“All I want is to know, is for you to show me that you care.”

Friends:

Ok, ok, so I missed one week… shoot me.  I have a very good excuse:  our computer at home fried and I did not have access to a computer or the internet to create my weekly post.  So hopefully you missed it, your week was unfulfilled because of it, and you have been counting the hours until Monday morning to see if it was an aberration or a monumental change in your life.  Rest assured, it was just an aberration.

As I was waiting in the check-out line the other day, a headline on a magazine caught my attention and I felt that it could not go without comment.  At the outset, I feel I would be remiss if I did not offer my congratulations to Jennifer Aniston on finally finding the love of her life and accepting a proposal for marriage.  As a devoted fan and concerned party, America’s Sweetheart deserves love and happiness and I could not be happier for her.  May she and Justin find the same undying love that Angelina and Brad found… ooh, too soon?

Anyway, the latest issue of US Magazine (I think, or maybe one of the other rags) had Jen-Jen (as I like to call her, my own little pet name) on the cover, celebrating her engagement, with the following headline across its cover:  “Why She Said Yes.”  Such compelling reading, don’t you think?

So why did Jen-Jen say yes?  How about because she loves him???  How about because she and he are soul-mates, are MFEO, and are each other’s best friend?  Aren’t those reasons why people get married?  Maybe not, because the question posed by the magazine assumes that there are reasons other than true love for why people get married.  I know those are the reasons why I married my wife but maybe celebrities are that much different than us, the regular people, that an explanation is required for why they get married. 

Without reading the story in the magazine, perhaps I can hypothesize as to the answer to the question posed on the cover as to why Jen-Jen said yes:

1)      Because Jen-Jen is 43 years old and all the world has been pulling for her to find someone to settle down with that she caved to the pressure and said yes to the first guy she dated for more than a few months; or

2)      Because she hasn’t had a hit movie in quite a few years and she was worried that her popularity would be waning without some new reason to be in the public eye; or

3)      Because her fiancé is pretty well unknown and he is looking to catapult into the upper echelon of Hollywood’s elite; or

4)      Because E! Entertainment Television is paying her millions of dollars to televise her wedding… wait, that one has been done before; or

5)       Because she has dated every other single man in Hollywood and this was the last one available.

I know that I am being far too acerbic but what do you expect when you have a headline like that?  It just seems so asinine and begs the question of what is wrong with society if we need to question the motives behind why people marry.  Instead of the headline of why she said yes, perhaps it could have simply declared that Jen-Jen’s search for true love has finally ended with Justin and oh how happy we all should be for her.  But the wording of the headline made it seem as if there was some reason other than true love that led to her acceptance of the proposal… especially when the reports from a few weeks ago were that they had broken up. 

Look, I understand what the headline was intended to do; it was attempting to draw in the reader with promises of all of the great things about Justin that makes Jen-Jen swoon, what it was about him that she fell in love with, and things of that nature.  But my mind doesn’t work that way and whereas enquiring minds may want to know the truth, the headline made it seem as if there was something else.

In an age when the divorce rate continues to rise, shouldn’t we simply be focusing on all of the great things about marriage and the happiness and lifelong companionship that can be enjoyed in a mutually loving relationship?  When there are couples out there who are legally prohibited from marrying, do we really need to be bombarded with the headline of why she said yes??  How about just the fact that she said yes and she could not be happier.  I think that would be much less ridiculous.

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“Parlez-vous Olympics?”

Friends:

I can say with all honesty that I am so incredibly sad that the games of the 30^th Olympiad have now drawn to a close.  I cannot remember the last Olympics to which I paid as much attention as these London games.  I know I went to the baseball games at Dodger Stadium in 1984, I remember watching Greg Louganis in 1988, but after that, I don’t really remember watching 1992 or 1996 or 2000 or 2004 or 2008.  But for some reason every evening I was glued to my television screen, excited to see the games, the athletes, the competitors, the kids…

I think that part of it was being forced to watch the opening ceremonies because my 6½-year-old daughter wanted to see them.  She was so excited about the Olympics that we stayed up late into that first Friday evening, sitting on the floor with a bowl of popcorn, watching the Queen jump out of an airplane, Mr. Bean run on the beach, and Mary Poppins fly through the air.  The joy and thrill that was evident in my daughter’s eyes was intoxicating and absorbent.  And thus every evening we were on the floor watching and marveling at the athleticism and dedication of these athletes.  It is because of these nightly appointments with the television that my daughter knows Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber, Missy Franklin and Michael Phelps; and of course, Misty May-Treanor and her Los Angeles Dodger husband.  It truly was a thrill for her to give a shout out to the Dodgers after winning those matches.

I will remember the near tears of the Russian gymnasts as they watched the American girls on the vault, the “Call Me Maybe” parody by the swim team, and the speed and determination of Sanya Richards-Ross. 

The thing that made the Olympics such remarkable television was the personalities of the athletes and their innocence.  When the Star Spangled Anthem was played, you could see the emotions on their faces, the tears in their eyes, and the pride in their hearts.  The time, energy, and determination were not only evidence, but were rewarded in the opportunity to wear the uniform with “U.S.A” across the chest.

I consider myself to be extremely patriotic and supportive of our country, the greatest country in the world.  There is no other country in the universe that can provide its inhabitants with such opportunity to succeed.  But imagine my dismay when the very last Olympic event that I watched during these games was the Gold Medal game in Men’s Basketball.  I want the Americans to win, but not like that.

The thing that makes the Olympics so important and watchable is the fact that the athletes appear to be there for the right reasons.  They don’t do it for the money or the fame; they do it to represent their country.  There is something about the honor of being selected to represent your country that has to be unequaled.  If I had excelled in any sport to warrant selection to an Olympic team, I would consider that to be the pinnacle of my career. 

So when you see success by Missy Franklin and Gabby Douglas, you can’t help but feel enormous pride for our country.  These athletes are our future and they are showing the way with their dedication and athleticism; to be able to perform on the world’s largest stage and succeed is a true demonstration of leadership. 

In that vein, then, I was always under the impression that the Olympics were for amateurs, the athletes who competed for their country, not for money or fame.  They were ordinary people who were able to accomplish amazing feats.  Mary Lou Retton, Carl Lewis, Kerri Strug, they became household names because of their accomplishments.

So why did it then become necessary to have professionals begin to participate?  There is something anachronistic in cheering on Serena Williams in her Olympic tennis matches or watching Roger Federer play Andy Murray or Kobe Bryant play Pau Gasol.  These are professionals and they are taking spots on the Olympic teams away from the amateurs.  If I had been a better baseball player and was one of the top collegiate performers but was passed up for the Olympics because Derek Jeter and Dustin Pedroia were playing instead, it would have been devastating.

The Olympics should be about goodwill and patriotism, not about winning.  You can have strong national support just as easily with amateurs as you can professionals.  In a radio piece I heard the other morning, the reporter from the LA Times was remarking about how the spectators at the events were rooting against the Americans and he couldn’t understand it.  I certainly can.  In addition to being the greatest nation in the world, we are also the most athletic.  It is the same way I feel about the Yankees winning all of those World Series’ – give someone else a chance.

And when we stack the deck, enlisting the services of our greatest, most prolific, professional athletes, we look like we are just rubbing it in, as if we are participating in the games only to win and not for the joy of being able to represent our country.

Watching Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony receiving their gold medals unraveled all of the pride and nationalism that had been built up in me over the previous 16 days.  Instead, I left with the feeling of the giant chasing Jack down the beanstalk and landing on his feet, little Jack and his mother squished underfoot.

No wonder they hate us… no wonder they root against us.  They cheered for Aly Raisman when she won her gold medal in the floor exercises– that is the purity and innocence that the Olympics should strive for.  I would much rather the Americans win less medals but give more true amateurs the opportunity to represent their country, something that will surely be the highlight of their lives, then to watch a professional athlete who gets paid millions, who has already won championships and countless awards, win just another trinket to put on their mantle. 

Call me cynical; tell me I am wrong, it is ok.  It’s how I feel.  I would rather watch true amateurs than the superstars—because it is truly devastating when they lose and the rest of the world laughs at us for putting our very best professionals up and watching them fail.  I would rather watch the people who truly want to be there for the right reasons…

Don’t understand what I mean?  Watch the closing ceremonies again and witness the joy and glee of the athletes who are just there to party and have fun.  This is the true highlight of their lives… and I am so thrilled for them.

“Take a good look around boys, because your future is about to change.”

Friends:

To those of you who reached out to me last week expressing concern over the absence of my weekly email, I thank you for your inquiries.  Alas, it was simply a factor of running out of time, nothing more significant than that.  And while I did have a topic in mind for that email, I have since reconsidered because I gave some significant thought to why I do these emails in the first place. 

When I started these emails, it was intended to be a method by which to keep in contact with my friends, business partners and networking associates.  It seemed like a simpler way to accomplish that goal than to try to call or email everyone individually each week, especially when I would likely have run out of things to chat about relatively quickly.  Thus, these emails; however I didn’t want them to be the standard fare that many of us already receive—trends in the industry, recent court cases or analyses of case studies.  Instead, I wanted them to be reflective of my personality since that was where I felt my charm was most apparent.  (Sorry if that comes off a little arrogant…)

I have since had an opportunity to consider these emails in a different light, one in which you might also find some value.

I have often wondered what my mother and father were like when they were younger; before they had kids, when they were just starting out in their careers.  I have thought about my grandparents and my great-grandparents and what the world was like for them when they were my age.  I have also wondered what they were thinking when certain events took place, what it was like to see this person play baseball or whether they enjoyed this book or that movie.  And I began to wonder whether my children and my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren would wonder the same about me one day.  For even though a picture tells a thousand words, photographs in a picture album will not tell the whole story of who we are.

Technology, however, is a magnificent thing for it allows us to capture moments in time, people and events.  We have all heard the adage that once it goes on the Internet it is there for all time.  With these emails, I’m taking advantage of that maxim.

I am never going to be famous; I am ok with that.  I am not going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame or win an Oscar or be President of the United States.  No one will write about me in the history books or erect statues in my honor.  For all intents and purposes, when I am gone, the only people who will have reason to remember me will be my family.  But other than pictures, what tools will they have to remember me by?  Pictures do not convey impressions, they do not portray personality and they most certainly do not record perceptions.  Yet I think you will agree that these posts do. 

But if you have been reading my posts for any lengthy of time, you will agree with me that these are not diary entries or personal confessions.  They are recordings of my musings on various topics, the broad spectrum of my interests and, in some respects, my criticisms of contemporary topics.  In these posts I have resolved issues with the jury system, have fixed the issue of teenage drivers and have confessed as to my struggles with the law and my responsibilities as a lawyer.  I have discussed all aspects of media, especially books and my love of reading, and have even had some fun a time or two.

But all of them are reflections of who I am, what I believe, and more importantly they capture my personality and character.  While I don’t assume that my children or their children will have any interest in any of these posts, in the instant in which they ask the question of what their grandfather was like when he was in his late 30s, they will at least have a means to find out.  Will they want to know what my their family was like before they were around, what their great-grandparents were like, how important the Dodgers were to this family and, more importantly, how my mind worked and what was significant to me?  Then they need look no further than these posts.

And if, in the meantime, I develop good, strong relationships with you that are mutually beneficial, then I have truly accomplished everything I strived for. 

It is because I have so many questions about my predecessors, that I don’t want my descendants to have any questions about me. 

What are you doing to ensure that who you aren’t forgotten by the future generations?