Here, Thoughts! Come here!

Random thoughts while waiting for the dog to complete a business transaction...

-Albert Pujols is on the disabled list for "an extended period of time".  The biggest draw on an underperforming team getting hurt is never good news.  For Mike Scioscia, it could be the worst news.  If the team plays better without him, the manager looks good.  If they tank completely, the manager is gone.  The Angels have the same record as the Chicago Cubs, which is not a good sign.  Maalox stock up two more points on the news.

-The story from Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis is as bad as could be imagined.  A few blocks from home, on the spiritual peak that comes from a church camp, and it all goes horribly wrong. The youth pastor and his eight month pregnant wife perish, serious injuries, and a church community could be shattered.  To hear the mayor of Indianapolis talk about how much faith was being shown in the building is more than reassuring.  It is a reminder that God can take what is meant for evil and make it something exceptionally good.

-Surge softball played a tournament this weekend with strong teams and got routed on the scoreboard.  The spirit isn't broken.  Our young ladies played with resilience, bouncing back over and over.  We even had a lead in our bracket game, however briefly.  It is not where you start, it's where you finish.  The teaching assignment will continue while we build the skills to be competitive.  I guarantee this: The survivors will be strong.

-Congratulations to Hunter Mahan.  He has a new daughter, Zoe, and earned respect for getting it right.  Carrying a one shot lead into the third round of the RBC Canadian Open, Hunter withdrew when his wife went into labor.  Payne Stewart would be proud.

-Ryan Newman, local to us in South Bend, fulfilled a life long dream by winning the Brickyard 400.  Every Indiana kid who loves racing, myself included, dreams of winning at Indy.  Doesn't matter if it was a stock car, and that he is out of a ride at the end of the season.  Any time you see someone earn what they worked years to get, it is reassuring.  I remember seeing Ryan and his family pushing their hauler down the road late on a Sunday night, apparently out of fuel.  They looked like they were having the time of their lives.  Even disasters look good when you have a dream.

So...am I off base?