iCan. iWill.

As the news of Steve Jobs' death became widespread recently, so did the reflection and subsequent comments about the impact he had on people’s lives.
Jobs changed this world as much as anybody I could think of. His products have impacted so many lives and become so prevalent in our world. It is almost mind boggling to think about how monumental his impact was.
And it made me wonder why can’t we all do that?
We’re all not going create something like the iPhone, the iPad or the iPod. His creativity, his search for something new, his knowledge and understanding of technology and his business savvy all led to his success and makes it hard for any and everybody to match the kind of success or impact he had.
But can’t we try?
Wouldn’t it be great if when any of us pass away, the world can look back on our lives and chronicle the amazing impact we each had, how we shaped and improved mankind or how we made life better for the people around us?
It is a lofty goal but one that can be achieved. A little creativity, some desire to do good, some forward thinking and a yearning for positive change can make a difference.
The problem with much of this world these days is that nobody wants to make a difference. People might want to do what is best for them. We’re very much a me-first society. Our politicians, our athletes the people in power around us are often more concerned with their own existences and protecting their own assets than doing what is best for everyone.
There's too much focus on blaming people for why things don’t happen then trying to make things happen. My belief has always been, if you don’t like life, change it. If you're unhappy, find ways to be happy. If the world around you needs help, help it. It is easier said than done. But it can still be done.
We can all do that. Sometimes it just takes little steps or small actions that can do it. But it is often too easy to do nothing.
There’s a Simpson’s episode in which Lisa is convinced she’s losing her smarts and that she’ll become more like her father or brother, who sit around and watch shows calls “When Buildings Collapse” or “Real Life Surgery Mistakes”. She subsequently discovers that while the males in her family like to sport cooking pots on their head and ram into each other head-first, the women have become doctors and business women who have done something with their lives.
In this day and age it is so easy to fall into that lowest common denominator, where minds become numb from the brainwashing of popular culture. Everyone follows everyone else because that’s what people do. People go along to get along and nothing really changes.
People like Steve Jobs don’t settle for the norm. They look at the world, use their knowledge and see what can come of it. Sure, he made millions. But he also made a difference. It doesn’t take inventive products. It takes creativity and a want to do something different. It takes us looking and finding ways we can change things and have an impact.
The Steve Jobs of the world can change things in the large scale but it can be all our jobs to make a difference in whatever we can.
Jobs legacy shouldn’t be just in words like iPod, iPad or iTunes. It should be iCan and iWill.

Walking the Breakwater

I took a walk on the Breakwater the other day.
Every trip over the mile-long stretch of granite blocks that lead to the lighthouse in the middle of Rockland Harbor is a journey for me. This one was different and even more memorable.
My new novel Breakwater is named for this granite barrier that protects Rockland Harbor. You’ll have to read the book to find out why the title is what it is.
One of the last chapters of the book though features a character walking the Breakwater and visiting the lighthouse on the last day it is open for the season. Since I finished proofing my novel on Saturday and sent a batch of final corrections to my publisher, it seemed like a fitting way to recognize the milestone. So on Monday, I took that walk on the Breakwater and visited the lighthouse on the final day it is open for the season.
It was a wonderful fall (almost summer-like) day. On the walk out I had a man with his dog following behind me. He let the dog off his leash and Fido scampered up ahead of me and spent much of the trip running before and after me, sniffing out every sent he could find. It was a beautiful golden retriever, the kind my dad would have loved to have had but never did in his lifetime.
I made me think of the time my father stumbled by stepping into an open crevice between stones on the Breakwater. As he fell, a golden retriever, one not too different from the one walking along with me Monday, raced to his side and gave him a quick lick of the face to see if he was okay.
As the dog and I walked further and further out on the Breakwater, I couldn’t help but remember that story and feel like my father was following along with me that day. It seemed appropriate since my father was a great influence and provided me a great amount of information that helped me in the writing of Breakwater. I didn’t “borrow” one of his sermons (actually maybe I did) like I did in my first novel Sons and Daughters of the Ocean but I was aided greatly by his own memoirs, which gave me great insight to his surroundings and life growing up.
When I reached the lighthouse I did my usual routine. I checked out the merchandise in the lighthouse. Being the diligent and determined writer/marketer, I inquired about the possibilities of having Breakwater made available to visitors of the lighthouse next year. I showed the volunteer “lighthouse keeper” the cover of the book. He loved it and said it would seem likely they’d want to stock it next year. So, maybe Breakwater will be available for purchase at the Breakwater. How cool is that!!!
Then I went up to the keeper’s quarters and looked at the photos on the wall. I noticed the shiny new floor. But I was more intent on finding the photo of my grandfather. Albert D. Mills was an assistant keeper at the Breakwater at one time.
My novel Breakwater is greatly influenced by the life of my grandfather. He was a man who faced great trials and tribulations in his life, yet he always persevered. I shaped the story of Hal Miller and his experiences after my grandfather.

After exiting the lighthouse, I enjoyed a seat on the back deck and enjoyed the sunshine and the cool breeze. I was sitting there waiting for the ferry to come by. I wanted to wave to a very special girl onboard. Her influence on my novel Breakwater was great as well.
I had always envisioned a follow-up to Sons and Daughters. It was part of a three-book plan that included a story about the privateering age (which will be my novel Sea of Liberty), Sons and Daughters of the Ocean and the final installment, based on the life of my grandfather and his sons.
As I began writing Sea of Liberty, I actually began contemplating the idea of not bothering with the third book. But this girl introduced me to an amazing woman. When I talked to her about my book writing, she vehemently told me that my grandfather wanted his story told. It was a story that I needed to write – and she also happened to mention how successful it would be when I did it. Within an hour of leaving her office, Breakwater was forming in my mind.
Whenever I’ve walked the Breakwater in the past, it would always connect me with my grandfather. I hardly knew him as a kid. I have only a handful of memories of him. He died when I was just five.
The Breakwater always seemed to be my pilgrimage to the memory of my grandfather. I’d walk out there and be reminded of him and the legacy of him. I used that in the book as I detailed the impact the fictitious Hal Miller had on his grandson Clark Miller.
Now when I walk the Breakwater, it feels like a piece of my history. It is as though my grandfather has passed the torch to me. It was always a special journey out there for me, but now it takes on greater meaning.
That’s why I wanted to take that walk Monday. It was a symbolic trip but one that honored the path I followed in writing this book. What made it even special was that I got to share it, in some way, with the people that helped me shape the work. The novel and I were greatly enriched by their influence. It is a book that wouldn’t be what it is without them.

Tuesday Morning's Alright For Fighting

The game stopped. The gloves were dropped. The punches began to fly.

And apparently schoolchildren of all ages were horrified and traumatized.

Oh my God, they went to a hockey game and a fight broke out. How appalling.

This is the latest controversy from educators who know nothing about sports and don't seem to know a whole lot about educating.

It was School Day at the Portland Pirates game Tuesday. Apparently a couple of fights got some uptight educators and over-protective parents in an uproar. Little Billy and Susie saw a fight and are now scarred for life.

They went to a hockey game expecting the ice capades and got old-time hockey, where players play hard and aggressive - battling for a win and their jobs.

It left these appalled adults griping and searching for counselors while forcing Portland Pirate owners and coaches to apologize for the obvious - hockey games sometimes have fights.

These are the same types that would go to a car race and complain that it promotes speeding.

What happened is that the Pirates played a morning game on Tuesday. The arena was filled with grade school and middle school kids. It was an opportunity to recognize these kids and reward them for their efforts in school. It was the second year this event was held. Last year, there were no fights in the game.

This year's game featured a few throw-downs, some game misconducts (sent home without any supper) and time spent in the penalty box (a timeout seat).

By the reaction of school officials and parents, you would have thought they'd been taken to gang war and had to witness bloodshed and murder. Is a hockey fight really any worse than what these kids see on TV? Is it any more disturbing than the language these kids hear at home or anywhere else they might go?

If these people are educators and parents, isn't this a moment to educate and parent? They could explain the role of fighting in the game of hockey and inform the kids why it might be allowed there but inexcusable in other circumstances. That would take too much work. It is easier to ruffle one's feathers and blame somebody for such an atrocity.

Life is full of teachable moments. You can learn and benefit from them. Once again, this situation is a case in which the adults let the kids down. Those that are crying foul would rather bitch and moan than educate and shape the young minds they are there to nurture.

I heard that Pirates coach Kevin Dineen even apologized. He said last year he suggested his players tone it down and this year he forgot to mention it. Is this really where we want to go? Having coaches tell their players how to play the game to appease the overly sensitive people in the crowd that might be offended?

What's next - a PA announcement like they do about pucks that leave the ice warning people that players might act naughty and misbehave?

This is so ridiculous. First of all, if these parents and educators had a clue, they'd know there is fighting in hockey. They may not understand its role and the culture that exists in the game, but they should have at least known it exists. To take kids to the game and then be offended by what happens after it happens is their responsibility. Don't blame the game or the people that play it for a living. It's your fault if you didn't know what you were taking the kids to watch.

The Pirates have hosted a large number of church groups over the years. I never once heard pastors complain that the game didn't feature God-like behaviour. I suppose some might have thought it too violent and stayed away. Those that came to the game kept it in the proper perspective. Maybe the minister even used it in his message afterwards.

What really disturbs me is these people who know nothing about sports and the way the games are played that try to invoke their will upon the game. What happens on the ice and on a football field or on a basketball court can't be compared to every day life - especially at the professional level. Certainly there are acceptable behaviors and unacceptable ones and a need for class and sportsmanship. Those are all proper lessons to be taken from these games.

But when games are aggressive, intense, violent and there's lot of money, jobs and careers at stake there's an atmosphere that non-sports fans just don't understand and can't be governed by imposing their laws to the world of pro sports.

I often cringe when I attend meetings of the Maine Principal's Association and listen to some educators who have no clue about sports making vital decisions about school programs and athletics.

I remember one principal, when discussing the high school hockey scheduling system, clearly state that he knew nothing about hockey and cared nothing about hockey. Yet, this guy was voting on this item - and his school had a hockey program.

There are plenty of wonderful administrators and educators that understand sports. They know the environment and culture of sports. They also know the educational role it plays for athletes, parents, coaches and communities.

But there are some that are just downright scary. They know nothing about competition and just see sports as a way to instill their feel-good agenda on the world around them. They want to prepare little Billy and little Susie for life without them getting their feelings hurt or facing any kind of challenge or difficult situation.

It would be like people who know nothing about music trying to dictate how music programs should be run and how instruments are to be played. They'd take kids to a concert and complain that the music is too loud.

These people shouldn't be protecting young kids from the scary sports world that they don't understand. If anything, the sports world and its kids should be protected from them.

Just Thinking

I swear either Michael Caine or Morgan Freeman are like in every other movie I see.

When I go from one place that doesn't have TV to another place that does, it makes me realize just how debilitating television is.

I find the whole thing about Homecoming floats really stupid. Does anybody really care if high school kids decorate the back of a truck to display in front of half-interested football fans at halftime? I'm not even sure the kids building the floats care.

And I hate Homecoming floats even more when the school extends the halftime break just for the festivities.

It cracks me up when soccer coaches scream at officials to blow their whistle. So when they do, instead of allowing for a play-on opportunity, the coaches gripe at that. Well, which do you want?

Apparently "All men are created equal" excludes innocent Muslims and patriotic gay people. I wonder if that was Thomas Jefferson's intent?

Taking a long hard look at the steps that you've traveled in your life gives one a pretty good perspective on how to get where one is going.

New York Jets wide receiver was pulled over for drunk driving last week. His team professed disappointment in his actions. So much so that they let him play on Sunday in a crucial game against Miami. I'm glad the Jets believe in holding people accountable and standing up for what is right - unless an important football game gets in the way.

For people whose job it is to pronounce people's names (news anchors, public address announcers) is it really that hard to find out how to say somebody's name before one proceeds to butcher it?

Now that Roger Clemens has been indicted for "misremebering" when he testified before Congress, what happens to the panel members that fawned all over him and kissed his ass that day?

Kevin Scott, an independent candidate for governor in Maine, says that his extensive list of driving infractions, around 35, shows that he's human. It also shows he is undisciplined, out of control and not much of a leader of men. And we don't need people like that running for governor - especially when we already have Paul LePage fulfilling that niche.

Tony Dungy has called out Rex Ryan for his profanity on the HBO show Hardknocks. But it is Dungy who ends up being painted as too pious while the foul-mouthed buffoonery of Ryan is laughed off. Profanity has become so common place in this society that people would rather curse up a storm than act and speak with a little more class and intelligence, even in front of their kids. I think that's pretty @$%^^& sad and really $$%%% up.

I think it is funny that I keep hearing these ads for Roger Waters' appearance at the Garden in Boston and every time, I can hear them playing the song Comfortably Numb over the ad. Of course, it was David Gilmour that sang that song for Pink Floyd and not Roger Waters.

The final combat troops have pulled out of Iraq after cleaning up George W. Bush's mess for seven years. With the government there in turmoil, I'd be tempted to suggest we send them the Cowboy Warmonger himself but that would just be cruel and unusual punishment for innocent people. I don't think we should wish him on anybody - unless it was before a tribunal for war crimes.

Speaking of which, it amazes me that the people that are jumping on the anti-Obama bandwagon were the same ones that stood by quietly while W wreaked havoc on this country and the world around us. So, obviously, they're not upset about the actions of the president, just his affiliation or maybe his race. It's just sad. Stand up for what is wrong because it is wrong. Don't defend it or ignore it just because of party affiliation.

I just wish people would work harder at finding solutions than they do in assigning blame.

More Randomness

While I was on vacation, I didn't watch TV for three weeks and didn't miss it one bit.

While on vacation I got an email from a softball coach griping about how the Miss Maine Softball award was chosen. I think this coach's complaints would have a little more credibility if he wasn't sore about his daughter not winning the award. And, had this guy been so concerned about the selection process, don't you think he'd do or say something before a well-deserving player was picked over his daughter?

Did you see the guy that ducked away from the foul ball just in time to let it hit his girlfriend? I thought the fact that the nitwit was wearing his hat on sideways like he was stylin' would have been enough for the girl to dump his sorry punk ass already. But apparently an act of cowardice at the sight of a foul ball did the trick.

Car dealers/peddlers just make me feel icky.

Speaking of which, are there any bigger morons in the world of commercials than car salesmen?

Just for those keeping track, during my vacation I saw: deer, an eagle, seals porpoises, osprey, various ducks and sea birds and a mountain lion.

Just for those keeping track, during my vacation I read six books, including two that I wrote, and wrote a good chunk of my next novel. I even managed to have future chapters evolve in my head that are now just waiting to come out.

I discovered that just because the beer is imported and cost nine or ten dollars doesn't necessarily make it all that good.

It just melts a guys heart when a little girl tells him that she loves him and gives him a kiss on the cheek. Of course, it's not so bad when her mother does the same thing.

Wonders why it is so hard for people to return a phone call or respond to an email out of courtesy.

This whole Corey Pavin-Jim Gray thing has gone from amusing to annoying. Golfer claims he's misquoted, reporter confronts golfer, golfer claims reporter poked him and said "You're going down". If things got any more out of control, they just might have broken into a full-fledged slap fight.

By the way, I have never, ever, misquoted somebody.

And, Jim Gray, you should ask LeBron James to buy you a digital recorder. They're great for recording interviews and covering your ass.

Speaking of James, he's making a list and checking it twice of all the people that have hurt poor little LeBron's feelings. And, I assume, he's going to have a prime time special on ESPN and read them all.

I really get tired of people emailing me propaganda that basically states that people in this country should only be allowed to speak English. Let those of you not the product of immigrants throw that first stone. I think all those gripers should just be miraculously plucked from their daily lives and transported to some foreign country where they don't speak the language. We'll see how sympathetic they are then. Como esta usted?

I saw the brawl between the Cardinals and Reds, if you can call it a brawl. Baseball players really need to learn how to fight. They spend more time pushing, shoving and flailing than actually fighting. At least somebody managed to kick somebody - even if it did make him look more like a rockette than an athlete.

I swear it can't be too hard to be a weatherman.

I missed my chance to go to Oz when a tornado ripped through my hometown and I wasn't there.

I wish I could file a protection order against people that annoy me.

I wonder if the police scanner was as amusing to listen to 20 years ago.

I love how the littlest of things can spark a wonderful memory from your childhood.

Last I knew this country was founded on a search for religious freedom and escaping from religious persecution. So, it is rather interesting that the my-country-right-or-wrong crowd, the flag-waving religious zealots are the ones barking the loudest about the Muslim mosque in New York. Granted, I understand the controversy strikes a chord and is a sensitive issue, but the place is supposedly being built on private property and not on the "Hallowed Ground" of Ground Zero as many of the radical protesters indicate. Their opposition often borders on racism and seems more about politics than honoring the people and sight of the 9/11 attacks.

And Sarah Palin, just shut it will you? If the country cared what you had to say, you'd have been elected.

I get great amusement watching the local TV news when they offer up any old talking head to do the sports news. Between the butchering of names and knowing little about the sports they're reporting on, they're trying to fake it while oblivious to the fact that the sports audience will spot a fraud in a second.

Random Randomness

Just thought I’d start posting random thoughts about random items that happen each week.








When BP is finished with sealing the oil leak, I’d like them to cork the gusher that I consider the mouth of Rush Limbaugh.

Jesse Jackson spouted off about Cleveland Cavalier’s owner Dan Gilbert and likened him to being a slave master. Correct me if I’m wrong, did anybody ask for Jesse Jackson’s opinion? I didn’t think so.

George H. W. Bush gets lost in the fog and grounded his boat on the beach. Kind of sounds like his presidency.

I don’t know what was worse with the whole LeBron James prime time special – watching James inflated ego at work or watching ESPN sacrifice its journalistic integrity.

Hey LeBron, Abe Lincoln called. He said he wants his beard back.

I like watching the Deadliest Catch, but I’m sick of Mike Rowe.

LA Laker Pau Gasol obviously must have been a soccer player at one time. A player that dives and flops as much as him must have learned that feat on the soccer pitch.

Speaking of soccer, if the recent World Cup didn’t generate enough interest in the United States then nothing is. The World Cup displayed the game at its best, but the majority of Americans could have cared less. So, let’s end any discussion of the sport increasing in popularity in the states. It’s not going to happen.

I can’t wait for the vuvuzela Christmas CD.

Mike Tyson has concluded that he has wasted his entire life and has accomplished very little as a human being. I guess that makes it unanimous.

Why can’t we reduce our dependency on oil by using the hot air of our politicians as our primary energy source?

Last week there were protesters in Maine to march against the development of wind turbines on a mountain range upstate. One of the protesters, from out of state, chained herself to the construction equipment. They should have carted her carcass to the New Hampshire border and told her to get out, stay out and mind her own damn business.

I’ve got some vacation time coming up next week. I’m thinking life would be better if we had vacation time for most of the year and then would work for just four or five weeks.

Speaking of vacation time, I'll get paid during those weeks but wonder if I could make a case for getting paid double for the time I stay away from the office?

I don’t know if it is sadder statement about our news agencies or about society itself that the major news stories in recent days are about Bristol Palin and Lindsay Lohan.

The whole loading up of free agents by the Miami Heat makes me think I’d root for the Lakers if those two teams meet in the NBA Finals and that makes me really feel disgusting.

While rummaging through old letters and photos the other day, I found a note that stated I was to report to the college dean’s office at a certain time. Hmm. Wonder what kind of trouble that was about?

I see there’s a remake of Hawaii Five-O hitting the networks soon. Once again, Hollywood proves it is completely out of ideas and has to resort to rehashing has-been shows.

Wish somebody would tell ESPN's Chris Berman that his shtick is getting tiresome. He's not funny, his "Back Back Back" or "Way Back" and all his stupid nicknames are getting old. And, he's not much of a journalist any longer, assuming he ever was one.

And it is people like Berman that make media types more interested in trying to be entertainers or celebrities rather than journalists.

Wonders why our forefathers didn't create laws to outlaw stupidity?

I had a press conference at Mall Plaza in South Portland today. That's where I worked in high school when Shaws was there. Bet I still could wheel 14 or 15 shopping carts through those doors.

Spellbound

At first, I thought it was just a typo. A soccer coach, in a hurry, rushing to provide me information on his team, had hit the wrong key. Even if he had written "scedual" instead of schedule, it had to be a mistake.
Or was it? The coach went on to continually discuss his team's challenging "scedual" and convinced me not only that his team was in for a tough season but that also their coach can't spell.
What a fine product of his school department, I thought.
Frankly, it really isn't surprising. What I see done to the English language on a daily basis is usually shocking, if not appalling. Either people never learned how to spell, are too lazy to do it properly or just don't care. Whatever the case, they don't look too smart in the process. And it seems as though it bothers only me.
Now, as a disclaimer, I should state that I may be particularly over-sensitive to this issue. I'm a writer. Part of my job is to spell things correctly. Most of the time, I actually do - or at least come close. Therefore, I'm also fairly trained to find spelling errors and poor grammar. So, on most occasions, if you spell something wrong, I'm going to notice. Sorry. It's an occupational hazard.
Now I certainly understand that people are going to have typos. We all do. And not everyone spends the kind of time at a keyboard that I do. Therefore, most people aren't as proficient at typing as somebody in my line of work.
Still, some of the spelling and grammatical mistakes I see go way beyond hitting the wrong keys.
Between reading message boards online or perusing Facebook, the mistakes I find just make my jaw drop. I saw a post the other day by a Facebook friend that had seven words spelled wrong. I saw another one just posted this evening that had three in a span of five words wrong.
What really gets me is that quite often, I see posts like these that are posted by teachers. Coaches and parents don't do much better.
We got an email the other day from a school athletic director informing us of a bit of news. I don't think he actually spelled any words wrong, for a change, but his sentence structure and grammar was pretty abysmal.
First, it makes me wonder who taught these people their grammar. Then I wonder how much worse is this problem going to get when one generation passes along such apathy to its children.
I'd be mortified if I posted something publicly or sent an email that was filled with such errors. I'd be embarrassed and very unhappy that I was representing myself in such a way. I'm not an illiterate nitwit, and I'd prefer not to give people reason to think I am.
Yet, it seems much of the world is either too lazy or could care less that they are displaying such a lack of basic grammar skills. If I am a college graduate and a professional, which I am, I'd prefer my actions and public communications be on par with my education level instead of giving the impression that I flunked out of the sixth grade and never went back.
I think in this world where we communicate in clipped words and phrases and via texts and emails this was bound to happen. We're in an age of instant gratification. People spout off opinions and post them for the world to see at a moment's notice. They say what they want without regard to how they see it or how bad their oral or written skills are. In the cyber world, such skills don't matter any longer. Heck, sometimes their opinions are as hollow and their arguments are as flawed as their spelling, but it makes no difference. It is freedom of speech run amok.
That's too bad. The erosion of such skills is sad but what is worse is that people no longer care that they represent themselves in such a way. When people are too lazy or too apathetic to strive to be their best, it is a sorry world we have created for ourselves.
I used to look at all the crazy spellings of names that I see and roll my eyes at the parent's who, in an effort to be different or creative, came up with the unique name. Now I just wonder if it wasn't a case of being creative but a lack of spelling skills.
But, at least I know, that if I spell any of those names wrong in the paper, they'll care and I'll probably hear about it.