Mail Mondays (02/27/06)

Tomorrow is the last day of February. You know what the means, folks? It's almost Spring. That's right, earlier sunrises, warmer temps, and puppy love (damn Freshmen).
On another note, we have parent/teacher conferences on Thursday night. Already? Really, Virginia? Damn...that seems quick.
Well, let's get to the mail.
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Leab,
How dare you insult the men and women of the United States Olympic team! How dare you rail against the United States! You call Americans selfish, yet at least these men and women are representing their country. What have you ever done?
If you didn't feel the Olympic Spirit, that's because you don't understand the American Way, not because the athletes didn't.
Angry American Man

Dear AAM,
The "What have you ever done?" questions seems to be the big one being mailed to me. Have I ever been an Olympic representative for this country? No.
Look, there were positive stories at this Olympics as well as negative ones (just wait for Bud Greenspan's next Sixteen Days of Glory doc), but let's be honest, the negative outweighed the positive. Sasha Cohen won the silver, which is amazing, but she also stumbled from the gold.
Joey Cheek won gold and silver medals and donated his money, but then we have Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick acting like idiots.
We had Lindsey Jacobellis fall just inches from winning the gold, and when asked about it, she lied at first about trying to be a hot dog. On the flipside, we had Lindsey Kildow who took a horrendous fall, but came back to at least try.
Don't even get me started on the Men's Hockey team. They were embarrassing. There's no saving grace there.
Americans are selfish. The Italian who won the final medal dedicated it to his sister and talked about sharing it with his team and his countrymen.
The Americans? Well, they talked endoresements. They talked about using the medal to pick up chicks. Period.
Yes, it was the best showing outside for medals outside of the United States, but so what? Will you remember that Joey Cheek won gold, or will you remember the bickering and the failures? Whose name comes to your mind first: Bode Miller or Julia Mancuso?
If you mentioned Miller, then you remember the blustering and the failure.
If you mentioned Mancuso, you're probably not telling the truth.
Am I cynical? Oh hell yeah. For the Europeans, the Olympics are given a Super Bowl like atmosphere. I remember being in London during the '84 Olympics. Daley Thompson, the British decathlete was cheered for by EVERYONE. It was like a fever. Even though the games were in Los Angeles, I bet most people cannot name the American decathlete who competed against him.
We don't get that way here. It's the same thing with the World Cup. Millions upon millions tuned in to watch the brackets being drawn. It would be like every single person in America tuning in to see the NCAA Tournament Brackets being made. Not going to happen folks.
If I seem selfish, I'm not sorry. This isn't me being selfish, it's me calling it like I see it, and it isn't positive.
The bottom line: the American Way no longer really exists. It used be about determination, responsibility, and understanding. All three of those are missing now.
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Leab,
Why is that "certain parts" of your blog are now missing?
Citizen X

X,
I have no comment.
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Leab,
What's your take on the lotto winners?
A reader in Nebraska

Nebraska,
Wow, you must be bored if you're reading me in Nebraska.
Umm, well. I wish them luck. I heard that somewhere around 70% of the people who win the lottery go on to be bankrupt or have incredibly difficult lives. There's a reason that the saying goes, "Money is the root of all evil." The green-eyed monster usually rears its head around the Benjamins, as it were.
There was a woman who won the lottery here in Minnesota. Now she's in jail.
The guy who won in, where was it, Arkansas, lost a ton of money, and his granddaughter died.
Look, most people win the money and don't realize they're in a higher tax bracket. They then spend the money like crazy and when tax time comes around, they're in trouble.
The best thing you can do if you win the lottery (and this is if you win a bunch of money) is get a good lawyer and a financial advisor before coming forward. Seriously. I know if I ever win, that's what I'm doing.
However, I don't think I ever will win. Why? Well, beyond the astronomical odds, I don't play the lottery. It's almost like flushing money. It's a form of gambling with worse odds than Blackjack. I'd rather save my cash and keep working. Why? Well, if I stopped working, I would probably go insane.
So there you go. That's my take on the lottery winners. I wish them the best of luck and hope they're smart.
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So that's it for mail tonight. I hope you're all doing well.
Oh, and Greta...you have only 26 hours left to do your thing.
Best of luck.
Namaste.