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FROM GOOD OLE UNCLE VICMarch 2008
Hello everyone, how are you? Are you ready for spring? I am here in Charleston, South Carolina visiting my son, Jon. It is 70 degrees outside. Love that warm weather.
The answer to last week's trivia question, from where did the expression "tongue in cheek" come? Seems it was used in a Shakespeare play referring to actors who placed there tongue in their cheeks so they would not laugh when making fallacious statements. Those that got it right were Valerie Kreunen, Jessica Sheffield, John Skozilas, Pam Phipps, Pam Monacelli, Jill Eisenberg, and John Krainer.
This week's trivia question: What is the difference between a Caucus and a Primary? E-mail your answers to Jami at Jami.Mignogna@BrickBodies.com.
I had the neatest thing happen to me this week. My son, Jon, called from college to ask me what inscription to put in his class ring. What is so neat about that, you might ask? First, you must understand, at The Citadel, where my son goes and plays basketball, the class ring is a big thing. A real big thing! It signifies that you had the stick-to-itiveness to go through all four years of The Citadel and everything that it encompasses. It really signifies a right of passage into manhood/womanhood. It signifies becoming part of the brotherhood/sisterhood of The Military College of the South. While there is no military service required after graduation, the rigorous military training and way of life at The Citadel bonds the graduates of that school the way only a military college can.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, the fact that my 22 year old son called me to ask my advice for something that is so important to him warmed my heart. It validated my role as a father. My son does look to me for wisdom and guidance!
(If you would like to hear what Jon decided to put on the inside of his ring, click here to see my video that accompanies this Uncle Vic)
Do you know what I think is one of the main roles of any father? To help his children discover their greatness. In so doing, he must be able to impart to them good judgment so they can make wise decisions. Do you know where good judgment comes from? Experience. Do you know where experience comes from? Bad judgment. A father, or mother for that matter, should pass on the values of their experiences to their children so that the children can learn from them. And they must do so in such a way that the lessons are positively received.
That has not always been the case with me. Too many times I have tried to live through my children, especially on the basketball court. Too many times I let my ego get in the way of my relationship with my kids, first my daughter, Vicki and then my son, Jon. But, as my good friend John Lowe emphasized to me as one of the main lessons he learned when he recently lost his wife and our dear friend, Christine, to pancreatic cancer, ego often gets in the way of happiness. Only when you let go of your ego can you be truly happy.
Jon is struggling through a trying season at the Citadel. After several injuries, some transfers and some academic probations, the team is made up of 13 freshman and Jon. The team is struggling and at times so is Jon. But he is not giving up. He knows he has to be the inspirational leader of the team to hold them together. He knows that next year the team will be much, much better but he also knows that he must get much, much better to be part of the playing rotation. He is working very hard to accomplish his greatness on the basketball court. As he strives to achieve his goals, he needs to know that everyone dear to him, especially his dad, supports him regardless of the outcome.
Jim Valvano is a legendary college basketball coach who is probably best known for his heroic fight against cancer in the early 1990's, a fight he eventually lost in 1993. When he qualified for his first NCAA tournament as the head coach of Iona College in upstate New York in 1978 he immediately went to his house to tell his dad, who was also a basketball coach. Upon hearing the news, his dad went upstairs and started packing. Jimmy V followed his father upstairs and asked him what he was doing. "Packing to go the NCAA Final 4", his dad answered. "But dad", Jimmy V said, "this is our first tournament ever!" "Oh", his dad said, "So you don't think you can win it? You are going to lose?"
Of course they didn't win it that first year. But every year after that Jimmy V's dad would end every conversation by telling his son his bags were packed. And finally, in 1983, while at North Carolina State, Jimmy V did break through and, in probably the biggest upset in NCAA history, win the national championship!
If you are a father; or a mother, or if you become one in the future, always let your children know your bags are packed--for them!
(If you would like to hear what Jon decided to put on the inside of his ring, click here to see my video that accompanies this Uncle Vic)
Yours in Health and Fitness,
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