tigertowner 68
VIP Member
SportsChatter Featured Writer
Hangin' in and wife improving
Posts: 14,127 
Likes: 2,889
|
Post by tigertowner 68 on Feb 26, 2015 10:28:15 GMT -5
A hero is a person that performs a deed that one shining recipient (or recipients) that is in dire need, benefits enormously from, as a result of the effort and deed performed by the "hero". A person, a few people, even thousands, perhaps millions of people can look up to a real hero. A person that can do, in deed, what is truly looked upon as a shining example of the good that come from one's heart when one chooses to rise to meet an exceedingly difficult challenge in order to benefit one's fellow man. If you want the Webster's definition, look it up. You just read my definition. We awakened to a warm and sunny day in Detroit the morning of April 10, 2009. At least it was warm by Midwest standards this early in April. 55 degrees in the sun feels real nice on opening day in this part of the country. Excitement was in the air everywhere as the Tigers prepared for the opener against the Texas Rangers. Josh Hamilton signed baseballs on this day prior to the start of the game. Hundreds of them, in fact. My school hood chum Cliff and I watched on from the lower first base boxes. Hamilton enjoyed a breakthrough year for the Rangers in 2008. He led the league in RBI with 130, while batting .304 with 32 home runs. He had co-authored an autobiography that was just released in the fall of 2008 titled "Beyond Belief". A throng of hands holding the book were pushing it toward him to have it signed. We marveled over what a great story it was. I waited for the crowd to clear and then simply walked alongside first base and the dugout and said just loud enough to be heard by Josh... stay strong. He tipped his cap to acknowledge me, then ducked into the dugout. Then his Rangers team was bludgeoned by the Tigers 15-2, the highlight a mammoth grand slam by another "hero" in the opposing team's dugout, Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera would experience a couple of alcohol related plunges into the abyss in short order during subsequent off seasons. Mr. Hamilton was once one of the top two amateur prospects in baseball (along with Josh Beckett prior to the 1999 amateur draft). On June 2, 1999 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays made him the #1 pick in that draft. In ten short years, Josh had fallen precipitously, and then risen again mercurially. He had become a slave to the Hell that is substance abuse. The cycle started in 2001 after he got involved with a group of people at a Charleston, SC tattoo parlor. He failed his first drug test in spring training of 2003. That led to a precipitous fall that took three years to recover from. Josh credited his recovery to his new found faith in the Lord and chronicled it in his book. I truly believe that his faith was genuine and probably still is today. Stay strong. It just takes "One Slip". Some have had many slips. Just four or five years prior to attending that game, Denny McLain was serving up Slurpees at a Mt. Clemens, Michigan 7-11 convenience store, following his release from a halfway house. Following his third or fourth major felony. McLain had won 31 games for the Tigers in 1968. Just 11 at the time, I recruited several friends including Cliff to gather scrap lumber to erect "Fort McLain" in my backyard in behalf of my "Hero". I stopped in at the 7-11. People were ordering Slurpees and asking for autographs. I waited for the crowd to clear and Mr. McLain asked me what could I do for him. I replied to my "Hero"..."Promise me that you will stay out of trouble and make your loved ones proud of you." He nodded and off I went to work. Without a Slurpee. George Harrison summed up the "Human Condition" very well in Run of the Mill, one song of many stalwart efforts on his epic All Things Must Pass.Everyone has choice
When to and not to raise their voices
It's you that decides
Which way will you turn
While feeling that our love's not your concern
It's you that decides
No one around you
Will carry the blame for you
No one around you
Will love you today and throw it all away
Tomorrow when you rise
Another day for you to realize me
Or send me down again
As the days stand up on end
You've got me wondering how I lost your friendship
But I see it in your eyes
Though I'm beside you
I can't carry the lame for you
I may decide to
Get out with your blessing
Where I'll carry on guessing
How high will you leap
Will you make enough for you to reap it
Only you'll arrive
At your own made end
With no one but yourself to be offended
It's you that decides.It is ultimately up to Josh Hamilton (and Denny McLain), you, me and everybody. Your God can be your inspiration. Your comfort. But its you that decides. Beware of that "One Slip". Josh is about to be suspended by MLB again, for an apparent cocaine abuse relapse. As to how long that suspension may last, who knows? Technically, since he did not fail a drug test and voluntarily admitted to the misdeed, it might not be a huge amount of time. Stay tuned. Sports is our playground. Our "Field of Dreams". It is not home to heroes. The world has many homes for many heroes from many walks of life. We are each but human. Flesh and blood. We were all born. We will all pass on. Even heroes are human. A brisk wind blows on this gray day in February. Some day soon, I hope that the sun shines again on Josh Hamilton. And all of his fellow brethren in the Great Race that is the Human Race. The sun will shine again and the sadness of a case study about another fallen hero will surely lift away with the clouds. Or just the notion of sports stars as heroes will fade. Or not?  |
|
|
|
Post by Swamp Dragon on Mar 1, 2015 15:33:58 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by tnerb57 on Mar 1, 2015 17:11:34 GMT -5
This made me tear up a bit. Too close to home in some aspects.
|
|
tigertowner 68
VIP Member
SportsChatter Featured Writer
Hangin' in and wife improving
Posts: 14,127
Likes: 2,889
|
Post by tigertowner 68 on Mar 1, 2015 17:45:40 GMT -5
|
|
NYR
FFN
Posts: 938
Likes: 110
|
Post by NYR on Mar 10, 2015 13:16:36 GMT -5
A hero is a person that performs a deed that one shining recipient (or recipients) that is in dire need, benefits enormously from, as a result of the effort and deed performed by the "hero". A person, a few people, even thousands, perhaps millions of people can look up to a real hero. A person that can do, in deed, what is truly looked upon as a shining example of the good that come from one's heart when one chooses to rise to meet an exceedingly difficult challenge in order to benefit one's fellow man. If you want the Webster's definition, look it up. You just read my definition. We awakened to a warm and sunny day in Detroit the morning of April 10, 2009. At least it was warm by Midwest standards this early in April. 55 degrees in the sun feels real nice on opening day in this part of the country. Excitement was in the air everywhere as the Tigers prepared for the opener against the Texas Rangers. Josh Hamilton signed baseballs on this day prior to the start of the game. Hundreds of them, in fact. My school hood chum Cliff and I watched on from the lower first base boxes. Hamilton enjoyed a breakthrough year for the Rangers in 2008. He led the league in RBI with 130, while batting .304 with 32 home runs. He had co-authored an autobiography that was just released in the fall of 2008 titled "Beyond Belief". A throng of hands holding the book were pushing it toward him to have it signed. We marveled over what a great story it was. I waited for the crowd to clear and then simply walked alongside first base and the dugout and said just loud enough to be heard by Josh... stay strong. He tipped his cap to acknowledge me, then ducked into the dugout. Then his Rangers team was bludgeoned by the Tigers 15-2, the highlight a mammoth grand slam by another "hero" in the opposing team's dugout, Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera would experience a couple of alcohol related plunges into the abyss in short order during subsequent off seasons. Mr. Hamilton was once one of the top two amateur prospects in baseball (along with Josh Beckett prior to the 1999 amateur draft). On June 2, 1999 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays made him the #1 pick in that draft. In ten short years, Josh had fallen precipitously, and then risen again mercurially. He had become a slave to the Hell that is substance abuse. The cycle started in 2001 after he got involved with a group of people at a Charleston, SC tattoo parlor. He failed his first drug test in spring training of 2003. That led to a precipitous fall that took three years to recover from. Josh credited his recovery to his new found faith in the Lord and chronicled it in his book. I truly believe that his faith was genuine and probably still is today. Stay strong. It just takes "One Slip". Some have had many slips. Just four or five years prior to attending that game, Denny McLain was serving up Slurpees at a Mt. Clemens, Michigan 7-11 convenience store, following his release from a halfway house. Following his third or fourth major felony. McLain had won 31 games for the Tigers in 1968. Just 11 at the time, I recruited several friends including Cliff to gather scrap lumber to erect "Fort McLain" in my backyard in behalf of my "Hero". I stopped in at the 7-11. People were ordering Slurpees and asking for autographs. I waited for the crowd to clear and Mr. McLain asked me what could I do for him. I replied to my "Hero"..."Promise me that you will stay out of trouble and make your loved ones proud of you." He nodded and off I went to work. Without a Slurpee. George Harrison summed up the "Human Condition" very well in Run of the Mill, one song of many stalwart efforts on his epic All Things Must Pass.Everyone has choice
When to and not to raise their voices
It's you that decides
Which way will you turn
While feeling that our love's not your concern
It's you that decides
No one around you
Will carry the blame for you
No one around you
Will love you today and throw it all away
Tomorrow when you rise
Another day for you to realize me
Or send me down again
As the days stand up on end
You've got me wondering how I lost your friendship
But I see it in your eyes
Though I'm beside you
I can't carry the lame for you
I may decide to
Get out with your blessing
Where I'll carry on guessing
How high will you leap
Will you make enough for you to reap it
Only you'll arrive
At your own made end
With no one but yourself to be offended
It's you that decides.It is ultimately up to Josh Hamilton (and Denny McLain), you, me and everybody. Your God can be your inspiration. Your comfort. But its you that decides. Beware of that "One Slip". Josh is about to be suspended by MLB again, for an apparent cocaine abuse relapse. As to how long that suspension may last, who knows? Technically, since he did not fail a drug test and voluntarily admitted to the misdeed, it might not be a huge amount of time. Stay tuned. Sports is our playground. Our "Field of Dreams". It is not home to heroes. The world has many homes for many heroes from many walks of life. We are each but human. Flesh and blood. We were all born. We will all pass on. Even heroes are human. A brisk wind blows on this gray day in February. Some day soon, I hope that the sun shines again on Josh Hamilton. And all of his fellow brethren in the Great Race that is the Human Race. The sun will shine again and the sadness of a case study about another fallen hero will surely lift away with the clouds. Or just the notion of sports stars as heroes will fade. Or not? nice. I was always a fan of Josh's. I wish him well. But my hero was my childhood friend. Who as a NYC Firefighter on September 11th, 2001, responded to the World Trade Center, and looking up at a sky scraper on fire and without a thought, entered the building and started the climb to help his fellow man. He never made it out. |
|
tigertowner 68
VIP Member
SportsChatter Featured Writer
Hangin' in and wife improving
Posts: 14,127
Likes: 2,889
|
Post by tigertowner 68 on Mar 10, 2015 13:21:55 GMT -5
A hero is a person that performs a deed that one shining recipient (or recipients) that is in dire need, benefits enormously from, as a result of the effort and deed performed by the "hero". A person, a few people, even thousands, perhaps millions of people can look up to a real hero. A person that can do, in deed, what is truly looked upon as a shining example of the good that come from one's heart when one chooses to rise to meet an exceedingly difficult challenge in order to benefit one's fellow man. If you want the Webster's definition, look it up. You just read my definition. We awakened to a warm and sunny day in Detroit the morning of April 10, 2009. At least it was warm by Midwest standards this early in April. 55 degrees in the sun feels real nice on opening day in this part of the country. Excitement was in the air everywhere as the Tigers prepared for the opener against the Texas Rangers. Josh Hamilton signed baseballs on this day prior to the start of the game. Hundreds of them, in fact. My school hood chum Cliff and I watched on from the lower first base boxes. Hamilton enjoyed a breakthrough year for the Rangers in 2008. He led the league in RBI with 130, while batting .304 with 32 home runs. He had co-authored an autobiography that was just released in the fall of 2008 titled "Beyond Belief". A throng of hands holding the book were pushing it toward him to have it signed. We marveled over what a great story it was. I waited for the crowd to clear and then simply walked alongside first base and the dugout and said just loud enough to be heard by Josh... stay strong. He tipped his cap to acknowledge me, then ducked into the dugout. Then his Rangers team was bludgeoned by the Tigers 15-2, the highlight a mammoth grand slam by another "hero" in the opposing team's dugout, Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera would experience a couple of alcohol related plunges into the abyss in short order during subsequent off seasons. Mr. Hamilton was once one of the top two amateur prospects in baseball (along with Josh Beckett prior to the 1999 amateur draft). On June 2, 1999 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays made him the #1 pick in that draft. In ten short years, Josh had fallen precipitously, and then risen again mercurially. He had become a slave to the Hell that is substance abuse. The cycle started in 2001 after he got involved with a group of people at a Charleston, SC tattoo parlor. He failed his first drug test in spring training of 2003. That led to a precipitous fall that took three years to recover from. Josh credited his recovery to his new found faith in the Lord and chronicled it in his book. I truly believe that his faith was genuine and probably still is today. Stay strong. It just takes "One Slip". Some have had many slips. Just four or five years prior to attending that game, Denny McLain was serving up Slurpees at a Mt. Clemens, Michigan 7-11 convenience store, following his release from a halfway house. Following his third or fourth major felony. McLain had won 31 games for the Tigers in 1968. Just 11 at the time, I recruited several friends including Cliff to gather scrap lumber to erect "Fort McLain" in my backyard in behalf of my "Hero". I stopped in at the 7-11. People were ordering Slurpees and asking for autographs. I waited for the crowd to clear and Mr. McLain asked me what could I do for him. I replied to my "Hero"..."Promise me that you will stay out of trouble and make your loved ones proud of you." He nodded and off I went to work. Without a Slurpee. George Harrison summed up the "Human Condition" very well in Run of the Mill, one song of many stalwart efforts on his epic All Things Must Pass.Everyone has choice
When to and not to raise their voices
It's you that decides
Which way will you turn
While feeling that our love's not your concern
It's you that decides
No one around you
Will carry the blame for you
No one around you
Will love you today and throw it all away
Tomorrow when you rise
Another day for you to realize me
Or send me down again
As the days stand up on end
You've got me wondering how I lost your friendship
But I see it in your eyes
Though I'm beside you
I can't carry the lame for you
I may decide to
Get out with your blessing
Where I'll carry on guessing
How high will you leap
Will you make enough for you to reap it
Only you'll arrive
At your own made end
With no one but yourself to be offended
It's you that decides.It is ultimately up to Josh Hamilton (and Denny McLain), you, me and everybody. Your God can be your inspiration. Your comfort. But its you that decides. Beware of that "One Slip". Josh is about to be suspended by MLB again, for an apparent cocaine abuse relapse. As to how long that suspension may last, who knows? Technically, since he did not fail a drug test and voluntarily admitted to the misdeed, it might not be a huge amount of time. Stay tuned. Sports is our playground. Our "Field of Dreams". It is not home to heroes. The world has many homes for many heroes from many walks of life. We are each but human. Flesh and blood. We were all born. We will all pass on. Even heroes are human. A brisk wind blows on this gray day in February. Some day soon, I hope that the sun shines again on Josh Hamilton. And all of his fellow brethren in the Great Race that is the Human Race. The sun will shine again and the sadness of a case study about another fallen hero will surely lift away with the clouds. Or just the notion of sports stars as heroes will fade. Or not? nice. I was always a fan of Josh's. I wish him well. But my hero was my childhood friend. Who as a NYC Firefighter on September 11th, 2001, responded to the World Trade Center, and looking up at a sky scraper on fire and without a thought, entered the building and started the climb to help his fellow man. He never made it out. That is a real hero nyr! BTW, the board has created a new spot for me to post articles. Check out "Towner's Corner" if you have a minute... |
|
tigertowner 68
VIP Member
SportsChatter Featured Writer
Hangin' in and wife improving
Posts: 14,127
Likes: 2,889
|
Post by tigertowner 68 on Mar 10, 2015 14:33:40 GMT -5
|
|
NYR
FFN
Posts: 938
Likes: 110
|
Post by NYR on Mar 10, 2015 14:49:54 GMT -5
My apologies, I wasn't trying to thread hijack. I like him. I liked his story a lot when I first learned about him when he was with Texas (?). Maybe it's me, I don't know, I always root for the underdog, the blue collar, the hard scrabble, those with troubled pasts...... I have this indelible desire to see the good in mankind. We are all broken one way or another, lest we judge...but it is that faith, whether you believe in the Lord or not, the faith that keeps each one of us moving forward. We all have demons, whether we accept the fact or not. We all fail. I fail everyday. I fail in the things I did and especially in the things I didn't do. Some fail miserably. But if we didn't fail then there would never be success. Before we judge, we need to have walked a mile in the other persons shoes. We were made in the image of God, but we are not God. I hope Josh gets better. I hope MLB makes the humanitarian decision, not the financial one. MLB has an opportunity to set an example, where they can create an environment to get the man the help and support he needs. Josh is human, has a great wife, kids and family. What better example for your kids than to finally prove you can beat addiction. He will overcome. I wish him nothing but the best.This is larger than sport itself. |
|
NYR
FFN
Posts: 938
Likes: 110
|
Post by NYR on Mar 10, 2015 14:54:55 GMT -5
nice. I was always a fan of Josh's. I wish him well. But my hero was my childhood friend. Who as a NYC Firefighter on September 11th, 2001, responded to the World Trade Center, and looking up at a sky scraper on fire and without a thought, entered the building and started the climb to help his fellow man. He never made it out. That is a real hero nyr! BTW, the board has created a new spot for me to post articles. Check out "Towner's Corner" if you have a minute... Where? Couldnt find it. |
|
tigertowner 68
VIP Member
SportsChatter Featured Writer
Hangin' in and wife improving
Posts: 14,127
Likes: 2,889
|
Post by tigertowner 68 on Mar 10, 2015 15:00:53 GMT -5
My apologies, I wasn't trying to thread hijack. I like him. I liked his story a lot when I first learned about him when he was with Texas (?). Maybe it's me, I don't know, I always root for the underdog, the blue collar, the hard scrabble, those with troubled pasts...... I have this indelible desire to see the good in mankind. We are all broken one way or another, lest we judge...but it is that faith, whether you believe in the Lord or not, the faith that keeps each one of us moving forward. We all have demons, whether we accept the fact or not. We all fail. I fail everyday. I fail in the things I did and especially in the things I didn't do. Some fail miserably. But if we didn't fail then there would never be success. Before we judge, we need to have walked a mile in the other persons shoes. We were made in the image of God, but we are not God. I hope Josh gets better. I hope MLB makes the humanitarian decision, not the financial one. MLB has an opportunity to set an example, where they can create an environment to get the man the help and support he needs. Josh is human, has a great wife, kids and family. What better example for your kids than to finally prove you can beat addiction. He will overcome. I wish him nothing but the best.This is larger than sport itself. No problem nyr, you didn't hijack the post. I am totally with you about the underdog thing too. And I am a firm believer in the Lord. I am in a weekly men's group/ bible study but don't make a big deal of it and I never, ever push it. I have just been fascinated by this poor mortal man's story. Hope his family will try to stand with him. It's hard to. I had to move from my former home to actually get my crack addicted brother away after putting a roof over his head for seven years plus following the loss of my mother in 2004. I let the dude stay rent free, just insisted that he work on his unpaid child support. In short, he lied about it and never did pay any of it and was in and out of jail. Cops would bang on my door at 4 AM and flush him out. It got to the point that he was stealing so much from me that I had to make a split. That and my wife-to-be had reached out and helped him and got "kicked in the face" too. I still pray for him but I cannot enable him. |
|
tigertowner 68
VIP Member
SportsChatter Featured Writer
Hangin' in and wife improving
Posts: 14,127
Likes: 2,889
|
Post by tigertowner 68 on Mar 10, 2015 15:02:46 GMT -5
That is a real hero nyr! BTW, the board has created a new spot for me to post articles. Check out "Towner's Corner" if you have a minute... Where? Couldnt find it. It is just below the "Underground" and above "The Great Debate Forum" my friend... |
|
NYR
FFN
Posts: 938
Likes: 110
|
Post by NYR on Mar 10, 2015 20:53:36 GMT -5
My apologies, I wasn't trying to thread hijack. I like him. I liked his story a lot when I first learned about him when he was with Texas (?). Maybe it's me, I don't know, I always root for the underdog, the blue collar, the hard scrabble, those with troubled pasts...... I have this indelible desire to see the good in mankind. We are all broken one way or another, lest we judge...but it is that faith, whether you believe in the Lord or not, the faith that keeps each one of us moving forward. We all have demons, whether we accept the fact or not. We all fail. I fail everyday. I fail in the things I did and especially in the things I didn't do. Some fail miserably. But if we didn't fail then there would never be success. Before we judge, we need to have walked a mile in the other persons shoes. We were made in the image of God, but we are not God. I hope Josh gets better. I hope MLB makes the humanitarian decision, not the financial one. MLB has an opportunity to set an example, where they can create an environment to get the man the help and support he needs. Josh is human, has a great wife, kids and family. What better example for your kids than to finally prove you can beat addiction. He will overcome. I wish him nothing but the best.This is larger than sport itself. No problem nyr, you didn't hijack the post. I am totally with you about the underdog thing too. And I am a firm believer in the Lord. I am in a weekly men's group/ bible study but don't make a big deal of it and I never, ever push it. I have just been fascinated by this poor mortal man's story. Hope his family will try to stand with him. It's hard to. I had to move from my former home to actually get my crack addicted brother away after putting a roof over his head for seven years plus following the loss of my mother in 2004. I let the dude stay rent free, just insisted that he work on his unpaid child support. In short, he lied about it and never did pay any of it and was in and out of jail. Cops would bang on my door at 4 AM and flush him out. It got to the point that he was stealing so much from me that I had to make a split. That and my wife-to-be had reached out and helped him and got "kicked in the face" too. I still pray for him but I cannot enable him. I have faith the good Lord will bring him out of this hole again. Unfortunately he needs to keep fighting his whole life against this disease. |
|
NYR
FFN
Posts: 938
Likes: 110
|
Post by NYR on Mar 10, 2015 20:56:23 GMT -5
It is just below the "Underground" and above "The Great Debate Forum" my friend... it is not showing on my end. huh... |
|
tigertowner 68
VIP Member
SportsChatter Featured Writer
Hangin' in and wife improving
Posts: 14,127
Likes: 2,889
|
Post by tigertowner 68 on Mar 11, 2015 0:38:13 GMT -5
It is just below the "Underground" and above "The Great Debate Forum" my friend... it is not showing on my end. huh... sorry nyr...zig must not have opened it up yet. I'll check w/ him |
|
|
|
Post by Zig on Apr 11, 2015 7:57:24 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Swamp Dragon on Apr 12, 2015 6:53:18 GMT -5
This is going to be interesting,if Moreno the Angels & MLB win this battle that has yet to start like how the NFL has used the morality clause in their contracts to withhold bonuses, to take the guarantee off of future money in a contract. |
|
