My 16 year old daughter was diagnosed as Attention Deficit Disorder and then, at the age of 57, so was I. A lifetime of struggle was placed into a context that made sense of a lot of failure and frustration. This blog documents and celebrates what has happened to me since.

Monday, November 01, 2010

if you keep doing the same thing that didn't work before...

One Monday Night Football game long ago Dandy Don Meredith said, "You know, Howard, a team that throws 40 passes loses the game."

I've paid attention to that stat since and have not noticed a lot of exceptions.  Last night was not one of them.

USC threw 49 passes--and lost to Oregon. 

The Duck's usual stuff didn't work very well and so they played ball control to wear down the Trojans.  That's "wear down"--as in hit the wall, back up and hit it again.  And again.  Not the Duck style, exactly, but it worked.  USC's five star talent was served up on toast (with a side of crow) by what at least one pundit called a "fraudulent defense," and a team made up, it was said, with only three legitimate players. 

Adjust, adjust, adjust. 

I didn't get to see that game on Saturday.  I spent 9 hours on a bus with The Honey Bear and her volley ball team, going to and coming back from one more round in the Oregon high school championship process.  In between the bus ride there and the bus ride home, her Grant High team beat North Medford High (from which I graduated), winning three games straight after losing the first two.  The Generals scored eight consecutive points in the clincher--with The Honey Bear holding the serve.

So, I listened to the game on my radio and up until the third quarter I only heard parts of it.   The radio station signals came and went as the bus made its way north, over the Klamath Mountains, to get home.  By the time the Trojan faithful were tearing up their tickets and heading for the exits, though, we were down in the Willamette Valley and the reception was clear.  

It would be nice to take the lead, hold the lead and never relinquish the lead.  It's not often like that, though.  Life is mostly ready for what you normally do.  Up against it, it's about coming back and that usually means making the adjustments.  If you can't make adjustments you end up throwing 40 passes.

Washington, Cal, Arizona and then the Civil War game.  I won't take anything away from any of them (a couple of them don't have much left and the others have Trap written all over them).  It can all go away in an instant; this is, after all, The Duck we are talking about.  But if you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much room.  Besides, when you fall off of a ten story building it might feel, for nine stories at least, just like you are flying

About Me

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I am a convinced Beanite Friend, a member of Bridge City Friends Meeting, Willamette Quarterly Meeting and North Pacific Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Notwithstanding the doubts of some who claim the name, I am a Christian who does a Buddhist practice and believes that God talks to everyone, all the time. I have worked in the judicial branch of government, as well as being a trial lawyer, a public school teacher (counselor and coach), a kite merchant, and a Marine Corp Sergeant. I am currently working as a consultant to public and private agencies on issues of child welfare, juvenile justice, and substance abuse treatment courts.