Perspective |
Perspective
If anyone should keep things in perspective it is me. Every day I see my son Ryan struggle to do little stuff like shaving, walking or signing his name. Yet I still slip and lose perspective on many things in life. This week I was reminded of a great lesson I learned on the radio a few years ago. Remembering this lesson was brought on my two text messages I received this week. On Monday I heard from my college roommate and his wife. They sent their son's email address to many of his friends. Their son is a Marine who just left for Afghanistan and this new address allowed his friends to email him directly. On Tuesday the text was much more of a shock. Another friend of mine is a Marine who is on a training mission in Nevada. It was his unit that had suffered seven casualties and three serious injuries on their training mission Monday evening. For about two hours yesterday his friends here in Clemson did not know if he was among the seven killed or three in serious condition. Many of us spent a couple of hours with knots in our stomachs because we didn't know if our friend was alive. Around 4:00 PM we got the news that he was OK. Selfishly, I was grateful that Brian was OK but I still prayed for the seven who passed away and those others injured. Seven sons are gone today and that is not forgotten by our country. Both of these Marine friends of mine are Clemson fans. One had a dad who played football here and the other graduated from Clemson this past season. Both are Tigers! Unfortunately it took these past two days to remind me of how precious life is and how I need to keep things in perspective. Why do I keep losing perspective as often as I do? I love sports but the lesson I learned a few years ago that I was reminded of this week is something I need to keep in the front of my mind and not the back of it. A few years ago on my radio show I made the comment that sports don't matter as much as we like to believe. I claimed sports were not as important as I make them out to be at times. A caller responded and changed my attitude. He said that sports were very important and had a major role in our lives because sports is a release from the real problems of the world. The caller should know because he lost a son who died in the first year of his life. He said sports helped him escape the pain of everyday life. He said that life's problems can mount up and you need things to keep your mind off of them and you always needed something to look forward to. This week I was reminded that winning a football game or basketball game is important but only for the escape. The joy of following a team is only a release. Its not the life or death situation that I treat it with at times. We started streaming on our radio station a few years ago. It was about the same time I started this blog. One of the great joys I get from both is when I can correspond with our brave service men and women through email. I am reminded by them on occasion that they listen to the show or read the blog from the other side of the world and it helps them get through the day. They miss home and it is Clemson athletics on the radio or on a blog that makes them feel like Tigertown is not half a world away. In a better world, we would need sports to detract us from real life issues. Instead, sports disguise themselves. The issue of a five game losing streak is a big deal in our minds but is only something to distract us from our real problems. An emailer I wrote me a few years ago and told me what Clemson means to him. He was in serving in Iraq at the time and had trouble sleeping. He said he would try to envision great Clemson memories to help take his mind off of what was going on around him. He said he would think of the great games he saw as a kid in Death Valley. It was Clemson football that helped a hero just get through the night. He said the pleasant memories of home helped him cope with what he was facing there for a few months. That is what sports is here for. I wish it didn't take a tragedy in Nevada to remind me of that lesson once again but I am thankful the lesson is still there. Prayer List We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines: If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it. If you would like to add someone to the list please email me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com *Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list. Those who need our prayers include: Finn Brookover, Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Daniel Rosborough, The Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs,Perrin Seigler, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, the Nicolopulos family, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle family, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, the Thomas. V Family, Emary Claire Young, Kitty Bowers,Julie Locke, the Scheider family, Lauren Kittles' family, Frank Gentry, Joyce Bussey, Stacey McKeown, Dale Childs, Larry Lentz, Jr, Carl Sharperson, Scott Hannon, William Perry, Tyler Swaney, Lillian, Mark Feit, David Frame, Chad Berry, the family of Matthew M. Watson, the Dowis family, Shervin Messer, Alan Putnam, the Olivers, Lee Tate, Ronnie Abrams, Eddie Greene, the Jackson family, Bill Vader, Jim Taylor, Tina DeWitt, Rock Horne, Christopher Tuten, Bobby Wayne Thomas, Emma and Danielle Carothers, Robert Ditty, Mr. and Mrs. Murray Smith, Dot Cartee, Ayden Mills, Millie Heatley, Lynn Martin and family, Michael Pinson, Jake David family, Angie Crowley, Ira, Mike Tolson, Poly Wells, Dr. Muriel Bishop, Jack Cunningham, Emily Jefford Meister, Zachary Stoller, Aaron Clackum, Pat James, Cortney Moore, William Moore, Angelia and Savannah Anderson, William Ross, Meredith Legg, Scott Johns, Frank Carroll,
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, Alvin Sammons, Georgine McAlhaney, Glen Davis, Mike Price, Clay Childers, Aaron Knight, Danielle Johnston and family, Nicholas Abrams, Lana Kuykendall, Gary, Gary G., William Huggins, Jim Bennett, Chantz Fowler, Ethel McElveen, Michele Gurganus, William Gentry, Lewis Usher and Tanya Sanders, Shon Cooper, Nick Collins, Travis Patterson, Amanda Peake, Danny Hammond, Chip Turner, Nick Collins, Allen Steen, The Sturkey Family, the Lance family, Marcus Lattimore, Nick Chrisley's family, Allison Williams, Lt. Kyle Walker, Summer and Joel Johnson, Nicole O'Donnell, James O. Johnson, Joy Pruett and family, Patrick Heher, Bill Schmidt, Jack Bailey, Bill Early, Gardner Family, Charles Turner, Kathy Bartholomew, Ray Sanders, David and Robin Blocker, J.R. Ray, Kenneth Kowe, Lauren Sielicki, Doug Bailey and family, Johnnie Walker, Jenna Phipps, Mark Lawrence, Harlan Sullins, Peter Laboy, Kat and Carlisle Jones, our great country and the men and women in uniform that protect and serve it every day plus their families.
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