THE NEW THING vs OLD THING

My new thing is blogging like I’ve never blogged before and calling myself a writer.

“So what do you do?”

“I’m a blogger.”

“No, I mean what do you really do?”

Too often a blogger is an instigator, a shit-stirring wild thing wannabe looking for clicks, influence, and notoriety.

From hate bloggers, to racist bloggers, to science denying bloggers, it’s a full field of whack-jobs getting sponsorships and encouragement to be more outlandish.

The problem for me is seeking attention. I’m not a seeker and I don’t want to answer any comment from those guys.

If we’re judged by the company we keep, look around to be sure you’re in the right place.

If you join this gig, you’re in the right place.

 

My new thing is keeping up the personal pressure to avoid succumbing to the decrepitude of aging.

After attending my fiftieth high school reunion I understand why people avoid these sort of events.

It’s not always a beautiful reflection on life five decades down the road.

But I want to see who’s who and how they’re doing.

By most measures my class is doing pretty good.

There was a couple who danced the night away in such fun, a baseball player who still yearned for a Wilson A2000 glove, and the organizer who got it right with the gold nuggets. (Hey Melanie)

My goal was to lose a few pounds, which means I gained ten; circulate to see old familiar faces; and go places I’d never been, like up Coos River.

The whole weekend felt invigorating in the best way, with the question of ‘why did I ever move away?’

 

The New New Thing

After the Paris Olympics it’s time for a new light on fitness.

Instead of complaining about how hard everything is, my new thing is working for results that can’t be rescinded like our gymnast who lost the bronze on a misinterpretation, won the bronze on review, then lost it again on a bullshit time constraint that’s been proven false.

It feels like Jim Thorpe winning both the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

In this case the International Olympic Committee pulled his two gold medals because he played minor league baseball for money.

 

Andrews said the quick condemnation of Thorpe lacked due process, one reason he calls the actions against him “somewhat illegal.”

Thorpe’s violations also were not discovered until six months after the Olympics, well past the 60-day deadline for filing a letter of opposition according to the rules at the time.

The decathlon second-place finisher, Sweden’s Wieslander, was bumped to first place and given the gold medal. Andrews says Wieslander always considered Thorpe the “real” victor in the decathlon. 

Norway’s Ferdinand Bie, the pentathlon second-place finisher, was awarded the gold but never accepted. 

In 1982, the IOC gave duplicate medals to Thorpe’s family but listed him as a co-champion in the record books. 

On July 15, 2022,the 110th anniversary of Thorpe’s decathlon gold medal, the IOC announced that it would reinstate Thorpe as the sole winner of the 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon. 

 

What was the worst moment in Olympic medal history?

The 1972 Olympic men’s basketball final.

 

With three seconds left, Doug Collins hit two free throws to give the U.S. a 50-49 lead. As the Soviets inbounded the ball, assistant coach Sergei Bashkin rushed to the scorer’s table, insisting his team had called timeout.

The Soviets were allowed to inbound again, though no officials noticed the game clock had not been reset to three seconds. The Soviets’ pass went astray, and the Americans celebrated their apparent victory.

But because of the clock error, officials ordered another restart.

Great Britain’s R. William Jones, FIBA’s secretary general, told the media: “The Americans have to learn how to lose, even if they think they are right.”

 

Instead of training and training and then getting cheated out of the medals won by some porky administrator with an agenda, set fitness goals, hit them, then set more goals.

Give yourself a medal for achieving your goals, but which one, gold, silver, or bronze?

Stay gold, pony boy.

 

Set Personal Expectations

I love this meme because everyone is capable in their own mind.

Execution is a whole ‘nother story.

 

The difference between a personal promise and a public announcement?

You don’t get held accountable by everyone who has never made such a promise because you keep it secret.

Do it publicly, and by that I mean telling anyone and everyone you know your plan, and here come the questions.

‘How’s it going? Are you still doing it? You look different so it must be working?’

You lose the weight, dress nicer, get a haircut, and boom, you’re a new man, a new woman.

What do you hear after you declare your intentions wholeheartedly, then forget about it?

Nothing, because nothing changed.

 

My new thing is keeping quiet.

One reason I do this blog is to avoid shit-posting every five minutes on as many social media platforms I can find.

This is it, and my creative side is satisfied.

I’m not worried about looking foolish, feeling left out, or just sticking my head in the ground.

If you’ve got the urge to write, then write.

Write a journal, a diary, a note to self.

Find a place, work on your ‘voice’, and eventually you’ll settle into a routine, a writing routine.

My new thing is sticking to the routine.

Make time to put words down, work with what you’ve written, and present it.

Don’t make it about money, or prestige; make it about getting the work done no matter where you are or what you do.

The writer says you can’t work with words you don’t see.

Sounds pretty obvious, right?

If you have something to offer, do it.

Build something, play something, make something that answers the question:

What am I supposed to do?

Whoever you are, wherever you are, just know there’s room in this world for you along with your plans for world domination.

If there’s something to learn, learn it.

If there’s something you want to do, do it.

Don’t look for rewards and acknowledgement because everyone else is making things, building things.

However, if you do get recognized, don’t be embarrassed to cry, give thanks, and spread it around.

My new thing is giving credit, which I do with every comment posted here, like this:

Thanks for reading boomerpdx. See you tomorrow.