McFarland, USA: A Belated Almost Review

Coach Jim White, played by Kevin Costner, is a down on his luck football coach who finds himself at the end of the proverbial rope in McFarland, California, after losing his cool in a half time locker room incident at a school in Oregon.

McFarland is an agricultural community with a mostly Latino population. Students at the  school Coach White teaches at begin their days picking lettuce and other crops at 5:30 a.m. before going to school and then end their days picking more before going home. And they run to and from every location.

Soon after arriving in McFarland with his wife and two daughters Coach White finds himself at odds with the head football coach and has to find other ways to augment his teaching salary. That way ends up being coaching cross country, a sport dominated by well-to-do schools.

I put off seeing this film because it seemed fairly predictable: Anglo coach finds himself embroiled in culture shock, but rises to the occasion lifting the Latino boys on his team along the way. Nailed it. But the story had so much heart, and I’m a sucker for heart. The youngsters who play the young athletes are endearing and likeable, and fun to root for. 

McFarland, USA, is well worth the time, especially if there’s a kid in your life that might benefit from some good motivation. The viewers at Doright Manor highly endorse it.

  
Watch it!

Peace, people!

Me and the Band

We’re rockers, me and the band
We play hard, driving drums
Screaming guitar, sexy bass
Boom, boom, thrum, mmmm, thrum
Straight through your heart and
Down into your soul, bypassing
The brain; no need for control.

We’re hard core, me and the band
Tight jeans and black tank tops
“Prayin’ for Eyebrowz” emblazoned
On the front; tour dates printed
On the back. Coming soon to a
Venue near you, groupies lined up
For autographs and souvenirs.

We’re imaginary, me and the band
Rockin’ in our minds, or at least
In my mind. My drums, my vocals,
My screaming Les Paul. A one-woman
Show straight from my brain to
Your Facebook feed: Boom, boom,
Thrum, mmmmm, oh baby, thrum!
peace, people!

  

Perfect

Some things don’t need fixing
they’re fine just the way they are,
like mornings in the mountains
And evenings by the fire.

We don’t get perfect lives,
or even perfect days,
but moments of perfection
to savor along the way.

The trick is to recognize
these moments when they come:
a baby’s smile, a lover’s touch,
and acknowledge their existence.

To chase perfection is to lose it,
hold on too tightly and it’s gone
just smile to yourself in acceptance
and tuck the memory away in your heart.

  

Home Sweet Laundry

My cats were glad to see me when I arrived home Tuesday afternoon after a week on the road. Studly Doright was, too. I could tell by the way he purred when I rubbed between his ears. 

Today has been devoted to laundry. It could’ve been much worse, but Studly took it upon himself to do his own. I did a happy double take when he told me that he’d successfully pushed the appropriate buttons on both washer and dryer. He even took the time to learn how to properly use the Tide pods that I’m so fond of. 

Studly has always claimed he didn’t know how to do the laundry. Now, this is the man who taught me the difference between a two-stroke engine and a four-stroke. He’s the same one who made sure I knew how to check my own oil and to change a tire. And yet somehow laundry mystified him until this past week. 

Well played Studly. Well played.

Peace, people!

  
He’s really good with the grandbabies, too. No instructions necessary.

Peace, people!

Interstate Idiocy

I spent a lot of time driving on our nation’s interstates this past week and came to the conclusion that most people are competent drivers. I logged well over two thousand miles in the fast lane and encountered an abundance of courteous, conscientious motorists. But there’s always that one, or in this case, those two.

Just outside of Fort Benning, Georgia, a funeral procession pulled onto the interstate. That in itself was a little weird. The drivers around me reduced their speed and kept to the far left, so I followed suit. I figured folks around Fort Benning were accustomed to interstate funeral processions and knew the drill.

The procession continued for two miles before the lead police escort took an exit, and traffic began flowing normally again. All except for one car. Apparently the driver needed to take the same exit as the funeral procession and instead of going down to the next exit he came to a complete stop in the middle lane of a 70 m.p.h. interstate highway.

A white Ford pickup whizzed by me, passing on the right. My heart skipped a beat as I realized the pickup driver didn’t know that the car in the middle lane wasn’t moving. 

“Errrrrch!” the brakes squealed as the truck’s front end dipped sharply. Amazingly he avoided hitting the car by mere inches. In my rear view I could see the pickup trying to get back into the left lane, but he never passed me again. I guess the close call slowed him down.

As for me, I’m just glad to be home and back in the slow lane. 

  
Peace, people!

Timeless

Just love this! Note the switch in the last stanza, and read more of Paul’s wonderful poetry at poesypluspolemics.com.

Paul F. Lenzi's avatarPoesy plus Polemics

"Timeless" Painting by Brigit Byron Coons From fineartamerica.com “Timeless”
Painting by Brigit Byron Coons
From fineartamerica.com

some love is timeless
sits beside you
when all the world’s
gone to the dance

some love is timeless
prays in your stead
when the pain
consumes faith

some love is timeless
holds your hand
when the nights
convey terror

some love is timeless
acts selflessly
tending your frailties
minding your pride

some love is timeless
uproots itself
more than content
to follow your dreams

this love is timeless
undeserved
it outlives
this faltering life

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Their Love Endured Forever

I’m operating my blog on cruise control right now. My trip to Illinois cut into my writing time, so this is what my readers get today.

I’d love to get your happiest four word stories in my comments box. Mine would be “They danced every day.” What’s yours? 

Peace, people!

Meghan Trainor and John Legend

What a delicious song this is!http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dHU71EsH0dU

Spending Time with a Three Year Old

After spending one day with a twelve year old grandson and another day with a ten year old granddaughter how hard could it be to hang out for an hour with a three year old? At Walmart? In the toy section?

It was an hour of bargaining and logic.

Me: Harper, I need to go to Walmart to buy cat litter and milk.

Harper: And toys Nana?

Me: Nope; just milk and cat litter (at this point both the older siblings elected to stay home).

Harper: OK, Nana.

In the car:

Harper: Nana, play Uptown Funk. 

Me: I don’t have Uptown Funk.

Harper: Yes, you do. 

Me: No I don’t, but let’s see if we can find a radio station that’s playing Uptown Funk. 

(Believe it or not it was playing on one of the first stations I tuned into on Sirius.)

Harper: See, Nana! I told you that you have Uptown Funk.

Me: Yes, you did. (Sigh)

At Walmart:

Harper: Can I get a toy Nana?

Me: You really don’t need a toy sweetie.

Harper: Can I just look at toys.

Me: Let’s put you in the shopping cart and go find the cat litter. 

Harper: If I ride in the cart can I have a toy?

Me: (At this point I know I’m buying the kid a toy, but I’m not ready to concede just yet) Let’s find the things we need and we’ll talk about it.

Harper: (At this point the kid knows she’s getting a toy, but she plays it cool.) Ok, Nana!

We found the cat litter and were on our way to the dairy section when it occurred to me that it might take Harper more than a few minutes to pick out a toy and that it would be better to take care of that before going to buy milk.

When we got to the toy department I helped Harper out of the cart and she headed immediately to toys from the movie, Frozen, and found a package containing a Barbie-sized Elsa and Ana as well as Olaf, the snowman and Sven, the reindeer. Her eyes lit up.

Harper: Can I have this Nana? I won’t ever need any more toys!

Now, how could I resist that? Without complaining she let me put her back in the cart and we picked up milk and a few more goodies. The whole time Harper kept up a running commentary about her new toys. 

Harper: Nana, do you think Sven can talk? I think Sven can talk because he’s a reindeer. Nana, what’s a reindeer? Is Olaf a real snowman? Do you like Elsa or Ana best? Will you play with my toys when we get home? Do you have scissors in your car because we need scissors to open this package. I think Sven can talk. Is he a real reindeer?

Me: Maybe I need some Advil.

Harper: Nana, do you need a band-aid?

Me: Maybe. Will a band-aid make my head stop hurting?

Harper: Yes, Nana. 

In the car:

Harper: Play Uptown Funk.

At the Quad Cities Family Entertainment Center later that day:

  
Apparently band-aids help with headaches.

When You Gotta Go…

I let my 12 year old grandson help write my blog post for today. He picked out this meme:

  
I picked out this one:

  
Both are fitting for the start of my long journey home, because this

  
Is so very true.

It’s been such a fun week with the grandkids. We went bowling, played laser tag, and video games, feasted on junk foods, and acted out scenes from Frozen until I had ice shards shooting out of my nose.

My plan is to reach the southeast side of Nashville on Monday afternoon and maybe relax in the pool for a few minutes. A bit of relaxation might be in order after all the fun. I’ll miss these guys, but Studly Doright is ready to see me.