The Tenets of Boy Scout Law

I was walking in to a football game the other day.  On one side was a former football coach.  On the other was the mother of one of the players.  The coach told me "thanks for being here" while the  said Mom said "I always feel better that you're here."

Folks, when that stops being important to me, then I'm going home.  I want to be that person that you trust with the welfare of your children.  That trust is very important to me.

I want to be the person there when they get hurt.   Call it arrogant or whatever you want to but I do believe that I can handle any injury, any crisis.  I want to be trustworthy.

So I was contemplating that word, trustworthy (while riding my bike--this column was actually composed with me on the back of a bicycle) and it made me think back to the Boy Scout Law.

Yes, I was a Boy Scout.  An Eagle Scout actually.  Scouting helped form the person that I am today.

Trustworthy.  Loyal.  Helpful.  Friendly. Courteous. Kind.  Obedient. Cheerful. Thrifty.  Brave.  Clean.  Reverent.

You can read this column any way you want to.  But those words are important to me and many others.  You're in the sports pages so you can make a sports analogy for each of them.  Try it.  It works.

Or you can let them speak to you.  Even today, they speak to me.  I did not need any help remembering those 12 basic tenets of Scouting.

Trustworthy.  OK.  We've already been there.  Worthy of trust.  Says it all.

Loyal.  We are all better people and better citizens when we are part of something bigger than ourselves.  Loyalty to our team.  Loyalty to our family.  Loyalty to our employer.

Helpful.  Sometimes the greatest gift you can give someone is a gift that they have no idea where it came from.  Try it.  And promise to never ever tell them.

Friendly.  Another thing I aspire to is to enter a room and try and make friends of everyone in the room.   Can't always do that but I believe I really try hard to be able to say that I've never met a stranger.

Courteous.  My mom used to have a plaque in her kitchen that said "put sugar in what you say and salt in what you hear."  If you want to diffuse a tense situation, try being polite.  And respectful.

Kind.  I remember another cliché:  Kill 'em with kindness.  Don't forget the Golden Rule.

Obedient.  We all struggle with this one from time to time.  There's a time and place for everything (sorry...another cliché).

Cheerful.  Away from my work, I'm a big hugger.  I can be goofy.   On my bike, I wave at everyone.  My humor runs toward the self-deprecating kind.  I don't smile enough but I do try and have a positive outlook on everything.  Isn't that a better way to spend your day?

Thrifty.  Goodness, wouldn't the federal government benefit from following this one?

Brave.  This one takes many faces.  Brave in the face of adversity.  Brave in the face of disease.  Brave in the face of hardships.  Brave in the face of a worthy opponent.

Clean.  Respect yourself.  Take pride in yourself.

Reverent.  I told the story once before about how my Senior Superlative in high school was Most Dignified.  For most of my life, I wished it had been one of the cool Senior Superlatives like Most Athletic or Best Looking or even Funniest. 

I've grown to be proud of exhibiting dignity and reverence when they are called for. 

I carry these with me every day and have taken all to heart, but the greatest of these for me is probably Trustworthy.

Making Football Safer

If you read the Sports Section as faithfully as I do, you will have noticed a photograph in last Saturday's Daily Times from the football scrimmage between William Blount and Cleveland.

What you may remember is a William Blount player moving in for the tackle using perfect form with his head up.  And you will see the Cleveland player drop his head just at the moment of contact, colliding helmet to helmet with his head down and neck flexed.

Folks, that is the exact formula for catastrophic cervical injury.  The angle for the collision for the ball carrier is the perfect position for producing quadriplegia.

I don't want to disparage the young man or the game of football.  But dropping your head like this at the moment of contact is just simply dangerous.   And against the rules.

The helmet cannot be used as a weapon in the game of football.  That's the rule and violation will likely result in a penalty.  Most often, it's called against a defensive player.  This is clearly a case where the offensive player should be flagged. 

If you stop to think about it, many of the rules in football were created to prevent injuries.  Think about clipping.  And grabbing the facemask. 

Roughing the passer?  Obvious.  Just as the quarterback releases the ball, they are most vulnerable.  So rules were made to protect them.  Same with kickers.

Ricky Upton is an assistant football coach at Maryville High School and Player Safety Coach for the Heads Up Football program. 

Head Up Football is a program developed by USA Football to advance player safety in the game of football.  The Player Safety Coaches are responsible for ensuring their organizations' compliance with core Heads Up Football protocols including coaching certification and conducting safety clinics for coaches, parents, and players. 

I talked to Coach Upton about his work and shared this photograph with him.  "Coaches everywhere teach against this sort of thing.  But kids are kids and they see the big stars and the pro's do this sort of thing and the next thing you know, they're using their heads as a battering ram."

That's why it's important for everybody to buy into the things that make the game of football safer for everyone.  There's no doubt that we've got to make the game safer.  We've learned that concussions aren't something to be taken lightly. 

Don't get me wrong--football is still a great game.  It's the game I played.  It's the game my son played.  I love it dearly and believe that it helps young people to grow up to be good teammates in life (and a thousand other things).

But we've got to make it safer.  The future of the game depends on that.   We have to teach strategies and enforce rules that protect all athletes. 

So remember, Heads Up!ealth and safety protocols, including coaching certification and conducting safety clinics for coaches, parents and players

"Finding" Good Health

I had a rather strange question this week.  Well...sort of.  "How do you find good health."

Find?  I'm not sure what that means.  To me "find" means to discover.  Maybe it was something you were looking for.  Or maybe it was something that you simply came upon--that you weren't looking for in the first place.

But it got me to thinking and I believe I know what this person was really asking:  What is the path to good health? (And enlightenment and staying young yet living well--OK, I made all that up--I don't think that's what they were asking at all.)

So here are my 10 ingredients to finding good health.

1.  Eat well.  I don't mean eat in fancy restaurants every night.  But I do mean that you should know what you're putting in your body.  Lots of fruits and vegetables.  Know where your meat comes from.  And cut back on white sugar and white flour.  They are the devil's tools to bad health.  When you shop, everything should have a simple name. 

2.  Wear good shoes.  Again, I'm blaming the old devil for a lot of bad things but women's high heel shoes are certainly a product of the devil.  There is nothing about them that is healthy for your feet.  Maybe your job means that you can't wear running shoes to work every day but at least wear good shoes that support your arch whenever you can.  And flip-flops?  Save them for the beach.

3.  Exercise daily.  It doesn't have to be 50 miles on the bike or a 10 mile run but do something even if it is just walk around the block a couple of times.  Start slow and build up.  But do it every day.

4.  Sleep well.  This is probably the category I violate most egregiously.  There is overwhelming evidence that getting adequate sleep every night (8 hours or so for most people) is REALLY good for your health.

My problem is that my brain doesn't work that way.  I get up really early (obscenely early, really) because I can't wait to get the day started and well, I've got so much to do.  So we're going to have to leave this one as do as I say, not as I do.

5.  Smile...a lot.  Happy, laughing people live longer and healthier.  Studies have proven that.  And even if you don't believe all that, life is much more enjoyable if you smile.

6.  Enter freely into relationships.  There is no doubt that there is a direct correlation between healthy relationships and good health.  It just makes sense.

7.  Make sure that your primary care physician knows you by your first name.  And that you visit him or her every year for a physical.  And then do what they say.  If you can't follow their advice, then maybe you have the wrong PCP.  You've got to find someone you trust.

8.  Nip it in the bud.  Health problems that arise are always (always) more easily treated the earlier they are diagnosed.  So get that colonoscopy, do that breast exam, take your medicine.  If you are having health issues that seem confusing, seek help until you get answers.

9.  Do what you love.  Every day.  Don't love your job?  What would you rather be doing?  Are there really barriers keeping you in a dead end job that you dread going to?  I realize that there are circumstances that make this difficult but keep trying!

10.  Don't sweat the small stuff.  OK...it's all small stuff (surely you saw that one coming).

Be safe.  Be happy.  Be healthy.

Oh...and don't smoke (but that's one is pretty much a given anyway.  Nobody believes it could be anything but bad for you.)

Get out of your car!

My wife and I just got back from a trip out west where we visited Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and several other spots in the northern Rockies.

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

Spectacular views.  Everywhere.  Incredible hiking trails.  Waterfalls and bald eagles and majestic, snow-capped peaks.  We were in awe.  I took a bunch of photographs but they can't begin to reveal the beauty.

But you know what?  We have a lot of spectacular beauty in our back door.  We just don't take advantage of all that is to be found around here.

I love the Smokies.  I love the rolling foothills and the mountain views.  I love the backcountry trails and the high country balds.  Most of all I love the streams and creeks that lace these woods in our backyard.

Winter, spring, summer, and fall...I love it all year. 

And then there is Cades Cove.  Easily one of the most beautiful places on earth.  I can only imagine what it looked like as a bustling community.  Oh to have grown up there, with the mountains in your back door.  Unfortunately, I avoid it because of the crowds.  But more on that later.

When I built my house, I first found a piece of land high on a ridge with property that would not allow anyone to build between me and the view of my mountains.  And then when I placed my house on that lot, I put it at an odd angle to the road just to take advantage of that same view. 

Oh I know that the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited park in the country.  By a pretty significant margin.  Unfortunately, most people never stray from their vehicles.

Take Cades Cove for example.  I find it insanely frustrating when someone thinks they have spotted a critter of some kind.  They just might stop in the middle of the road and hop out of their car to get a closer look.  I call it "Cades-Coveing" and it is frustrating beyond description.  They do it out west too.

Folks, if you get even a bit off the beaten path, there are beautiful places to visit everywhere.

I think half the adults in east Tennessee have visited Bald River Falls above Tellico Plains (and most of those have had their photo taken standing on the bridge with the falls in the background). An intrepid few might have made the steep climb up to the top of the falls. 

Most stop there.  They are REALLY missing out.  If you will just follow the trail that leaves out of the back of the area at the top of the falls, you will find a grand trail and a gorgeous river with multiple waterfalls.

Same thing at Tremont.  Most will take the trail at the end of the gravel road and head up to the Lower Lynn Camp Falls.  But go further and you will see some of the best of the Smokies, from gorgeous wildflowers to evidence of an old settlement (including the carcass of an old car) and then finally to the hidden gem that is Indian Flats Falls.

All it takes is a little effort and the willingness to go where the crowds are not to be found.  And get out of your car.

What are you going to do with your life?

I've told this story before but it bears repeating.

When I was in high school, the school's guidance counselor called me into the office to discuss my future.  His advice?  A 6 week TV repairman school in Chattanooga.

Now I've got nothing against TV repairmen (although they seem to be less and less common) but my parents had somehow instilled in me the ironclad, way-beyond-discussion knowledge that I was going to college.

For most of my life, I've wondered how they did that.  I think I have some idea now. 

Every generation (with only the most selfish of exceptions) wants their children to do better than they did.  Every parent wants their children to be happier and more successful than they were, with far better looks, charm, and personality (although those things are more dependent on genetics and parenting).

That's what my parents wanted.  My dad dropped out of school after the 6th grade because his family needed him to go to work.  He never knew anything else but he never quit trying to learn and better himself.

When he was disabled, my mom went back to work, first in a school cafeteria and then in a local factory.

As for me, I was expected to make good grades.  To be a good boy.  To go to church.

I was given lots of opportunities.  I was able to join Boy Scouts, clubs at school, athletic teams, the band, and anything that happened at our church.

We travelled some, usually staying with family or old friends, but I did get to see Niagra Falls, the St. Louis Arch being started, the Henry Ford Museum, and Daytona Beach.

One thing that might as well have been etched in stone was the crystal clear message that "can't never did do nothing."  Poor grammar I know but "can't" just wasn't allowed in our house.

You want something?  Go to work and earn the money and buy it yourself.  There are plenty of yards to be mowed, fences to be painted, and hay to be hauled (if you don't know that one, you're not from around here).

You want a tree house?  Build it.  I'll teach you how. 

When I built that tree house, my dad was confined to a sedentary lifestyle because of a series of heart attacks, but he sat at the bottom of the tree in a beach chair and coached me on how to build it.  If I ever tried to beat in a bent nail, oh my goodness, did I hear about it.

I was taught tons of lessons like that.  Such as "do it right the first time."

When we weren't sure how to afford the cost of college, we found a way (another lesson--"if you want something bad enough, you'll find a way").

I've said this one before too:  Surround yourself with people that support your dreams, that give wings to your flight.  As my daddy said, "can't never did do nothing."

Camp Blackberry V

A couple of weeks ago, we finished Camp Blackberry V.  It's hard to believe that we've been doing this for 5 years now. 

What's Camp Blackberry?   It's a week at our house with our grandchildren.  24/7. 

We have planned activities, lots of arts and crafts, field trips, hikes, and enough swimming that they should have been pickled by the end of the week.

We laughed together, we cried together (a little bit).  We sang together--boy did we sing.  I might hear "Boom Clap" in my sleep for months.  And Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop The Feeling" may never leave my head.

I suppose that I should explain the name a bit.  Our last name is Black and we raise blackberries.  It's really as simple as that. 

Five years.  Hard to believe.  I know that the first year my wife and I had our first nervous breakdown on day three of the camp.  It was when we got the call from our daughter that they might be stuck at the beach because of the weather and weren't sure when they might get home.

The second year we made it to day 5 and I don't even remember what precipitated the breakdown that year. 

This year?  No problem mon.  We had one with Strep and another with walking pneumonia by the end of the week but hey...we're experienced at this thing (although we did repeat many times that we know why God gives children to young people instead of old people like us).

Was it easy?  No way.  Was it fun?  All around the clock.  Was it a learning experience?  You betcha (and the kids might have learned some things too).

Why do we do this?  We want to be a positive influence on the lives of our grandchildren.  We want them to experience some things that they might not have otherwise.  We want the cousins  to get to know each other and become lifelong friends. 

We want to be a part of their lives.    We want them to benefit from the experiences that we have had in our lives. 

Several people asked me for a Camp Guidebook.  So here it is.

1.  Plan ahead.  Know what you want to do.  Know the best day to go to the zoo.  Those cheesy things in Pigeon Forge that you swore you would never do?  The kids will love them.  This year it was The Comedy Barn.  Go see it.

The Children's Museum in Chattanooga is awesome.  The aquariums in Chattanooga and Gatlinburg are too.

2.  Don't plan elaborate meals or, if you do, make the kids part of the cooking experience.  There's lessons to be learned there too.

Keep meals simple.  Go out to eat.  Or do carry-out.   Too much time in the kitchen means too much time away from doing stuff with the kids.

3.  Roll with the punches.  Be flexible.

4.  If it won't result in a trip to the Emergency Room, if it won't scar them for life, if it won't adversely affect the adults they will eventually become, do it.

Above all else, have fun.

In the end, Pat won the game

1098 wins.  8 National titles.  38 SEC championships.  23 All-Americans.

I don't even have to stop to tell you who I'm talking about.  You already know.

Pat Summitt was a legend, and not just around here.  People all across this country know what she did not just for women's basketball but for all of women's athletics. 

She made all those Neanderthals that didn't think women could play sports, any sports, eat their words.  She proved you could be female, aggressive, and non-apologetic.  Oh, and that you could kick some guys butt on the basketball court.

She changed things.  Forever.

And then Alzheimer's.  Dreaded, debilitating, unforgiving Alzheimer's

I have always been a Pat Summitt admirer but I have since realized that I was more a Pat Summitt disciple.  As the many quotes attributed to Coach Summitt have appeared in a broad range of media services, one in particular stands out for me.

"Here is how I'm going to beat you.  I'm going to outwork you."

That's it.  Simple.  To the point. 

Although I would insist that to reduce Pat Summitt just to a work ethic is unfair and blatantly wrong.  

She was one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time.  She and John Wooden are in a class by themselves among college coaches (that guy Geno just doesn't qualify yet--he hasn't changed the game).

She was smart.  She knew the game of basketball through and through.  Knew how to coach it.  Knew how to teach it.

She set high expectations for everyone in her program and then held herself to even higher standards.  She was tough as nails and expected you to be so too.

Before she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she made the statement "there's something more I'm supposed to be doing."

Nobody could ever have considered that this something would be Alzheimer's.  That hideous, horrible disease. 

I saw Pat once well after the diagnosis.  She was shopping with an ever-present assistant.  She was a  disturbing sight.  My wife and I both were aghast.  This regal, articulate woman was reduced to a shell.

When I looked into those same steely eyes that were definitely a trademark, I saw nothing--an emptiness if you will.

Yet, it appears she lived the end of her life on her own terms, becoming a spokesperson for Alzheimer's research and definitely influencing lots of donations toward the goal of the ultimate victory--a cure.

Alzheimer's and dementia affect far more people than most realize.  You don't really appreciate the affects until it hits home.  You can't.

Loved ones that don't recognize you.  Or have no idea where they are or what they are doing. 

The last couple of weeks have been an outpouring of love and respect.  Let's all remember Pat not just for what she did but how she lived her life.  She lost this battle but she won the game.