We Are Penn State, and We Are Proud — A Message to the Pride

10. November 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: family, football, giving back, hope, penn state, struggles, tragedy

IMG_0092Brothers, sisters, friends and family; We Are Penn State.

We are not defined by the actions or inactions of a few members of the faculty and staff of the university, no matter how ugly the traditional media, the blogosphere, or other outlets may paint us in this time of crisis.

If you are like me, the news thats come out of University Park over the past week has been disturbing, confusing, and frightening. The news horrifies us because it runs counter to everything we believe in about our schools traditions and our heroes.

Lets not forget that our heroes can still be honored even if theyve been dismissed by the Trustees. Whether you believe that Joe Paterno was rightfully or wrongfully dismissed, we all agree that he did more for the students and the university than any other person in the history of our institution. None of us can imagine Penn State without Joe and we will miss him.

Ive been shocked to see some of the comments in the twittersphere which have called for everything from not sending kids to Penn State, to employers rejecting resumes with Penn State on them. Im sure some people may in fact choose to take these actions. If so, this will be unfortunate.

Penn State is more than football. Penn State is more than Joe Paterno. And Penn State is damn sure more than the pedophile, Jerry Sandusky.

Penn State has produced some amazing people who have given touched our lives: Mark Parker (CEO of Nike), Steve McCurry (National Geographic Photographer) and Richard James (inventor of the Slinky) to name only a few.

Penn State helps mankind. Penn State students raise millions of dollars each year at THON to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund. THON is the largest student run philanthropy in the world!

Fellow Penn Staters, we have many reasons to be proud. Please dont give up. Please wear our colors and support our school in these trying times.

We Are Penn State.

A few days near Lancaster

26. July 2010 · 2 comments · Categories: charity, cycling, daily life, exercise, friends, giving back, good things, hope

My Bike MS 2010 NumberThe roads outside Lancaster, PA lumber up and down rolling hills and skirt ridges for miles.  Framed by corn fields, they each have a peculiar rut down the center of each lane where the pounding of horse hooves have worn down the asphalt.  They are also littered with horse – ahem – dung.  This is Amish country, Pennsylvania Dutch to be more precise.  And this is also where I spent the weekend with my good friend Matt and his family (Pat, James and Kevin) as well as one of his friends (Dave).

I pulled into Millersville around 7:30 on Friday night, with my bike on the roof rack of the Outback.  The sun was low in the sky and the corn tassels shone golden as I was driving from US 30 to the college.  After registering I met Matt and Dave and we went out for some dinner (this would be my second dinner) at a little Italian joint called Two Cousins.  I had a cheesesteak – not quite Philly, but a good representation – beef, fried onions, cheese, and sauce on a roll baked in the shop.  It was heavenly.

After we shot the breeze and drank a beer or two, we hit the sack early because we really needed to get up early to beat the heat.  I woke at 5:15 (before the alarm) and took a quick shower, then clad myself in spandex, ate a Clifbar and checked the pressure of my bike’s tires.  We had a long ride ahead of us and it was going to be a scorcher of a day.  At 6:30, we were rolling and it was already 85F.  By 8:00, it was in the 90′s and the heat index was approaching 100 degrees.

The team road at a pretty good pace and we were off the 50 mile course by 11:30, which was a really good thing because heat exhaustion, or worse heat stroke, was a real danger.  I learned an important lesson about my cycling abilities — I need to incorporate more hills into my cycling routines.  I had no concerns about 50 miles, but I was not prepared for the hills, and to be honest, I was lagging on them — especially by the end of the ride.

After the first days ride, I got a massage which worked miracles and had some food and water.  Then we all took naps.  After naps, we had dinner in the Millersville Dining Hall.  I was reminded of why I don’t live in a dorm anymore — the food was, well, sustaining but not satisfying.  The team went out to see a movie, and then we hit the sack early again.

Sunday we rolled at about 6:30 also to avoid the heat as much as possible.  The temperature was down, but the humidity was up.  To make matters worse, when we hit the first rest stop at mile 9, they weren’t ready for us.  We were lucky to get some water and rolled on to the next stop at mile 20.  In general, the second day’s course was a bit easier to deal with — less hills — and I felt a little more scenic.  Maybe that was just because I wasn’t struggling as much.

As a team we had several setbacks on the second ride including chain pops and flat tires.  But we finished the 56 mile course in about 6 hours anyway.  I probably added an additional 2 miles to my trip when I went back looking for James who had some bike issues and had been SAGged (we didn’t know this).  I thought for sure the man had been swallowed up by a corn field.

All in all, it was a great weekend.  Thanks to my good friends and family, I managed to raise $1420 to benefit the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the National MS Society.  This was truly a weekend of giving back and it felt great, even if I’m stiff and sore for the rest of this week…

Give Thanks

26. November 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: america, Buddhism, daily life, family, fatherhood, giving back, good things, gratitude, health, hope, sidetracks, slowing down, smiles, struggles, thoughts

Often, we find ourselves dwelling in dark places, with little joy, and we find it difficult to recognize the true gifts we have in life.  Perhaps these gifts are our parents, our children, or our spouse.  Perhaps these gifts are friends or teachers who have helped us along the way.  Maybe these gifts are simple pleasures in life, like a few minutes to relax after a long day or week, or a sunset (or even a sunrise).  We all have gifts in our lives, but sometimes they are easy to forget; and as a result we fail to give thanks.

We live imperfect lives –  in imperfect times.  One of our challenges, is to seek a path that does not aim to perfect but rather to accept life’s imperfection while working to improve life, to reduce suffering.  There is a great deal of suffering in this world.  Very likely, you suffer.  We all do in one way or another.  Your suffering may be physical.  It may be mental or emotional.  It may be caused by an ailment or a relationship with another person.  Suffering is the human condition.  And yet, we can work to reduce suffering, in our own lives, and in the lives of others.  One way is to give thanks.

When we give thanks, we acknowledge that our suffering has been relieved in someway.  It feels good to give thanks.  We smile when we say thank you.  It reduces suffering, not only for the person who is giving thanks but for the person how is being thanked.

This year, on Thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things.  I’ve got good health, good family, good friends, and all the things for which we are usually thankful.  But what I’m most thankful for, is that I’ve discovered some ways to be more mindful in my life and these practices are making a difference.  I am thankful that I am feeling more joy and wonder even in imperfect times in this imperfect life.

Update on 10 Things

18. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: daily life, family, fatherhood, giving back, good things, gratitude, hope, mr. grey, smiles, thoughts, time

What seems like ages ago was really only about a 16 months.  I wrote a post on titled the importance of giving back.  I had no idea at that time that it would be the single most popular post on this blog (as of now).  In retrospect, the title was a bit misleading, because I started the post with ten things that were going well in my life, and then tried to tie the post back to the title.  Often, I start a post with one idea in mind and then the mind wanders.  At any rate, I thought it might be good to give an update.  So here are ten things that are currently going well in my life:

  1. Everyone is healthy in the family.
  2. Mr. Grey is growing up quickly.  He isn’t even two years old, but it sure feels like it when I look at him and when he talks. (complete sentences!)
  3. Mrs. TKD has been home with Mr. Grey now for over a year and they are getting on well with that arrangement.  I know that it is trying at times for her, but it is working.
  4. While there has been a lot of turmoil at work, I’m still employed and actually enjoying some of the work that I’ve got on my plate.
  5. We are secure financially.
  6. I’ve had some free time to go biking and to garden over the past six months.
  7. I’ve lost some weight, and believe I’m on track to lose some more.
  8. Our families continue to be strong and supportive.
  9. We are lucky enough to live where we want to live.
  10. We have a close circle of friends who enrich our lives.

What more could I want?

Today is World Food Day

16. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: america, charity, climate change, cooking, daily life, environment, family, food, giving back, good things, gratitude, green, health, hope, politics, slowing down, smiles, struggles, tragedy

As anyone who knows me well will tell you, I love food.  I spend a great deal of my free time cooking, often as a form of stress relief.  Even this morning, I was thinking about how I’m going to make some chicken corn soup this afternoon to go with this dreary, cold, grey, and wet day we’re having here in Maryland.  I’ve had a long week and neglected some important things while attending to my work.  So, today, I’m taking it a bit more slowly and I’ve spent a few minutes looking at some of my favorite websites and catching up on some social networks.

I came across this from one.org on twitter:

The ONE Blog Food Security in Focus series brings issues of

security & agriculture into sharp detail. Keep an eye

out:http://bit.ly/3sWA9t

about 1 hour ago from web

I usually spend some time each week keeping abreast of topics related to organic agriculture, food safety, and food security, as part of my general interest and concern for the overall health of the globe.  Since I’ve been so busy, I hadn’t realized that today, October 16th, is World Food Day.  World Food Day was first celebrated in 1981 to recognize the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on Oct. 16th 1945 and to increase awareness and inspire action to solve global hunger.

In this day and age there really is no reason for people anywhere in the world to go hungry.  The US grain belt produces enough grain to feed the world, but due to politics this food never reaches people who need it.  Some of it goes to feed animals unhealthy diets which result in unhealthy meat at the dinner table. Some of it goes to produce “alternative” and “clean” fuel intended to replace oil – this fuel is neither alternative or clean because it requires signficantly more gallons of oil to produce a single gallon of ethanol.  Some of it, and this is probably the most egregious point, simply sits and rots.

Today, I’m going to be mindful of my good fortune – I was born in the US and have never had to worry about a meal in my life.  But I’m also going to start on an annual tradition that Mrs. TKD and I have been doing for a few years – planning for and purchasing the fixings for a thanksgiving meal for a local family in need.

It’s a start.

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