Come Sail Away

OK, the first thing you think of, well if you're close to my age...or addicted to your parents music, is the classic song from the Chicago band, STYX.

This time the title refers to a classic journey through classical history aboard the Norwegian Jade.

Beginning our journey this Saturday in Barcelona, Spain...my first order of business is to pop open a bottle of Spanish Red Wine, dance the Flamingo and try to get the rabid Barcelona football (read:  Soccer) fans to get their sets ready for real American Football during the AFC & NFC Championships.

Next stop Rome...the Eternal City beckons to me once again.  Eleven years after my first visit in 2000, I look forward to once again embracing the phrase, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!"

Sailing away for the first time to the land where the legend of the "River Styx" flowed in classical mythology...Athens, the most powerful of the ancient Greek City States, is the birth place of western civilization.  I haven't gone "Greek" since my Alpha Tau Omega frat days at Murray State University in the late 70's.

Next stop, Turkey, where East meets West since the first century A.D., and where I enter, albeit a more civilized and tolerant form, the Muslim world for the first time.  I will say that since I was a kid looking into the eventide sky, the Crescent Moon and One Star has been a powerful sign for me in my life.  Smoking a hookah with a strong coffee is high on my list.

Egypt is the birthplace of civilization.  Since a child of eight browsing through the history books of my public library, up to the television series Stargate, I have avidly devoured ancient Egyptian history and culture.  To realize that I'll be standing where Pharaohs once tread in Cairo, and where Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra roamed in Alexandria is truly a dream come true!

Finally this errant Knight wraps up his seafaring journey of discovery in the Island of Malta, ancient home of the Knights of St. John.

Channeling the spirit of Humphrey Bogart's character Sam Spade in the 1941 movie, "The Maltese Falcon", when he responded to Brigid O'Shaughnessy's statement of how she wasn't really as good as people thought, he said...and I echo..."You know, that's good, because if you actually were as innocent as you pretend to be, we'd never get anywhere."

Here's to living life, chasing dreams, partaking in journey's of discovery and to not pretending to be innocent!

Sir Hook the Mediterranean Pirate of Warrick

If Life is Hard, Shouldn't We All Wear Helmets?

The answer would be yes, if I really believed it.  Sure, life can be hard, but just like a good laugh, it's over before you know it.  So, the real question is, to quote an old cliche, "Is your glass half empty, or half full?"  The answer to that question will determine how much you've bought into the theology of "Live Is Hard".

On a lighter note, to show where a man's brain really resides, organized Hockey required the wearing of a Protective Cup as early as 1879.  For those who never had the privilege of wearing said device...we in the adolescent sports world referred to them as "Ball Bras"!

It took 100 years for Hockey to require the use of a helmet to protect the head, when the league required all new players to wear a helmet starting in 1979.  At least men know their priorities!

So, if you need to wear a helmet, a protective device (real or imaginary) to get through life, at least make it a fun one, like a Beer Helmet...

...or put on a smile and shine a light on a brilliant idea!

Just remember!

Sir Hook the Cup Wearing, Head Exposed Lover of Life of Warrick

Where Is The Love?

Where is the love?  What is love?  REALLY?!


Love is a word that's easy to say, easy to blame, but hard to embrace...REALLY!


In this case, God is Love, because both get praised casually and blamed thoroughly...REALLY!


The Sports world, as of late American Football, is a supreme laboratory in studying the casual toss of Love and God within the human equation, especially when we cannot define ourselves without someone else, or accept blame and find a scapegoat...the human sacrificial lamb.

Flash back to Steve Johnson of the Buffalo Bills, who drops the game winning pass and blames God. Johnson was reluctant to accept responsibility for the gaffe, posting on his Twitter account post-game that it was in fact God's fault:
"I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO...," Johnson tweeted.

REALLY?  Steve, you dropped the ball, not God.  Of course you would easily praise him if you caught it.  Still, you would have caught it, not God.  Stop praising God for your success and failures and accept your roll in your own outcome.

Fast forward to today when the Tennessee Titans announce that they will either trade or release Vince Young.  Vince goes on to state that "he never felt the love and respect from the coach to motivate him to play better."  Love becomes the scapegoat for him, which makes it ok to walk out of a game twice, throw his pads into the stands and threaten suicide a few years back.  

REALLY?  Grow up Vince!  You can only love those who love themselves.

Today, ask yourself, where is your love?  Is it given to someone else before you love yourself?  Is it sought from someone else before you find it within yourself?

Today, ask yourself, what is your love?  Is it a person, a thing, a god, a dream, or is it the divine energy within yourself to motivate you to be the best you can be and to share that gift with others?

One thing is for certain, if you blame God or Love for your misery today, you're not looking at yourself in the mirror...REALLY!

Sir Hook the Lover of Warrick