11/3/5: A handful of friends, one needs a match one needs some ice

You know what I hate? When losers write letters to magazines complaining about who the magazine chose to put on last week's cover.

You know, like:

"Dear Time Magazine,

Putting Judge Alito on your cover this week shows an incredible lack of judgment on the part of your editorial staff. Surely you realize that November 1st marks the 11th anniversary of George Lucas's decision to take a leave of absence from his production company, a leave that allowed him to begin work on the scripts for the three Star Wars prequels. This was a perfect opportunity for Time  to honor a great American and his unique vision.

Sincerely,

Dick S. McNugget"

Yeah, OK. We get it. You're a hopeless weenie.

But as I acknowledge how much those letters annoy me, I must also point out the sin Sports Illustrated committed this week with their cover choice. It is two separate photos, one of Peyton Manning and the other of Tom Brady, and the "story" is a preview of their upcoming Monday Night Football matchup. An unbelievably lame choice to begin with: two superimposed, non-action shots of quarterbacks, promoting a stupid mid-season football game. What makes it unforgivable is that the WHITE SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES THIS WEEK! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 90 YEARS! And all they get is a little circle in the upper right hand corner. Unreal. It sorta makes me believe in the myth of the East Coast sports media bias.

I was reading a little of the Rosa Parks memorial coverage and I was moved by this quote from Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm:

"Her greatness lay in doing what everybody could do but doesn't," Granholm said. "She was unexpected. She was untitled. ... (She was) an improbable warrior that was leading an unlikely army of waitresses and street sweepers and shopkeepers and auto mechanics."

Sometimes a good ol' corny line like that just gets me. It really choked me up. It made me think about all the times in life when we could do something, do the right thing...and we just don't, because it's not the easiest or most comfortable thing. The human being is conditioned to take the path of least resistance, and that's why it's so impressive when people grit their teeth and stand up for what they know to be right, in the face of tremendous resistance.

When you think about the guts it took for people like Rosa Parks to do what they did, you think maybe you could do a little more.

In my life, there is at least one clear example I can remember of someone stepping up and doing the right thing when it wasn't an easy thing to do. Obviously nothing compared to Rosa Parks, and I've probably mentioned it here before, but it was an event I'll never forget so let's talk about it again.

One night in I guess 1990, my college friends and I gathered at the Mustard Palace (which was the nickname of an apartment on Orchard street where a bunch of the fellas lived) to watch the Pistons play in the Finals against the Blazers.  Joining our small circle of friends that night were two rednecks from M. Dilly's hometown. In M. Dilly's defense, they were not his friends. They were just two dudes from his hometown who came to Madison for the weekend and called him up. Probably because he was a legend back in Dillyville (4.3 in the forty and could throw a football a quarter of a mile) and he was the only person they could think of to call in Madison.

So there are like ten of us sitting in the apartment watching the game, and the halftime tape piece was about Dennis Rodman, who at that point was not the Dennis Rodman of the late 90's. He was just a young exuberant dude who went a little crazy on the court sometimes. Anyway, the piece featured him and his wife, who happened to be white, and as soon as they see her the redneck dudes start spouting all sorts of crazy racist bullshit -- terms I'd never even heard before. Like "Mud Shark." The terms were so far out there that you only knew they were racist from the hateful tone the guys used when they said them.

And they kept going on, for like a good 90 seconds while the tape package was playing. It was incredibly offensive and deeply troubling.

And to be honest, I didn't know what to do. Part of it was that the redneck guys were kind of big scary dudes and I didn't want them to beat me up. Part of me didn't want to create a hostile or awkward vibe by calling them out (even though they had already created a decidedly hostile vibe of their own with all their racist spew). So I sat there and wished the moment would just sort of disappear on its own.

Which, I guess, is what a lot of people do at times like that. Wait it out. Hope for justice to prevail in the end. And take the easy way out.

But suddenly my man BC MI, who's at heart a gentle and shy fellow and not the type of guy to pipe up in a big crowd without reason,  goes:

"Why don't you guys just shut the fuck up?"

Stunned, the rednecks shut the fuck up.

Brian continued:

"Nobody here wants to listen to that shit. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about, and you really need to shut the fuck up."

The rednecks, realizing they weren't among like-minded folks, continued shutting the fuck up for the remainder of their visit, which lasted about 6 minutes.  They never put up a moment's argument.  They didn't try to defend their indefensible position. They just packed up and left.

We watched the rest of the game in peace. And I had a new hero.

So today verbungle.com would like to salute large-scale heroes like Rosa Parks, who took on the flagrant, institutionalized wrongs of her society with a simple gesture of strength.

And also the everyday heroes like BC MI, who through small but important good deeds manage to keep the human race moving in the right direction.

Incredible to receive a HaloScan comment from my long-lost buddy Jeff C. yesterday. He marks the third or fourth friend I've reconnected with through this stupid website, which is enough to make its existence worthwhile.  People, you should all get websites.  But make them better than this one.

Jeff C., expect an email soon.

For three points each, tell me what the names of the three candy treats we handed out on Halloween. Only three guesses to a customer.  Hint: none of the three is a Watchamacallit Bar.

For another eight points, tell me what the connection between the titles of the last four posts is. No googling please. Here are the titles for your convenience:

-A handful of friends, one needs a match one needs some ice
-Take my place in back with the loudmouths
-I'm not ready as I'll ever be
-First the lights, then the collar goes up, and the wind begins to blow