Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Five Things I Think I Think 2/21/12


(with a nod to Peter King for this idea)
1. Have you heard about “Linsanity”? Jeremy Lin, the new hotshot point guard for the NBA New York Knicks has recently taken the basketball world by storm. SNL even did an opening skit on him last week.
            I must admit, I grew tired in a hurry listening about him on the radio. Then at the end of last week, I encountered an article in WOLRD ON CAMPUS entitled, “Jeremy Lin's Sustaining Faith.” That caught my attention!
            Come to find out, Jeremy Lin gladly confesses to being a Christian. Reading some of his journal entries, he is clearly a deeply spiritual young man, who seeks above all to glorify Christ.
            Here is a link to that article: http://www.worldoncampus.com/2012/02/jeremy_lin_s_sustaining_faith
2. I finished Geoffrey Perret’s biography EISENHOWER this week. It is a good one-volume treatment of the great man’s life.
            Stephen Ambrose’s first volume on Eisenhower does a better job telling about his WWII years. His second volume on Eisenhower’s presidency, along with Jim Newton’s recent book EISENHOWER: THE HOUSE YEARS go into more detail concerning his presidency.
            Having said that, Perret’s work, written in 1999, does break some new ground from my perspective. For example, Perret offers details concerning Eisenhower’s heart attack and surgery for ileitis, which I had not encountered.
            On the other hand, for some strange reason, Perret only mentions Eisenhower’s stroke in passing. This event was a traumatic moment in his presidency. To say this was an egregious error would but be too strong, but it was definitely poor biographical form to not include an account of that episode—especially after offering fresh details of the Eisenhower’s heart attack and bout with ileitis. It was as if Perret had to meet a deadline and finished the book before addressing issues he had surely researched.
            If you only read one author’s work on Eisenhower, I would recommend Stephen Ambrose’s two-volume biography. If you have time to read only a one-volume biography, I would recommend Perret’s tome.
3. I still cannot believe Whitney Houston passed away. My oldest daughter texted me with the news on Saturday, February 11, shortly after the death was announced.
            I enjoyed Houston’s music dating back to her hit, “How Will I Know?” I still remember watching her sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl 25 during the first Gulf War in 1991. We were living in Argentina at the time. Without a doubt, that was the best rendition ever of the song.
            I always felt Houston made a tragic mistake marrying Bobby Brown, who got her off track. I now read that she married Bobby Brown because she was more like him than most people knew. Evidently, they were tragically correct.
4. I don’t know who the big OSCAR winners will be, but I’m pulling for Brad Pitt for best actor for his role in MONEYBALL.
5. The ETCA girls lost their playoff game in overtime on Saturday. It was a heartbreaker, but they played well.
            With this loss, my daughter Abby’s cheerleading season is definitively over. She says she does not want to cheer next year.
            I have mixed feelings about that. I want her to be as content as possible while maturing as a person, so whatever decision helps that process I am for. I must confess I did not want her to cheer her freshman year when she announced her intentions to try out. But I have been very pleased with her experiences over the past two years, and I believe she has learned much. I am proud of her.


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