When I go out to the local Big Box store, I’m always fascinated by the people who refuse to open a door for themselves.
Nothing is more American than walking out of your way to use an automatic door.
America
The Best and the Worst of America
Tonight, my daughter woke up crying.
A dry diaper, a few ounces of formula, and some gently rocking on Daddy’s chest got her calmed down and back to sleep. While I waited for her to get into a deep enough sleep so I could move here back to bed without waking her, I scrolled through Twitter on my phone.
My Twitter feed was dominated by two topics. Both are taking place in the same state, and are only separated by about three or so hours on the interstate. But, they are worlds apart. They show us how great we can be, while demonstrating how bad we are.
* * *
I’ve been a fan of the Kansas City Royals for most of my life. It just made sense – Kansas City is the closest Major League team to my eastern Nebraska home, and when I was in the formidable years when a boy picks the teams they like, the Royals were winning. Granted, since that World Series title in 1985, being a Royals fan has been an exercise in masochism, frustration, and pity from friends and family.
Now imagine being a lifelong Royals fan born and raised in South Korea.
That brings us to the happy side of my Twitter feed. SungWoo Lee has been a passionate, hardcore Royals fan since the 1990s – all while living in South Korea. His dream has been to come to KC and watch his beloved Royals play. Thanks to the efforts of some KC fans on social media, SungWoo has been living every baseball fan’s dream for the last week: meeting players, throwing out the first pitch, hanging with Hall of Famer George Brett, and watching the Royals go on an eight game winning streak to move into first place.
One of the guys responsible for bringing SungWoo to KC is a guy I follow on Twitter, The Fake Ned (@TheFakeNed). He has been tweeting about SungWoo’s visit pretty much non-stop.
Basically, the whole SungWoo experience has been one magical fairy ride that has made the most jaded of Royals fans believe.
* * *
Meanwhile, 230 miles east on I-70 sits the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. For everything good and wonderful going on in Kansas City, something ugly and scary is going down in Ferguson, MO. A young black man was shot and killed by police, which has led to civil unrest, protests, police attacks, and a racially charged powder keg of a town.
What.
The.
Hell?
* * *
I’m seeing and reading about these things while my not yet one year old black daughter sleeps on my chest. I think that is what makes it so real and so difficult for me. Someday I’m going to have to explain this world that we live in to my children.
I’m going to have to tell my children that sometimes you can follow all the rules and still be arrested – or worse. Explain to them that in many parts of the greatest nation on earth, the color of their skin entitles them to the right to be treated poorly. Try to instill a respect for an authority that sometimes has no respect for them. Attempt to raise good, honest, hard-working adults who are not jaded and disillusioned by racism and prejudice that I’ll never truly know.
And I have to balance that brutal honesty while hopefully getting them to believe that there really are good people in the world too. People that will open their arms for a guy from the other side of the globe, treat him like royalty, and make us believe in the inherent good in people – even if he’s of a different race. All because he’s a fan of the same historically crappy baseball team that we like?
* * *
Since I’m struggling to put a pretty bow on all of this, I’ll let The Fake Ned have the last word:
Thought of the Day – 6/8/2013 – National Doughnut Day
I missed it.
I missed National Doughnut Day.
It’s not like I need an excuse to enjoy a good cake doughnut (with chocolate icing and sprinkles), a cream filled long john, or even a good apple fritter (it’s like pie….for breakfast!), but I feel like I missed out on a patriotic duty* or something.
*Because really, what’s more American than a day celebrating fried dough covered in a sugar concoction? Nothing – at least until McDonald’s starts including fireworks and beer with their Extra Value Meals.
Here’s the problem with National Doughnut Day…nobody really knows when it is. Wikipedia says it is celebrated on the first Friday in June, but who is going to remember that*
*And when are calendar makers going to give this holiday the recognition it deserves. If Groundhog’s Day and Arbor Day make the calendar, then Doughnut Day should too.
The Patron Saint of Donuts
My solution: change the date. Find a date that people associate with doughnuts.
What date is that you ask? I’ve got two suggestions:
- August 8: 8/8 just looks like four delicious doughnuts sitting on a plate.
or
- October 10: 10/10 gives you two doughnuts and two long johns.
I’m partial to the August date (mainly because a free doughnut the day before my birthday would be pretty sweet), but I’ll gladly listen to the Long John lobby and hear what they have to say. Heck, you could even replace the / with a period and get those little donut holes in on it too.
National Doughnut Day should be a day of coming together from all sides of the fryer to celebrate the sweeter things in life.
Feit-ly Pressed
Feit Can Write 