Christmas tree, NFL referees, and a Few thoughts
by Barry Bauer
I was reminded the other day of the times we took our three daughters to a few Christmas tree farms around mid-Michigan over the years, to cut down our family tree. We even drove as far away as Ionia one year.
The girls were always excited to get our tree but I kind of wore them down because I was always looking for the perfect one. They would hang with me for a while and then they did one of three things:
Complained to their Mom.
Stood by the tree they picked out.
Went back to the car and waited for me to finally pick one.
I would circle the tree farm on foot mumbling, nope . . . nope . . . nope, too tall, too fat, too short, and too skinny. I think I got some of that from working at a Christmas tree farm a couple of times and remembered shaping them with hedge shears while they were small. We always tried to make them look perfect.
I don’t remember for sure but I’m willing to bet there were a few times that we ended up taking the first tree we looked at.
Now that we’re a bit older and the girls have families of their own, Betty and I just drag a cardboard box downstairs from the spare room, and pull it open to reveal the perfect tree. It comes in three sections and all we have to do is put them together, plug in the electrical cords, and move the hinged limbs down where they belong.
It’s pre-lit so we’re left with just hanging the ornaments and standing back afterwards to admire our work. Is it time for that special eggnog yet?
I’m sure glad we have Martha Stewart to show us the way.
* * *
One thing that stands out about the Detroit Lions this year, besides all their losses that is, is that the NFL referees have targeted the Lions with phantom calls. Why not, they’re a losing team and who cares if the refs make a few bad calls against them; they’re going to lose the game anyway. It seems like the refs are performing down to the Lions level.
The latest bad call was again against Ndamukong Suh and involved a play when the Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler, took off running and Suh push him down to the ground. “CAN’T DO THAT,” yelled the head referee! He said Suh hit him with an elbow, but the replays showed he pushed him with both hands.
Seeing as Cutler ran past the line of scrimmage, he became a running back and was no longer a quarterback so he became fair game according to the rules.
Because NFL referees are part time employees, I guess we shouldn’t expect too much from them. They make less money than other major sport’s referees or umpires. The NFL claims it’s not justified hiring them full time but because of the modern day replays we’re shown every week, we know that the officiating is not up to the times.
I think our refs should be studying games films, and going over the rules in the off-season but unfortunately they have other jobs. They have to make a living too. If they did have that full time training they might be able to spot some of their mistakes and correct them.
Otherwise I want the NFL to require all football players to wear a Tutu. That’ll stop those terrible mean hits. How do you hit somebody that hard when you’re laughing?
* * *
I was surprised that we didn’t see much on tv about the anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. In fact I didn’t see anything at all. Obviously, there have been other presidents assassinated that we think very little about as well.
Like older Americans, I remember where I was, what I was doing when I first heard the news, and who told me. Whether we liked Kennedy or not, what happened that day affected all of us. Who knows how different things would have been today had that not happened.
* * *
A few thoughts:
Wikileaks has shown us that our diplomats and politicians aren’t any different from the rest of us. They sometimes say things they shouldn’t say.
I hate that Tiger Woods is not number one in golf anymore; I have nobody to root against.
I’m still in training so I can listen to three women talk at the same time and hear everything they said. The show I chose? “The View.”
I noticed when reading obituaries from the 1950s that they wrote that most of the people succumbed. Years later I read that they either died or passed away. Nowadays I’m hearing they’re succumbing again. What’s up with that?
Now that medical Marijuana is legal, I’m starting to read about Hydroponics supplies businesses seemingly popping up over night. Wonder what we could grow with that – tomatoes?
If the images from an airport body scanner are altered by a computer program, would that be admissible evidence in a court of law?
Until the next time . . .