Turns Out Cheer Season And Duck Season Aren't As Similar As One Might Think

 

Libby is in the thick of cheer season, with basketball games at school and regional competitions with her competitive squad nearly every weekend.

You would not believe the people who go to these things. They are all, um, enthusiastic, and involved, and LOUD and there are a LOT of them. They participate, man, and cheer for their cheerleaders.

 

My views on cheerleaders at sporting events are pretty well known, at least among the half dozen people who read this blog, but I’m all for these competitive teams. The girls – mostly girls, there are some boys – are in pretty good shape and do some impressive stunts.

 

For example, look at how high these flyers are. The ugly backdrop makes it hard to see them, but they are way up there.

 

Libby is very good and getting better. I’m proud of her. She doesn’t know it, but with her hair done up for cheer, with the big bows, I think she looks like Julie Newmar.

 

Competitions are long and exhausting for parents, but rewarding. The music is awful. And loud.

 

As Kelly says, “the bigger the cheer bow, the better the cheer mom.”

Amy G: Sorry We Missed You In The Bass Pro Marathon

 

One of my best students, one of Ms. Anthony’s favorite students, ran by our house today in the Bass Pro Shops Marathon. We missed seeing her, probably because she was a front runner, and by the time we made it out to the sidewalk to cheer everyone on, they had been passing by for a while.

 

Neighbors clapped and cheered with each passing runner, which was fun. Many of the runners seemed to appreciate the applause, with a quick nod or wave, but just as many could only breathe heavily. We are just short of the 16-mile marker, so we felt sorry for them, knowing they still had 10 miles to go.

 

"Getting up early to make this sign was hard, too."
That made me laugh, but I'm not sure what the runners thought.

 

A surprising number of the runners were not, um, fit, shall we say. But there they were, running, so you have to admire and respect that. It made me think that I could do it, too, you know, start slowly, running a bit today, a bit farther tomorrow, a bit more the day after that. Then, by next November, there I’d be, flying by the house, waving at everyone, my first marathon.

So, I went in right away, and ate chocolate pie until the feeling passed.

237 Reasons To Make Love

 

Remember on Cheers when Diane wrote a paper on Sam’s romantic history? Looking through it, Sam says, “she even managed to make my love life boring.”

 

Well, that’s what Meston and Buss have done in Why Humans Have Sex. Like all scholarly papers written by and for the so-called intelligentsia, this paper is long and dull, despite the topic. You can read sentences like this only so many times: “sex can be viewed as a fungible resource” or “the most comprehensive existing taxonomy, framed from a theoretical perspective of dispositional sexual motives”…. Yawn!

 

Like most academic research, this paper is flawed because the overwhelming majority of participants were college students, but that is a topic for another time. Of the 706 males and 1,287 females studied, the age range was 16 to 42, but 96 percent of them were between 18 and 22. Only 4 percent were married.

There are 237 reasons listed, and almost all of them are selfish and egocentric.

 

The most common reason was mere stress relief. “I wanted to release tension.” “I was bored.” “I hadn’t has sex in a while.”

The next most common reasons were for physical pleasure, but with a mine not yours attitude. “It feels good.” “It’s exciting and adventurous.” “I just wanted it.”

 

Then comes mere physical attraction. “The person had an attractive face.” “The person had beautiful eyes.” “The person flattered me.”

 

Then there’s simple curiosity. “I was curious about my sexual abilities.” “I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.”

 

Of course, there are reasons that just seem wrong by any standard. “I wanted to make my boyfriend jealous.” “I felt it was my duty.” “It was the only way my partner would spend time with me.” “My friends were having sex and I wanted to fit in.”

 

As a father of seven girls, these disturb me. “The person had taken me to an expensive dinner.” “I wanted to defy my parents.” “I needed another notch in my belt.” “I was competing with someone else to get the person.” “I wanted to impress my friends.” “The person had too much to drink and I was able to take advantage of them.” “I wanted to be popular.”

 

Finally, a heads up for parents: one of the most frequent reasons unmarried males had sex? “[She] wore revealing clothes.”

 

Something to think about the next time your daughter goes clothes shopping.

 

Photo credits: Cheers, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Flinstones.

Help Beat Cardiovascular Mortality With Your Phone

 

Lots of research indicates that heart rate is a good indicator of an increased risk of heart disease, demonstrating a “link between heart rate and sudden death.” They say fewer than 64 beats per minute is good, and 80 beats per minute is a bad sign.

Thinking it is a good idea to know my own rate, especially when exercising, I bought a heart rate monitor, but it can sometimes be inconvenient to use. I was delighted to discover this iPhone app called Cardiograph, from MacroPinch, Ltd.

 

Somehow, all you have to do is hold a finger lightly against the camera lens on your phone, and it measures your heart rate, and draws it on a little chart, just like at the doctor’s office. I’ve found it to be pretty accurate compared with my other monitor.

It’s easy, convenient, and, well, hard to beat.

 

Let me know how it works for you....

The Saturday Side Show - Exercise

We can talk about life and happiness and family and fulfillment all we want, but it’s moot without good health. Ask anyone who hasn’t survived a stroke or a heart attack.

Part of our experience must be the realization that in the long run, health overrides all else, and that our commitment to maintaining good health is as vital as any endeavor, especially once we reach a certain age. Like 12.

Which brings us to The Saturday Side Show.

Every Saturday, I’ll post a message or two that will not stay strictly within the bounds of my personal experience, but will focus on health and physical well-being, diet and nutrition, family relationships, humor, and, maybe sometimes, spiritual fulfillment, from some of my favorite sources.

What better place to start than with exercise.

Exercise has seldom been part of my routine, because when you play basketball twice a week, tennis three times a week, ride a bike most days, there really isn’t time for exercise. But I’ve gotten away from it for a few years, and it’s time to start again.

My motivation is a wonderful book called Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by Dr. John Ratey, who says that the purpose of exercise is to keep our brains young and strong. Any benefit to the body is a mere side-effect.

Jim Rohn says that if you can’t do 5 pushups, do 1 until you can do 5. Then do 5 until you can do 10, and so on. I’m ashamed to admit that I can’t do 5 pushups. I can do 2, and it hurts both shoulders. But I’m going to do 1 until I can do more.

I’ll let you know when I hit 5 and then 10 and again when I reach 50.

Why don’t you pick an exercise goal and let us know how you do. Your brain and I will thank you.