The problem with instructors

            One of my mentors said “The problem with instructors is that after a while we think we have found the one true path and that everyone else is an idiot.”

            I think the truth is that we discover the one true path for us and we are idiots like everyone else. 

            All joking aside after a few years of intense studying a specific subject one begins to have insights.  Those insights can lead to a deep understanding of the subject.  Then, if you are lucky, you meet someone who has a completely different perspective.  It takes discipline to shut up and listen but if you do there is a potential for a “paradigm shift.”  I dislike buzz words but sometimes they capture the idea.  When people accepted that light acted like a particle AND a wave minds were blown and progress occurred.  The “pitch for airspeed and power for altitude” Bernoulli or Newton and other mental models are useful but not comprehensive.  It is difficult not to cement our minds into the theory that we understand and disregard others.

            On the other hand, people who tout their ability to “think outside the box” sometimes are merely undisciplined.  A basic understanding of the current theories and ideas about a subject allows one to have an intelligent conversation based on something other than conjecture.  I do not have a problem with someone who says “I believe __” and does not try to disparage people who believe otherwise.  The people who say “I think” and then merely regurgitate someone else’s opinion can be frustrating.  I used to enjoy agitating people like that, now I generally avoid them.  This is the dilemma, if I think I understand the problem better than them; could be I missing a jewel of an insight by ignoring them or am I being an arrogant fool?

Who stole my ___

One of the sayings we had in the military was “Which one of you lousy son of a #$@s stole my…oh, here it is.” 

            My mama said “Put things back where they belong.” I am still learning that lesson.  I am quick to blame others, even if I don’t say it aloud.  You would think that after thirty or forty years of repeating the same lesson I would figure it out.

            I used to think it was because I was drunk that I could not find my beer when the reality is that I tend to have CRS (Can’t Remember Stuff). 

            On the good side it is really nice to find an item you have been looking for. 

A neat trick

A friend of mine taught me a neat trick.  He taught me how to fly an airplane.  That is a pretty neat trick.

My grandparents taught me to read.  That is a really neat trick.

Uncle Bob

My uncle Bob heavily influenced me.  In his own words he could be described as a “hard working, hard nosed, hard drinking Polack.”  As he matured he quit drinking which helped me recognize that you could still be mannerly and have fun without drinking to excess.  He took a lot of grief over his ethnic background but showed that the best revenge is just to live an incredibly successful life.  He gave me my first real job and I learned a lot.  My minimum wage co-workers and I were compensated fairly for our skill set.  I was inspired to pursue my education and training so I could both make more money and have more fun doing it.  The example of his love towards my aunt was inspirational.  He, like most men, is not as verbal in his expression of affection especially to snot-nosed young punks like me but he always showed it.

Bob Probizanski gave me my first skateboard!  It was a product sample from Century Fiberglass back in the day.  It was merely an orange toy to the adult world.  It opened the world up to me.  I was instantly cool.  I learned balance momentum and persistence through that piece of modern magic.  Urethane wheels and real trucks gave me a platform to explore the urban playground that was Riverside California in the late 1970s.  Some of the scars I earned remain, some do not but the lessons shaped me into the man I would become.

You gotta be tough.  Suck it up sunshine a little road rash is part of the game.  The big words we use now are risk management but to an adolescent “can I pull of this trick, how much will it hurt if I don’t and how many cool points do I get with the chicks” is just a simplified way of calculating danger.  The broken bones are visceral feedback on improper decisions.  The whole realities of how good are you and how much does God love you all over again.  I continue to skateboard but tend to be mellow cat in my approach rather than radical Ronney.

I have so many good memories of skating it is hard to express how much it meant to me.  I won a contest when I was in middle school and became an “honorary” member of the Pepsi skateboard team.  They gave me a t-shirt because I tried a handstand.  As an outsider from Louisiana I was accepted in the middle school hierarchy.  I recall the dark times learning how drugs ruin good people and how skating made me separate the drugs and alcohol intake so I could perform. 

That first board was quickly shredded and I learned the value of good equipment and how to care for my ride.  I was inspired to earn money to get a sturdier board.  The people that loved me showered me with safety equipment and I was soon at a skatepark.  We moved to the country and my skating took back seat to cross country running, school and motorcycling in the desert but I never lost my love of skateboarding.  While in the Air Force I rode in the Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Guam, Australia, and Indonesia.  I know the “go for it” attitude require to drop into the bowl at Upland gave me the fortitude to leap from airplanes and other seemingly counterintuitive actions that continue to fascinate me.  Balance, momentum management and gravity games have been a central part of my life.  Thank you Uncle Bob.

                                                     Passing on the gift

Christmas in Mexico

            My uncle, my mother, my wife and I spent Christmas in Mexico.  We connected with family members that we did not know existed a few years ago.  I felt at home almost immediately.  We ate, sang, laughed and played late every night.  We rose early and repeated the exercise until exhaustion.  It was wonderful to be so loved so unconditionally so quickly.  We celebrated Christmas with the family in Mexico City and then went down to visit another aunt in Cuernavaca.  A one day excursion to Tepoztlan and then it was time to go. 

            The whole experience was great fun.  One of my favorite parts was the marshmallow battle following the opening of presents.  I am so glad we connected although our hearts ached for Christina and Alexander the entire time.