The Misanthrope – Sunday’s Lighter Side

The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963), British author

Sports. Unlike Andy Roddick who had the integrity and class to honestly correct a bad call made by the line judges in a tennis tournament in May, Venus Williams in Wimbledon’s Ladies Championship against Lindsay Davenport did not. There was an embarrassingly bad call made by the line judge and upheld by the umpire in the chair that the serve by Williams was good when it was blatantly wide, not just a hair or two but by at least several inches. Williams stood mute.

This is what On The Mark said about Roddick:

Instead, he corrected the umpire, told him his opponent's serve was actually good, and his opponent got the point. Roddick then went on to lose the match, and tens of thousands of dollars (if not more).

In today's world of rampant dishonesty and deceit -- a world where money is king -- I find it so incredibly refreshing to see this display of honesty. If his integrity hits home with even a few kids (and especially some adults), then it's already a grand slam.

In my book, Lindsey Davenport should be the champion.

Fireworks. I never minded fireworks so much in the past, but the last couple of years the numbers of people getting their kicks from lighting explosives seems to have multiplied significantly. I can only hope that many among the ranks in this group someone will be seriously injured. I hate to wish such pain on someone, but the police seem to look the other way, the explosives sound much louder and more powerful today and are more effective in scaring the crap out of all the animals and babies around the area.

Relaxation. I have not reached that state of complete vacation relaxation yet. I am not sure what the problem is. Maybe it’s insincere friends, who should really just be kept as acquaintances, rudeness, crowds, I am just not sure, but I need to find a state of mental peace before I have to get back to the stress of the day job and traffic.

Tuning Out. I am going to turn off the computer Sunday night and not turn it on again until Thursday. I am not going to read any newspapers or news magazines for three full days. I am turning off my cell phone and I am going to do what the lyrics in the Van Morrison song said, “Well I guess I’m going AWOL/Disconnect my telephone/Just like Greta Garbo/I want to be alone.”

I will write a couple of posts in advance that B2 will launch for me. This will be a first for me. I don’t think that I have left the computer off or purposely skipped the newspapers in years. Here it goes…