From the Inside Out

Today’s role models seem to consist mostly of manufactured film and movie stars or morally deficient sports athletes. In the post-Clinton era, even the office of the President doesn’t garner the respect it once did. Many famous evangelists and ministers have fallen from grace; Catholic priests have engaged in unheroic behavior by taking away the innocence of young boys. In this type of world, where are the heroes — the men and women with unwavering faith who stand up for what they believe regardless of the cost? Where are the Rosa Parks, Mother Theresas and Martin Luther Kings of the world? Do they exist today? Are they part of a bygone era?

Unfortunately, sports stars tend to be popular heroes for children today. These impressionable kids wear the jerseys of their favorite players, watch their games and model their behavior. Remember the popular catch phrase, “I wanna be like Mike”?

To be honest, there aren’t many sports stars that I want to be like, but one athlete does stand out from the pack. Take the following story from the Dallas Morning News as an example:

A homeless man who goes by Doc was cashing in change at a Cinemark theater in Dallas when a guy walked up and offered to pay his way into the movie. Doc, who planned to spend his day passing out flyers for a few bucks, accepted a rain check before realizing that he recognized the generous gentleman.

“Was that Tony Romo?” Doc asked the kid behind the counter.

It sure was. Doc hustled across the street to the consignment store that paid him to occasionally pass out flyers and requested the day off. By the time he got back to the theater, “Role Model” had already started.

Romo, who confirmed the story but didn’t want to elaborate, waved Doc over to sit by him and his buddy. Doc sheepishly mentioned that he hadn’t showered in a few days.

“Don’t worry about that,” Romo said. “I’m used to locker rooms.”

And so the $67 million quarterback and a man who doesn’t have $6.70 to his name sat next to each other and shared laughs for 90 minutes or so.

For Romo, who made news by changing a couple’s tire on the side of the road on the way home the night of the season opener, it was just another kind gesture to a random stranger. It meant the world to Doc.

“For me, it was a blessing,” Doc said. “It came at just the right time. It gave me some encouragement and faith in mankind. I just wanted to say thank you.”

Is Tony a hero? No. However, he is someone whose behavior I want to model. Few people do what he did that day, especially those with “celebrity” status. No, it doesn’t make him a hero, but it does show me that there are still some good role models out there…even athletes.

So, where have all the heroes gone? I don’t have the answers. It remains to be seen whether any notable heroes will arise in the midst of a society plagued with scandal, immorality and compromise. I want to believe they are still out there, and maybe…just maybe we’ll see them again one day in real life, not just in the movies.

Although I consider myself a Texas girl, I spent the first 6 years of my life in Oklahoma. At the young age of 6, I thought Oklahoma was the perfect place. I even threatened to move back when I became of age, but as I grew up I learned that Dallas offers more — much more. At some point, I left behind the childish idea of moving back to Oklahoma and decided to stay in Texas. I can’t even fathom living there now. Yes, I have become a tried and true Texan.

Yet there are a few things from my early years in Oklahoma that I haven’t left behind — a love for weekends at the lake and a love for the OU Sooners. When I was growing up, watching the Texas/OU game was a tradition. It was a link to my family’s past. It was the only time when I felt like an “Okie” living in Texas. The funny thing is that it has never changed. There’s one day every year when I stop being a Texan, and I get in touch with my past, my heritage, and the state of my birth. It’s also the only time that Gary and I cheer for different teams, which is interesting in it’s own right.

Yesterday, I sat down to watch the No. 1-ranked Sooners kick the No. 5-rated Horns to the curb. The last time Texas beat a No. 1 Oklahoma squad was back in 1963. This game should have been easy for them. Unfortunately, the Horns turned the tables on the Sooners and eked out a 45-35 victory at the Cotton Bowl — so much for me touting my Oklahoma pride yesterday. Oh well, maybe next year.

I put my Texas cap back on today and looked forward to a Cowboys win at Arizona. Maybe that would soothe my wounded OU spirit. We had the One Life group coming over at 6 pm, so we thought it would be fun to watch the end of the game together before we started the meeting. By the time everyone arrived, it wasn’t looking too good for Dallas. But, they came back at the end and tied the game with a field goal in the last 4 seconds. Yay…we were going into overtime!

A few minutes later, it was all over. The excitement was gone. The Cowboys had floundered just like my precious Sooners did on Saturday. I’m not sure what happened, but it was a bad sports weekend for my “past and present” teams. The only saving grace is that we had a great One Life meeting. It was a “winning” end to my winless weekend.

USA has taken the gold again. More specifically, Plano has taken the gold. Nastia Liukin just won the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition at the Beijing Olympics. She trains at her family’s gymnastics club, World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, in Plano, TX. It’s the same gym where Carly Patterson (the previous winner of the all-around competition) trained. Yay Plano!

Coming in second place was another amazing girl from the USA, Shawn Johnson. Take that, China! After all the lies about the ages of the Chinese gymnasts, I feel like justice has been served. According to a news article today on Yahoo! Sports, nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government’s news agency reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13 making her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold metal earlier this week. The Chinese government states that her age was incorrect in that article. To quote Mike Myers from Wayne and Garth, “Yeah, and monkeys fly out of my butt.”

Regardless of the age controversy, the lies, and the cheating, the real champions showed up tonight and demonstrated that they can get the job done with honor, grace and integrity. I’m so proud that these are the girls representing my country.

Go USA!

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics will air on television Friday night. Approximately 91,000 spectators and 15,000 performers will participate in this ceremony which is expected to attract a global television audience of more than 3 billion people. It will be a 5-hour spectacle that includes 35,000 fireworks — an amazing sight to behold.

Despite the controversy surrounding the host nation of the Olympics — including concerns over pollution, security and human rights — the games will go on. Athletes from 205 countries will represent their countries and compete to earn one of the most coveted awards in sports, the gold medal. This year, NBC will broadcast events live via the Internet. If you don’t want to wait for the tape delayed broadcast on TV, you can visit www.nbcolympics.com and watch what you want, when you want it. It’s the Olympics “ala carte” style. Simply pick and choose your events. You can even open two windows and watch multiple events at the same time. About 2,200 hours of programming will be available on the Web — impressive, huh?

Because of the time difference, while we are watching the opening ceremony on Friday night, the Olympic games will be gearing up in Beijing. To calculate the time difference, here’s an easy shortcut. Flip the a.m. and p.m. to go from Eastern time to Beijing time. Remember, it’s always ahead in China. So, 8 p.m. Friday in New York is 8 a.m. Saturday in Beijing.

The Internet viewings enable you to watch the games online Friday night and cheer on your favorite athletes while the events are occurring “live” Saturday morning in Beijing. Ah, the power of the Internet. Remind me again…why do we need broadcast TV? Oh yeah, so we can watch mindless commercials and advertisements, but that’s a different rant for another night.

Go team USA!!

I must confess that my workouts have been non-existent over the last few months. I haven’t been to the gym or on the bike for longer than I’d like to admit. Even my “at home” workouts have suffered lately; it’s the result of having too many things loaded on my plate. I’d like to get back on a regular workout schedule now that Pirates of Patmos is over. I’m not sure if I can stick to it since SNL is quickly approaching, but I’m going to try. Maybe I need a workout partner to keep me motivated and force me to go even when I don’t feel like it. Do I have any volunteers?

Yesterday we hopped on our bikes for an evening ride. It felt great to be back out there (except when I had to climb hills, that didn’t feel so good). We rode to the new Watter’s Crossing area on Bethany in Allen — about 14 miles round trip. For the most part, it’s an easy ride using the bike trails that start near our house. We even got to see some wild life on the way. Okay, it was one armadillo and a few bunnies, but when you live in the city, that’s cool.

I’m hoping we can make the ride a regular weekend occurrence. I’d love to participate in the “Hotter than Hell” ride in Wichita Falls, but that may be too much for my first organized ride. Then again, they say to “dream big.” Hmm…maybe I will make it into the “Hotter than Hell” this year after all.

Anyway, I’m off to California this week. Travel wreaks havoc on your exercise plans, but my hotel has an adequate workout facility. I’m thinking I can get spend some time on the machines this week. I got a decent workout when I was out there a couple of weeks ago. Wish me luck!

I’ll be back on Friday. Have a good week everyone.