned for re-election since the day after your inauguration.  You roamed around the globe to apologize for what America is all about.

In short, Mr. President, you are a disgrace to the office.  If you can maintain that the private sector economy is doing just fine, it only proves you are delusional and living in an alternate reality. 

I devoted chapters 24 through 26 of my book, Flirting with Misadventures, to demonstrate why and how this is so.  On page 288, I explicitly stated,

The deployment of a regime of czars, with 26 czardoms at last count, and counting, “. . . is an unprecedented power grab centralizing authority in the White House, outside congressional oversight and in violation of the Constitution.” 

So do the country a favor and relinquish the office to somebody who is a little bit more sober than you have proved to be in more than three years.

A Parable of the Cracked Pot

Blogger's Note: The following material was forwarded to me by a long time friend of the family on the other side of the continent.  Rather than forwarding the message by email which can often prove unwieldy, I find it expedient to give it further circulation through this blog site. The email message distribution lists and forwarding history revealed that it has been circulating on the web for sometime.  On the merits, I found the story worthy of a wider circulation. So here it goes, enjoy the ride and don't get annoyed.  Life's too short to waste it away irritated.=================
To My Cracked Friends
=================
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

So, to all of my cracked friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

And send this to any or all of your Cracked “Pot” friends within 5 minutes and see what happens! Don't forget the Cracked “Pot” that sent it to you!!

Raquel Merrill: An Exquisitely Exhilarating Experience

The material below was first posted in the Review Section of Zeel.com, a sort of clearing house portal for Massage Therapist providers for all of Long Island and New York Metropolitan area.  The paragraph formatting quirks of that portal however did not do justice to the composition.  Ergo, I published it here although it might appear to be out-of-character for the types of rants which normally appear here.  Chalk it to “variety is the spice of life.”
It behooves to preface my remarks, as I emphasized earlier elsewhere (http://asumenacumen.blogspot.com/2012/01/week-2012w03-featured-pages.html), that
“. . . giving and appreciating an effectively healing massage is very much in the DNA of my [genetic] heritage for at least three generations.  So when a massage provider’s methodology resonates with the healing needs of my physical wellbeing, it necessarily affects my emotional impulses and overall demeanor. . . .”

Ergo, while I myself am no slouch in giving one, I most definitely recognize and gratefully appreciate a superlative massage when I get one. So better pay attention at what I have to say.  You are likely to learn something worthwhile and beneficial.

Raquel brings a definite improvement to whatever landscape she graces with her presence as she did my door with a seemingly habitual punctuality, a trait I always appreciate in a professional.  After we mutually agreed that my massage table setup was adequately acceptable, the only question I needed to settle as a first timer was how she wanted me dressed for the session.

It was immediately obvious that Raquel was not doing her ministrations by any book I recognized.  But the intensely intuitive component of the modality she was using was unmistakable. So about fifteen minutes into the session I boldly inquired as to the label that her methodology may go by.  With the self-assurance of a violin virtuoso, she perfunctorily suggested I may call it the Raquel Merrill modality.  So I apologetically kept quiet and enjoyed the ride with pervasive oohs and aahhs.

On hindsight, I would recommend for her to take, as a matter of standard protocol for first timers at least, a couple of minutes to scope out the client’s treatment needs and restrictions before digging in earnest into the massage procedure per se.

Admittedly, this omission notwithstanding, the session was the fastest hour I have had the pleasure of living through.  The experience was so exquisitely exhilarating, that as a token of my appreciation I insisted on giving her a paperback copy of my new book, (C.f., http://www.flirtingwithmisadventures.com/orderthebook.htm) with the boilerplate inscription:

“May you never cease
Minting memories
To fondly cherish
Through your priceless days.”

I can barely wait until I can get back on her table.  It pains me to concede that even in the age of Obama deficit spending and unbudgeted operations, budgetary constraints still prevent me from being her client anytime soon.

Abrassive Arrogance~~Obama’s Norm for Decency

Abrassive Arrogance: Obama’s Norm for Decency

“. . . We shall provide against and thus prevail over the dangers and problems of the future, withhold no sacrifice, grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain, fear no foe. All will be well. . . .”
~~Winston Churchill — Harbour of Safety,
(Ottawa, 9 November 1954)

One of the reasons that Churchill exuded the awesome power to inspire was his reputation for confronting adversity head-on without himself blinking an eye.  (For me, at least, the other reason has been that he drank presumably good brandy and smoked reputedly decent cigars, although I contend that they could not have been as good as my grandfather’s, who planted his own tobacco in his own land and with his own hands rolled his cigars and aged them in the barn he built with his own hands.)

Regardless of the protagonist’s caste, class, color, creed, or cohabitational cravings preferences and proclivities, I take extreme umbrage with prejudice at anyone telling me that President Obama is, as an individual human being, a “nice guy.” It is one thing to hear the canard from some Occupy Wall Street hobos in some sequestered corners of Zuccotti Park. It’s however, quite another to get it spewed out by the presumptive cognoscenti.

For instance, the perennially affable Bill O’Reilly has habitually Factorized that we should always be respectful of the President, if not because of the person but because of the office, as the purported seat of honor, prestige, integrity, and dignity.  O’Reilly conveniently forgets to mention, even in passing, that never in the history of the Office has a President debased, defiled, disgraced, and despoiled the Oval Office than has President Obama.

Lest I be misconstrued as a racist, ranting, raving lunatic, it behooves to cite a few notable illustrations:

1. In his Inaugural Address, shortly after he was sworn to “preserve, protect, and defend” the United States, he vowed (and enjoined the nation) to effect a fundamental transformation of the very United States he had sworn to preserve and protect.

2. Then he embarked on a contrition and apologetics for America tour abroad, abusing and distorting the historical record, and asserting that the United States may no longer be properly construed as a Christian nation, bowing in the process before every despicable aristocrat and despotic functionary of every hue and flavor.

3. Handing over financial control of General Motors and Chrysler to the UAW, in defiance of established bankruptcy and reorganization rules at the expense of corporate bond holders and on the taxpayers’ dime.

4. Attacking and demonizing the Ryan Budget Plan while failing to pass a budget by his Administration for all of the three years he has been at the helms of government.

5. The hoopla about the “Buffet Rule” as the potential cure for our budget deficit and indebtedness woes as one of the brain thrusts of his re-election campaign.  It is unmitigated class warfare masquerading for economic policy.

6. Confusing alive and actively serving Marine Corps men for cadavers on the same teleprompted speech, and the Malvinas (for the Falklands) with the Maldives in the Indian Ocean in a speech delivered abroad.

I can go on but I don’t have adequate intestinal fortitude to deal with it.

But the basis of my outrage and consternation derives from the fact that each time the President dishes out his balderdash, teleprompted or not, that inescapable airily foul feeling that he is counting on my presumed stupidity that I would swallow his platitudes, hook, line and sinker, and abide by them as gospel.  Short of any such presumption, he would have not been so predisposed to continuously spew out to the nation, on the taxpayers’ dime, a putrid hodgepodge of distortions, divisiveness, fabrications and outright falsehoods, as political staple.

To govern on the basis of a presumed ignorance of the governed is simply contrary to the doctrine of Americanism.  In order for the ideals of American Exceptionalism to flourish in all its exalted splendor, the nation need to successfully nurture a massively informed and engaged national polity.  Buying into the “President Obama is a nice guy” narrative, as did Gov. Romney on the Hannity TV show and various other venues, constitutes a luxury the country can ill afford.

Sadly, the imagery it invokes is that of a newly born puppy, with eyes closed for at least a couple of days.  Before its eyes are enlightened to the harsh universe it has been born into, it blindly gropes for the mother’s mammary glands which constitute the entirety of its reality.

Wake up, America: come November, we may fire Barack Obama!  But first we have to open our collective eyes as a nation.  President Obama may be appropriately called many things, being a “nice guy” is most definitely not one of them.

Obama’s War on Religion

“When Religion and Royalty are swept away, the people will attack the great, and after the great, they will fall upon the rich.”

--Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850)
[Catherine de Medici expliquée, Souverain (1843)]

It behooves to stipulate, at the outset, that American Exceptionalism is the moral equivalent in the New World of Royalty in the Old World.  Above and beyond the incestuous proclivities of the aristocracy as a social class, Royalty is the embodiment of the noble and sublime Divine endowment of the human soul.  It is the secular approximation to the biblical notion that God created man in His own image.

The Obama Regime did not exactly assault the establishment according to the sequential model of Balzac.  Rather, he assaulted with the Blitzkrieg tactic, a military doctrine more historically associated with the Nazi Germany of Hitler and Goehring. Immediately after he was statutorily sworn to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” he proceeded to pledge to fundamentally transform the very nation he was sworn to “preserve, protect and defend.”  The rest is dismal history.

The recent assault on the Catholic Church unleashed by the Obama regime has been spun by the “drive-by media” and the other usual suspects as protection of women’s rights for reproductive health decisions. To any astute observer, this could hardly be construed as news.  As I pointed out on page 210 of my recent book, Flirting with Misadventures, (and I quote):

President Obama being a self-professed Christian, I concede him his professed faith.  I only dare suggest in passing that judging by his policies alone, he appears to be most likely a Progressives Secularist unless there is such a thing as Christianity of the godless variety.

As far as the literati progressive secularist ruling elites are concerned, religion is completely acceptable to the extent that you keep the practice thereof within the limits circumscribed by the protocols of showmanship.  It’s all right if it is only for show.  Once you add substance and convictions into the mix, it becomes a threat to the regime’s agenda as it undermines the leverage required by a command and control paradigm of governance.

The Obama Regime shall go down in history as the most deviously dishonest, duplicitous, and divisive Presidential tenure to have ever tarnished the Oval Office.  We have a President whose claim to fame has been at least partly as a Constitutional Law professor but whose signature legislative achievement, ObamaCare, has been debated in the Supreme Court on grounds of constitutionality, giving, per Peggy Noonan, “off an overall air not of political misfeasance but malfeasance.”
 
History can be forgiving of mere bungling incompetence. It cannot be as generous on any malicious designs to undermine the moral and intellectual underpinnings of what makes the essence of Americanism as an exceptional cultural achievement of humankind throughout God’s Creation.