Today I had planned to present a comparative analysis of the Iliad and the Odyssey and how my findings will be a game changer in land use and forest management. But then last Wednesday on my way to my writing group I was rear-ended on the 405 Freeway in a 3-car collision. When I heard the sound of metal crunching metal, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a car barreling toward me. At the last minute the driver tried to swerve to avoid me, but failed. Added to the fact that he was following too close (3-second rule, people!) he was propelled forward by the car that had just hit him.
As luck would have it, a couple of CHP officers witnessed the accident. They had somebody stopped on the shoulder, which is probably why the accident happened in the first place. What do people find so fascinating about a fellow driver getting a ticket? If I figure that out I might work it into my forest management theory.
If my accident weren't enough stress, I was preparing to teach a class on Sunday at the Thousand Oaks Library, dealing with several kerfuffles related to volunteer events I'm planning: last minute cancellations, participant meltdowns, and general running around fixing things that need to be fixed.
And then this happened:
For those of you who don't follow NBA basketball in general or Los Angeles Lakers basketball in particular, Kobe Bryant's torn Achilles' tendon in the game with the Utah Jazz is one of the worst things that could have happened to our city. Kobe is our angry son, our saint, our brother, our BFF all rolled into one. We've watched him grow up and now we've witnessed the injury that could end his career. Kobe pushed his 35 year old body to the limits to propel the Lakers into the playoffs. Now we are asking: Did this have to happen?
Recent turmoil in Lakerland reads like a soap opera. Flamboyant and transformational owner, in failing health, turns over the franchise to two of his children: the business whiz daughter who is engaged to the beloved, winning, Zen Master coach and the son who makes seemingly boneheaded decisions on the player/coaching side. Beloved Zen Master coach retires amidst rumors that the son doesn't like him. Son hires replacement coach who seems like a nice guy but is all wrong for the team. Many losses ensue. Son then fires coach and approaches Zen Master about returning to save the team. Then son blindsides Zen Master by hiring somebody else who is also wrong for the team and worse, he does so without notifying Zen Master before the press gets wind of the betrayal. Fans and sports writers alike are outraged over shabby treatment of Beloved Zen Master. New coach arrives, bad-mouths players in the press and generally acts like a horse's patootie. He forgets the basic rule of leadership: the buck stops here. Injuries and more losses ensue. Fans are not amused.
I love professional basketball and I love Los Angeles Times sports writers, especially Bill Plaschke who I can always count on to tell it like it is. Plaschke doesn't have much confidence in Jimmy Buss. His April 13 headline about Kobe's injury reads: "The season just walked out the door." At the end of the article, Plaschke says this about Kobe: "He has crumbled, and, for now, basketball's greatest franchise will crumble with him."
Bummer.
Happy Tax Day!
A joyous and stunning read. Now I know why I abandoned LA for saner climbs. Get back to that Illiad comparison. The Sirens have me and I wanta be free!
ReplyDeletePeter, you make me laugh. Return to La-La. We need your sense of humor.
Deletefrom Jacqueline
ReplyDeletePatty, somewhere, I think you've missed your calling. You should be doing the TV/Radio post-mortem on sports events for people who pay a lot of money for a balanced view. I am clueless about all this,not being a follower of sports, unless there are two athletes and one has four legs - and I could once play a mean game of netball, which is a really fast, tactical game played by women throughout the Commonwealth. But this shows just what trouble a narcissistic manager in any setting can cause, even on a good day. Bring back Zen is my only offering here.
Zen may still happen but I doubt that we'll see him again any time soon due to the ridiculous amount of money wasted on the last two coaches. Pity, that.
DeleteYou haven't posted about your lovely horses lately. I hope you'll catch us up on how they're doing.
from Jacqueline
ReplyDeleteWell, there could be a major update soon ... Oliver's nose may be put a little out of joint, because a very lovely (and very big) new boy might - just might - be joining the herd. That might not be a bad thing as Ollie could do with a little bit of a shake up in his thinking. Sara is in equine assisted living at a ranch between Petaluma and Bodega in California - which means in a field sunning herself with other retirees, at my expense. More seriously, Sara's health has not been great through the winter - as we know, old age is not for the faint-hearted - but at least she came through, though it was a bit dodgy at times. The key thing is that she is happy right now, so if I have to make any big decisions come next winter, well, I will know she had a very lovely retirement for a few years, if something of an early retirement.
Sorry to hear about Sara. As Bette Davis once said, "Getting old isn't for sissies." I remember when Sara had that terrible sinus infection and you fought to save her. True grit if you ask me.
DeleteFrom Mims:
ReplyDeleteAre you injured, Patty? I really, hope not, as you have so much on your plate and not much time in which to take care of yourself.
I nearly cried at the file photo of newly-signed seventeen year-old Kobe in his too big hat in the LAT the day after the injury. He has lived half of his life as a Laker. Isn't that something?
I saw that picture, too. Really poignant.
DeleteNo, I wasn't hurt, but thank you so much for asking, Mims. My car bumper looks like an accordian, though. Maybe I can teach it to play Lady of Spain...