The Gamble Family (.Net)

It never ceases to amaze me how the Chicago Cubs fans refuse to accept the fact that it was their team, not Steve Bartman, that was reponsible for their demise in the 2004 National League Championship. I thought this was all over with, done, never to be discussed again, until this week when I heard that a Chicago restaurant was putting parts of the infamous baseball that Mr. Bartman caught into a special “soup of the day”.

It all started on October 14, 2004, when the Cubs were just five outs away from their first World Series appearance since 1945. A foul ball was hit towards the left field stands, and just as Moises Alou was reaching for the ball, Steve Bartman reached up and caught it. The Cubs went on to give up eight runs in the eight inning, and lost the game. The Cubs then went on to loose game seven also (which they were ALSO leading in). The game seven loss sent the Florida Marlins on to play in the 2004 World Series. The Cubs went home to sulk for the winter. I would guess that it was probably a very long winter.

Since that fateful night, Cubs fans just can’t seem to get over it. They continue to blame Mr. Bartman for the teams destruction. Hello - wake up folks. The Cubs lost that game. The Cubs gave up eight runs. The Cubs, NOT Mr. Bartman, let you down. They (THE CUBS) also lost the next game. They did it all by themselves. Mr. Bartman was nowhere to be found that evening. Hey Chicago fans - THE TEAM lost two games THAT THEY WERE LEADING in. Accept it. Get over it - or at least put the blame where it squarely rests - on the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

I feel terrible for Mr. Bartman. He’s had death threats and no telling what else since that evening in October. This is a prime example of how we, as a society, are always looking for someone to blame instead of accepting the blame ourselves, but that’s another of my pet peaves (and perhaps a future topic for this weblog). Come on Chicago fans. There’s not a single one of you who wouldn’t have been climbing over the person in front of you in an attempt to catch a souvenir foul ball from a League Championship game!

Isn’t it time that we all got past this?

This afternoon, on my drive home from work, I got a call from my son (who is 22 years old and in his final semester at college). He had been working on his radio-controlled car and accidentally cut the end of his finger with an exacto knife. If the story had ended there, all would have been well. But that is not the end. It seems that his accidental injury had made him so angry that he turned around and hit the steel door of his dorm room with his fist, which fractured a bone in his hand - his writing hand. So, after having worked all day, my wife and I had to drive 85 miles to meet him in the emergency room.

As a parent, you never completely understand your children. There may be those among you who think that you do, but trust me. You are living in a fantasy world. When accidents such as this happen, you try to remain calm and make every rational effort to balance your children’s mistakes against those that you have made in the past. You say things such as, “Experience is the best teacher. They have to make their own mistakes and learn some things on their own.” Yes, this is true. We can’t teach them everything. We can’t be there every second of the day and instruct them on every tiny detail of their every move. But, this doesn’t change the fact that you still love them with all of your heart and that you hurt when they hurt.

My son is not someone who typically looses his temper and does things such as this. He is normally very easy going. Perhaps the pressure of school is wearing his patience thin. I don’t know the whole story. It may be that I never will. But I do know that we (my son, my wife, and I) will learn from this experience. The old saying of “That which does not kill us makes us stronger” is probably appropriate in this situation. I broke my wrist four years ago in a motorcycle accident. I understand from first-hand experience the inconvenience of having your writing hand in a cast. The simplest things that you take for granted such as unzipping your pants, buttoning your shirt, tightening your belt, and getting a shower suddenly become extemely challenging and frustrating. I will worry about my son each day for the next six to eight weeks while he is going through his final semester in college - trying to take notes, trying to get his class work done, just trying to make it through each day - with his hand in a cast.

Everything that we do, every decision that we make, affects more than just ourselves. The ever-expanding sphere of influence of our actions extends further than we realize. In every situation that we encounter, we will react in some manner. That very tiny one thousandth of a second that exists between the time that we experience something and the time that we react to that situation is our only opportunity to determine what the outcome of the situation will be. Use that time wisely. It could mean the difference between someone’s life and death one day.

I’ve had XM Radio for almost a month now. I have to say that I am completely satisfied with the programming and the audio quality of the broadcasts. Satellite radio is broadcast in digital audio, so there is no static. Basically if you can receive the satellite signal, you will have crystal clear audio.

The sheer volume of channels can be somewhat overwhelming at first. With 20 categories to choose from, and multiple channels within each category, you can easily get lost in the fog initially. One thing that has helped me to find channels that I enjoy is the artist/song search at xm411.com. On this page, you can search by song title or artist. The resulting list shows which channels played your search argument recently. This page has been a lifesaver for me in locating my channels.

Lots of people (myself included initially) are hesitant to pay the monthly subscription fee. XM charges $10 a month for your first receiver, and $7 for each additional receiver up to five. Once you begin to listen to XM, however, if you are like me, your hesitation will soon fade. Here are some of the compelling reasons that I am sold on XM.

XM is essentially commercially free (with the exception of a few channels). The local FM stations around Nashville play more commercials than music. On my typical 40 minute commute back and forth to work, I’m lucky to hear 10 minutes of music. XM is a pleasant change. My favorite music channels play commercial-free music, 24 hours a day.

As I already mentioned, the audio quality is superb. There is no static to be heard.

XM is nationwide. No matter where I drive to, my friendly XM channels follow me all over the United States. My Roady 2 is easily unplugged and swapped from one location to another, so I can take it with me no matter where I go. I have wired our Camry, Avalanche, Goldwing, and home stereo to be XM-ready. So, in less than 60 seconds, I can move the receiver from one vehicle to another.

XM programming has something for everyone’s taste. With categories like Decades, Rock, Hits, Country, Jazz, Comedy, etc, etc, there is no way that you won’t find something that tickles your fancy.

Below is my current list of favorite categories and channels:

So, there you have it - My first month on XM. If you haven’t sampled XM radio yet, what are you waiting for? You won’t be disappointed.