Life is Like a Camera

“Life is like a camera.  Focus on what’s important, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t work out, take another shot!?”

I was out biking this week and stopped by a local country market where the proprietor gladly allowed me to use her bathroom. On her wall were several quotes, some with credits, some anonymous. This one happened to stick out to me, I guess partly because I had never seen it before.

“Life is like a camera.” If you think about what has gone before, you probably don’t think of your life in the terms of a movie. Our memories are more like a series of snapshots. Or at least short snippets of video. Never full length movies.

I can remember walking off the football field after a particularly painful loss. I remember walking beside my position coach and saying “sorry, Coach.” He said “it’s OK Joe, you gave it all you had.” A brief moment.

That simple reply, offered during a down moment, meant everything to me and is still with me today. There are profound lessons to be found in moments like those. Coaches that I know and admire look for those moments.

You’ve heard me mention the cliché “life lessons” way too many times. But there are moments, brief comments even, that can change lives. Such is the impact of a good coach or a good teacher.

“Focus on what’s important.” There are those of you that will disagree with me, but I truly believe sports are important. Oh, not undue emphasis on professional sports which, I suppose, are important for their entertainment value. I’ve always been more interested in the high school athlete.

Sports are important to promote an active lifestyle, to learn how to be coached, to understand what it means to be part of a team. To discover who you are, to figure out the benefits of hard work—to see the fruits of your labor.

“Develop from the negatives.” Absolutely. Adversity is going to happen. Everywhere. In life. In sports. No one lives their entire life without encountering difficulties, without dealing with negatives.

I’ve heard many coaches tell their teams “at some point, you’re going to face some adversity.” It’s how you deal with it that will tell you who you are, what you are made of. That’s true in sports. And definitely true in life.

Everything doesn’t go as we plan. Sometimes there’s a Plan out there that replaces our own plan. As hard as you might work, you might still lose the game. You work diligently on your jump shot only to miss the game winner. Your team is driving the football down the field when you fumble. You miss a crucial shot on goal.

How do you respond? Does it affect your next attempt? What do you do with those negatives?

“If things don’t work out, take another shot.” I work a little bit with the kickers on our football team. If they kick well, I want to be the person there cheering them on. And if they miss, I’ll be there telling them to put it behind them and get ready to kick another—that you can’t affect the past, only the future.

Life isn’t always as cozy as that. We don’t always get a second chance at life’s events. That’s why you’ve got to keep your head up and your eyes open, looking for the opportunities that life gives you. And be prepared to meet those opportunities because you have a solid moral base, live a life based on principle, and know who you are.

David Farmer, PT

Goodbyes can be hard. You have goodbyes that are “see you later” and you have goodbyes that mean “farewell.”

I had a good friend finally succumb to cancer this week after a long battle. When David Farmer graduated from physical therapy school at LSU, he hitchhiked west until he got to Durango, Colorado where he looked around and decided that this was where he wanted to be.

A unique character, Farmer was Cajun to the core, keeping that deep Louisiana accent until the end. He looked like a stoner but was one of the most brilliant people I ever knew. He quietly built a life in Durango but was THE physical therapist to the professional mountain bike community for many years.

He loved simple things. His ukulele. His old Volkswagen Thing. A hat some friends gave him. He owned a coffee plantation in Kona, a queen bee company in California, and a popular sports club in Durango yet he would travel to join friends wherever they might be, sleeping on the couch if need be.

That was Farmer. Nothing was more important to him than spending time with friends. I happened to be in that circle. I was one of the lucky ones. Along the way, I introduced him to three friends from here, Ken, Eric, and Keith. They were instantly his new best friends. Some of the best times of my life were with those four.

This week, one young friend commented “the first time I met David, he made it seem like we had been friends forever—that I was the most important person in the room.” That was David Farmer.

When friends or family pass, it invariably causes us to look at our own life…our own mortality. With Farmer, I choose to look at the lessons that he taught me.

Farmer: “Good is not good enough and great is a step in the right direction.” The world of sports is demanding. The difference between success and failure can often be measured in inches or seconds.

Good athletes might look at others and think “I’m as good as they are.” But do you have their dedication? Do you have their drive? Do you really have what it takes?

With Farmer, success meant that you were “all in.” But if you weren’t, that was OK with Farmer. He marched to his own drummer and encouraged you to do the same.

I was never that good of a mountain biker but I enjoyed the mountains and the camaraderie (I’ve gotten a lot better in recent years-go figure). That didn’t matter to Farmer. He just wanted to ride and then enjoy great food and drink afterwards.

Farmer was an “Enabler.” Those that worked for him would tell you that he enjoyed their success as though it was his own. I remember one time when he flew to a meeting just to be there when another friend received an award. I guarantee you that it was more important to Farmer that his friend got that award than if he had gotten it himself.

If Farmer had been on a team, he would have been the perfect teammate. He would never have been concerned with his own stats, just the success of the team. If he were big enough, he would have been the perfect offensive lineman on a football team.

Another Farmer quote: “As I see it, you have two choices--you can either leave or bleed.” You might have to interpret that one for yourself but for me it means that you pay the price for your pursuits or you go another direction. Whatever choice you took, David Farmer was by your side.

Goodbye, David Farmer.

It's Not Always About the Score

 When you are reading this, a couple of huge football games will be over. Huge. Enormous.

You can say that Alcoa/Maryville and Heritage/William Blount are just single games in a 10 game season but they mean more. Much more. Those games are not just “another game.” They mean something.

And that’s good. It’s good to play in games that mean something to you. Those games get your attention. They should get your best effort. And they give you life lessons that you can hopefully take with you when you’re through playing.

Coaches will speak of that part of “just another game,” but the kids don’t buy that. This is the one game that they really want to win. I don’t think they would trade a state title for a win in this game but it is close.

We will know the outcomes of those games by now but this isn’t about winning and losing at all. It’s about participating.

Engraved on a monument at West Point is this quote from General Douglas MacArthur: “Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days, on other fields, will bear the fruits of victory.”

I believe that is an eternal truth and that is one reason why playing sports while growing up is so important. Life lessons are learned on our playing fields.

President Teddy Roosevelt said “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly….”

In games such as these, we do keep score. There is a winner and a loser. Our games require the structure of keeping score. I was never a fan of not keeping score, even for children’s games. There may not be a scoreboard but the kids would always know the score.

Too often, we glorify “winners” and look down on all others as “losers.” I am here to tell you that just because you end up on the short side of the scoreboard, not all are losers.

Coaches will talk about “paying the price” and “giving it all you’ve got.” That’s what it’s all about. Success is built on the practice field. Games are the measuring stick for our preparation, effort, and skills.

In any game, if you can truly say to yourself, that is my best effort, then it doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says.  Oh sure, we all want to come out on top. It’s what we work for. It’s what we dream of.

But the outcome of a single game does not decide who we are and what we are made of. Did you get better? Were you prepared? Did you do the little things like eat right, properly hydrate, listen to your coaches?

The discipline that it takes to do the little things is one of the greatest things you can take away from sports—one of the great lessons that you get from competing.  To know that you worked hard at something and became the best you that you can be…that’s what it’s all about.

The ATC: It's what we do

 I’ve had several questions this week about how we do things. By “we,” I’m referring to the Athletic Trainers at each of our schools whose job is to keep their teams safe and healthy.

You may not know what an Athletic Trainer is. An Athletic Trainer is a college trained health care professional, usually holding a Masters Degree in Athletic Training. Athletic Trainers do much, much more than tape ankles. We provide interventions to prevent injury, rehabilitate after an injury, provide emergency care on the court or field, and a million other things.

This week, I was asked how we make decisions about when lightning is close enough to be a danger.

All of our Athletic Trainers carry portable devices to detect the exact location of lightning and determine how far away it is. On a recent Friday night, measurements on that device and careful assessment caused a delay of the game and evacuation of the stadium. It wasn’t until it was determined that the storm had passed (and even then we had to wait another 30 minutes) that we were able to restart the game. A 9 o’clock kickoff made for a rather late game.

But I believe that anyone that was there would agree that it was the right decision and the right process. During the worst of the lightning, it seemed like it was literally hovering overhead.

What do you do if you are hiking and a lightning storm crops up? Think profile. What is there around you that might attract lightning? A tall tree?  Get away from it. Hovering under a tree is always a bad idea.

Get away from exposed areas. A low place away from trees is probably the best place you can be. Crouch down and wait out the storm. Remember that it is better to get wet than dead.

I was asked this week how we make our decisions about concussions. In other words, how do we know when something is a concussion?

First let me tell you what a blessing it is to have Athletic Trainers at all of our schools. It is impossible to be there for every practice and game for every sport, but it surprises outsiders how often we are there when our services are needed. 

Here’s my point:  By being around the members of the team, we get to know them…quite well. That lets us do a better job when it comes to dealing with a possible concussion. If an athlete is behaving oddly, we are there to notice it. And since we know that kid well, we are better able to recognize aberrant behaviors. We know which kid might exaggerate their symptoms and which one is going to try and hide them from us.

By our definition, every blow to the head that results in symptoms (dizziness, headache, visual disturbance, et cetera) is a concussion until proven differently. Once an athlete is stabilized and appears in no immediate distress, we assess their physical presentation, their vision, their balance, and assess their cognitive ability and short term memory.

If there is any doubt, it’s off to the Emergency Room for that athlete. We take NO chances in this arena. Too much can happen and it’s pretty much all bad. Sending an athlete back into the game with a missed concussion can result in 2^nd Concussion Syndrome, which can be much worse than the initial concussion.

So we are SUPER cautious when we suspect a concussion. If symptoms abate quickly, we may watch the athlete for a while but more than likely the game is over for that athlete on that night. If the initial symptoms are significant enough or if symptoms tend to linger too long, it is an ambulance ride for our young charge.

Lightning. Concussions. Covid-19. Wearing masks. Social distancing. Wearing a bicycle helmet. Make smart decisions and be safe!

A Little Bit of Covid

I admit it…I do occasionally go lacking for ideas for this space. After 34 years, that’s inevitable. Most of the time it’s just that I don’t want to repeat myself. I wrote the same piece on Mrs. Geraldine Upton at least three times before my wife reminded me that I had already covered my story with her.

This time it’s sort of the same thing. I’ve written about nothing but Covid-19 and returning to school and sports for three straight weeks.

I usually write about is whatever is on my heart and that’s been foremost since it looked like there would be a fall sports season. And I would be lying to you if I told you returning to sports wasn’t still weighing heavily on me. But the fact is, we’re in it, with games about to commence.

I don’t worry about volleyball and soccer as much as football. In football, the contact is more, the numbers are much higher, and I honestly believe the chances of getting Covid-19 are much higher.

I understand the overwhelming desire to return to some degree of normalcy and I know what the senior season an athlete dreams of means to them. So, I’m there. Every day. Doing what I can to keep them safe. Because that’s my job.

To protect my family, I’m putting my clothes directly in the washing machine and heading for the shower every day when I get home. I wear a mask, I wash my hands. I maintain social distancing whenever possible. But if I have an injured athlete, social distancing goes out the door.

Back to the original dilemma: What to write about that isn’t about Covid-19 (obviously I’ve already blown that one). I asked a patient of mine for suggestions about what I should write about this week. He had already admitted to being a regular reader—looking for my column on Sunday morning every week.

He said “write about what we should be eating to stay healthy.”

OK. I can do that. I’ve been down that road before but I’ve been told you have to hear something seven times before it really sinks in. So here is my opinion.

If it contains white sugar or white flour, stay away from it. You don’t have to completely eliminate those food culprits from your diet, just limit your intake of both of them.

I just don’t understand those that drink several sodas every day. The average soda contains about 8 teaspoons (or 30-40 grams) of added sugar. Each. The American Heart Association recommendation on added sugar is about 25 grams a day. That’s just too much sugar.

And we can’t ignore that there’s a lot of sugar in other foods. Ketchup. Salad dressing. Sports drinks. Barbecue sauce. We get plenty of sugar in our diet so we need to look for ways to cut back. All of us.

In general, Americans consume way too much in the way of simple carbohydrates. My personal path was that my problems with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) went away when I dropped my carb intake considerably. Complex carbohydrates are OK but even then, we need fewer carbs and a more balanced diet.

We all need to eat more simply. The items in your grocery cart should have one name, not a list of ingredients. There are good fats and bad fats. Know the difference.

Eat smart. Eat healthy. But food is meant to be enjoyed so don’t beat yourself up for the occasional lapse.

What can we do?

Where do you start when you have a lot to say but yet don’t know where to start? Or if you are not sure you should say anything at all.

So much is going on right now. We’re still in the Covid-19 mess. The numbers are climbing again at an alarming rate. This doesn’t seem like much until it hits home. Recently a friend’s mom died from Covid-19, just shy of her 90^th birthday.

She had been healthy and other than her age, had very few health concerns. She caught it from somebody. Yet people are still yelling that their rights are being taken away when they are required to wear a mask to protect others.

It’s a tough time to be in law enforcement. Defund the police? A ridiculous idea. Some of the most honorable and dedicated people that I know are in law enforcement. The huge majority are dependable, responsible professionals.

But get this straight—there are bad eggs in every profession. There are physical therapists who are doing things that are terribly wrong. There are bad lawyers, doctors, educators…everything. No profession is immune. So when a bad egg emerges, don’t condemn all the good ones.

Yes, racism is still an issue. I thought we fixed all that in the 60’s but that was barely the start. Too many people judge people by the color of their skin. If that were a rare and isolated behavior, I might be able to accept it. It isn’t and I can’t. We need to be anti-racist, not just non-racist.

Let me tell you a story from a conversation I had recently with a man I consider one of my children. This fellow is black. His daughter, my goddaughter, is black. “When my daughter leaves the house, I tell her to stay under the speed limit, if she is stopped, she is to put her hands on the steering wheel and be polite. If she is being harassed by someone, keep driving—find a policeman. What did you tell your white son when he left the house?”

I would tell him to be safe and have fun. I didn’t worry that some random stranger was going to do anything bad to him because of the color of his skin. A black father doesn’t have that luxury. Even today. Maybe especially today.

We are living in sad times.

Businesses everywhere are struggling, especially small businesses. My friends at Savory Rootz had to close their doors. They had a great place with great food and service. They just couldn’t survive the Stay-At-Home. Tragic. They put their heart and soul in that place. 

Maybe they will be able to open again. If they do, please flock there in droves.

I’m not saying it was wrong to shut everything down. I believe it was the right thing to do. But goodness gracious what a cost it extracted. It will take the economy years to recover.

I’ll apologize beforehand but I’m going to talk politics for a moment. Two topics I avoid talking about here are religion and politics. But sometimes I can’t help myself.

There’s a saying in government, “you’re either at the table or we’re having you for lunch.” What that means is that you’ve got to be in the arena. You have a voice—you have to use it. 

You might whine “I’m just one person…what can I do?”

Let me tell you a story. In 2007, there was a bill working its way through the state legislature that would allow someone to see a physical therapist without a referral. That bill was bogged down in a committee because of partisan politics.

It passed out of that committee because one legislator stepped across the aisle and voted against her party leadership. That one legislator was influenced by one physical therapist who had done nothing more than provide good physical therapy. The legislator didn’t forget the value of that physical therapist.

I hear people all the time saying that they can’t stand politics. I would argue that each of us has an obligation to be an engaged member of the political process. If nothing else, you have a vote. And a voice.

Right now, schools are agonizing about opening back up. Do we? What precautions should we take? Making the news regularly are questions about the upcoming sports seasons. Do we play? If we play, what precautions do we take? How can we even consider practicing where contact is unavoidable?

My opinion? Games will be played. Schools will open. Temperatures will be taken. Every precaution possible will be utilized. There will be fewer fans in the stands. Some students will opt for the virtual classroom. We won’t know if we’re doing the right thing until we get back into it.

Do we need for our kids to be in school? Heavens yes. But how do we go about doing that? I don’t have all the answers because there are too many things that we don’t know about this stuff. The science hasn’t caught up with the disease.

Are sports more important than our health? Oh heavens no. Do we need sports? Yes. Definitely. I wrote about that a couple of weeks ago.

When it comes down to it, YOU are the only one that can decide about you. Only YOU can decide what behaviors you choose. Only YOU can make a difference.

But wear the dadgum mask! What harm can it do? And you might have saved the life of my friend’s mom. Even if that’s a big maybe, is it still worth it if there’s any possibility that you could be wrong?

At what age are you too old to exercise?

Anybody that knows me sees that question and knows that I have my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. For those of you too young to understand that, it means I’m kidding. Really.


I talked about prevention last week, offering guidelines for preventing illness and injuries. But what about preventing old age? Isn’t it inevitable? If you live long enough, aren’t you going to get old anyway? Well yeah, but how do you want to spend those golden years?


First, let’s define “old.” Years ago (many years ago) I would declare that “middle-aged” was whatever I was plus 10. I’m well past middle-aged so we can’t use that one. But that still doesn’t define what is old.

Maybe old is what I am now plus 10.  That would make "old" officially at 77.  Maybe. 


My dad had a friend who declared on his 80^th birthday “I’m officially old and no one can argue with me now.” I get that. Even as I fast approach that threshold.


OK. Let’s use 80 as the barometer. Does that mean that anything less than 80 isn’t old? I’ve known 60 year olds that were positively ancient. They dress old. They walk old. They think old. They talk old.


I also know that my 90 year old neighbor will outwork people a third of his age. He maintains a several acre yard and a big house and there is no one that meets him that would ever believe that he is 90. I saw him working on his house recently on a stepladder. How many people 90 do you see doing that?


He’s always worked. He’s always taken care of his own place. He just never stopped. Still hasn’t. He bought a truck recently to help carry stuff around. His only concession seems to be a golf cart, but as I said, he has a really big yard.


So, what is the secret? How do we both live long and live well? Is there a Fountain of Youth out there?


I believe there is. I believe that our own Fountain of Youth can be found in movement. A very long time ago, I studied Physics. One basic principle in Physics is that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion while a body at rest tends to stay at rest.”


I believe that is true for us too. If you move, if you never stop, you will be able to stay in motion. On the other hand, if you don’t move, if the recliner is your constant companion, you will get to the point where you can’t move.


Make sense? Let me put it in a personal perspective. I’m not a gifted athlete. My aerobic capacity is quite mediocre. I’ve not got broad shoulders and I’m sure not going to win any races. In other words, I’m an Average Joe.


But I’ve never stopped. I’m always in motion. Always have been. And because of that, I don’t move nor behave like I’m 67 years old. Mountain biking. Road biking. Hiking. CrossFit. Farm work. It’s always something.


Do you have to join a gym and lift weights? Heavens no. Most of us need strength training because we lose muscle mass as we get older but you can set up a home gym and do that on your own.


Don’t ignore body weight exercises. Pushups, pullups, situps, jumping jacks…they require no equipment but are effective tools for strength training. Building endurance doesn’t mean that you have to run a marathon or sit on a bicycle for 3-4 hours. It means simply that you get your heart rate up for 20-30 minutes.


You can stretch. You can build balance by standing on one leg. You can take the stairs. You can take a yoga class. But you’ve got to move. Movement is everything.


The answer to the original question? NEVER! You’re never too old to exercise. It can add quality and quantity to your life.