2007.12.13

WRESTLING
Lance Storm has written an excellent commentary about TNA iMPACT. Click here to read Storm's thoughts.

LIFE
We had really low numbers on the 7th grade football team this year. We officially had fourteen 7th graders on the roster. There are only 10 kids in the team picture. Getting kids to show up for practice was a real challenge. On a day-to-day basis, we only had eight to ten 7th graders dressed and practicing.

As the school year started, we only had eleven players. The school made announcements inviting kids to come out and play. Three kids joined the team. These three kids were... awkward... slow... and a month behind. We did our best to get these kids caught up. We did our best to make these kids feel like a part of the team.

Through the struggles and turmoil of practice, I grew to care about all of these kids. A lot of the kids have a challenging home life. A lot of the kids are not used to hard work or discipline. Many of the kids are not used to being held accountable for their actions.

There was one kid in particular; he joined the team late. Physically, he was a train wreck. He might have weighed 90 pounds. He could not do push ups because they hurt his wrist. He could not do sit ups because they hurt his back. He did not like to block because it hurt his hands. He was afraid to get hit and avoided contact. On the flipside, he was afraid to hit anyone for fear of hurting himself. He could not run because it hurt his knees. He had never played football before. He knew nothing about football.

A few weeks after he joined the team, we received midterm reports. He was failing some classes. He was ineligible to play. He could no longer practice with the team.

John 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood[a] it.

Still, he was a polite kid. He was not evil or mean-spirited. This morning, on the local news, I see that he has been reported missing. It has been suggested that he ran away from home.

I hope he is found/returns home. I hope he is ok. I do not know what elements are at play in his life. I do not know what causes a teenager to potentially run away from home less than two weeks from Christmas.

I will wrap this up... As you are out buying those final Christmas gifts or planning huge holiday gatherings... please remember the less fortunate. Please donate canned goods to your local food bank. Please donate items to "Toys for Tots". Please drop some spare change in the Salvation Army bucket as you leave your local Wal-Mart. Take a few minutes out of each day to try to do something nice - above and beyond what you normally do.

Last thing, the holidays see an increase in depression and suicides. Slow down for a minute - tell everyone in your life how much he or she means to you.

In Remembrance
Jennifer Leslie Juliano
October 02, 1973 - December 26, 2003

Won't it be dull when we rid ourselves
Of all these demons haunting us
To keep us company

Won't it be odd to be happy like we
Always thought we're supposed to feel
But never seem to be

Hard to admit I fought the war on drugs
My hands were tied and the phone was bugged
Another died and the world just shrugged it off
- Barenaked Ladies; War on Drugs