I Wish My Kids Saw Dad In His Prime
My Dad once told me, and I figure that I was about 17 or 18 years old at the time, that 90% of the people "you meet as you walk through life are blatant assholes who are out only for themselves."
There are days when I think that Dad's estimate was too low.
There are days when I imagine that he was being a bit cynical.
Yet on Friday night I read a post from Matt on Facebook as he praised Lance Armstrong.
We all know what I think of dear d-bag Lance, right?
I've been his biggest critic since about 2000. I saw through him from day one. Sorry. He fit directly into the group of people that my Dad was talking about, and while I didn't have any proof, I just felt it in my heart. He seemed to me to have built his foundation on shaky ground. He struck me as a fraud, a cheat, and in that blatant category.
I still might be wrong, mind you, I never met the man, but there's evidence pointing in the direction.
But an argument ensued.
"He's done so much good for people," Matt screamed.
"He did it under false pretenses," I said. "And I'm thinking he did it from the point-of-view of a cheating heart rather than a warm heart. He sold rubber braclets for $75 to cancer patients."
"He raised all that money!"
"So he could amass a fortune!"
And on and on it went.
And I can give two poops about Lance Armstrong, honestly, and I don't want my boys to run off in the world completely distrusting of the motives of every human that crosses their path, but come on...you all laughed at Dad's sense of logic because on some levels, he was right.
He was right a lot.
And he had a very colorful way of presenting information.
Unfortunately as I have moved through the world I've been widely skeptical of men who have tried to sell me their bill of goods by showing their honor.
Believe none of what you read and only half of what you see.
Lance came out the other day and told us that he is still 100% innocent but that he was exhausted from fighting the people who are doing a witch hunt.
"Why are they hunting him?" I asked Matt.
"They're jealous," he said.
"If you were 100% innocent of something would you stop fighting...ever...to prove it?"
"He's a great guy and they picked on him for nothing," Matt cried out. "I'd rather believe in the good he did."
That's a healthy attitude. See the good in everyone.
But keep one eye open for the blatant a-holes.
That's all I wish for.
That and the eternal wish that my boys had heard life lessons straight from Dad's mouth.
There are days when I think that Dad's estimate was too low.
There are days when I imagine that he was being a bit cynical.
Yet on Friday night I read a post from Matt on Facebook as he praised Lance Armstrong.
We all know what I think of dear d-bag Lance, right?
I've been his biggest critic since about 2000. I saw through him from day one. Sorry. He fit directly into the group of people that my Dad was talking about, and while I didn't have any proof, I just felt it in my heart. He seemed to me to have built his foundation on shaky ground. He struck me as a fraud, a cheat, and in that blatant category.
I still might be wrong, mind you, I never met the man, but there's evidence pointing in the direction.
But an argument ensued.
"He's done so much good for people," Matt screamed.
"He did it under false pretenses," I said. "And I'm thinking he did it from the point-of-view of a cheating heart rather than a warm heart. He sold rubber braclets for $75 to cancer patients."
"He raised all that money!"
"So he could amass a fortune!"
And on and on it went.
And I can give two poops about Lance Armstrong, honestly, and I don't want my boys to run off in the world completely distrusting of the motives of every human that crosses their path, but come on...you all laughed at Dad's sense of logic because on some levels, he was right.
He was right a lot.
And he had a very colorful way of presenting information.
Unfortunately as I have moved through the world I've been widely skeptical of men who have tried to sell me their bill of goods by showing their honor.
Believe none of what you read and only half of what you see.
Lance came out the other day and told us that he is still 100% innocent but that he was exhausted from fighting the people who are doing a witch hunt.
"Why are they hunting him?" I asked Matt.
"They're jealous," he said.
"If you were 100% innocent of something would you stop fighting...ever...to prove it?"
"He's a great guy and they picked on him for nothing," Matt cried out. "I'd rather believe in the good he did."
That's a healthy attitude. See the good in everyone.
But keep one eye open for the blatant a-holes.
That's all I wish for.
That and the eternal wish that my boys had heard life lessons straight from Dad's mouth.
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