A.G. Spalding

Before A.G. Spalding was a sporting goods magnate, he was a great baseball player. He was arguably the first great pitcher, winning a remarkable 252 games over a seven-year career, including 52 wins in one season. But it was one move that by which Spalding made his lasting mark. A.G. Spalding was the first baseball…

How to Live Four More Years

A few years ago, Tamekia Reece wrote an article for Prevention. Reece identified ten habits of people who lived to be 100. At the top of the list was one thing. Mix and mingle. She wrote, “People live longer and happier lives if they make new friends and keep old ones.”  Another study conducted in…

Where the Time Goes

Do you ever ask yourself, “Where did the time go?” We have answers. Over the course of our lives, on average, we spend twenty-six years sleeping and another seven years trying to sleep. We spend thirteen years at work, eight years watching TV, four years eating, three years on social media, three years on vacation,…

A Hawk and a Snake

Two months ago, a Texas woman was attacked by a snake and a hawk at the same time. Peggy Jones, from Silsbee, was mowing her yard when a snake fell from the sky and wrapped itself around her leg. Then the hawk, which has presumably dropped the snake from above, swooped down and began pecking…

The Master Has Failed

You’ll never be a winner until you risk being a loser. Stephen McCranie said, “The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”  I love the way gymnast gold medalist Simone Biles said it: “I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.” Taking…

Jimi Hendrix

Music legend Jimi Hendrix only lived for 27 years. The iconic American songwriter and singer is still regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, though his mainstream career spanned only four years. He is recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as “arguably the greatest…

Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong was the unquestioned king of cycling, with an unequaled seven Tour de France titles. But it all came unraveled on this date in history. On October 22, 2012, Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned from the sport he loved. The lifetime ban followed a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, that…

Carry the Cupcakes

There was a fourth-grade student named Tommy, whose mother gave him a box of cupcakes to take to his classmates at school. Unfortunately, Tommy had injured his leg and was on crutches. His mother asked Tommy’s older brother, a sixth grader, to carry the cupcakes for Tommy. The brother said, “I’d rather not.” His mother…

Independence

America’s independence from Great Britain was essentially secured 242 years ago today. On October 19, 1781, Britain’s Lord Cornwallis surrendered to American General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia. The Revolutionary War would soon come to an end. Did you notice that date – 1781? That is five years after the birth of the United States…

Left-Handed Assassin

Left-handed people have it tough. Making up just ten percent of the population, they live in a hostile world. We raise our right hands in court, drive on the right side of the road, and read from left to right. Everyone wants to be right; no one wants to be left. Lefties are more prone…