Me From A to Z:
Amateur Parodist,
Blogger,
Christian,
David Davidovich,
Evangelical Sans Trump Kool-Aid,
Father of 3 Adult Children,
Giraffe lover,
Husband of One Amazing Wife,
Iguchi Appreciator,
Jester,
Kindegarten Clear,
Library Lover
Muppet Man
Narnian
Optimist
Poet
Quintessential Worker
RITA (Republican In Theory, Anyways.)
Stonehill Fan
Teacher
U of I Parent - ILL,
Voracious reader,
White Sox Fan,
Xenophile
Yankovic Enthusiast
Zoo Afficionado
Sox Fam
A Quote to Start Things Off
We have two lives; the life we learn with and the life we live after that.”
― Bernard Malamud, The Natural
A few weeks ago I saw this song by Billy Sprague on Spotify and was touched by how relevant it still is.
Most of the lines of the song start with People need or But. So in the notebook my daughter gave me for Christmas, I made two columns. On one I wrote "People need ... " and the other I wrote "but..." I have reprinted it without permission below. But, I will add that the song was written by Billy Sprague and appears on his 1993 album The Wind and The Wave. I just like how when laid out like this it looks like a list poem. Even when you add the music it really is.
Note: There is a chorus in the middle of the song which also repeats at the end. I will write the chorus at the end and put an * each time the chorus appears in the song.
When Nothing's Sacred
by Billy Sprague
People Need... But...
True love Chase infatuation
A hope Live on short supply
Wisdom Get more education
Forgiveness Settle things eye for eye
Identity Satisfied with titles
A living God Seem content with idols
Destiny Settle for careers*
Faith Place their bets on science
A refuge Stay out in the rain
Each other Rely on self reliance
Christmas Settle for a holiday
Dignity Survive on ego
Truth Will take an alibi
A savior Much prefer a hero
(Most) long for heaven Have settled for the sky*
And the soul remains unsettled and the world a wilderness.
In a time when nothings sacred and souls settle for less.
I really wanted to share a live performance of this song and could not find one of Billy Sprague performing it but did find this video of Gary Hall Peck covering it. I think this is a very good rendition of it.
Today, it has been 1 month since the passing of my Mom. This is the first time I have mentioned here on the blog. It is still too raw for me to process, but I thought this might be a good place to post the brief comments I made at her visitation service the day before her funeral.
Today is the 5th of January and the first day of the second semester. As good of time as any to get the discussion going about who should be elected into Baseballs Hall of Fame as the announcement as to whether and who the Baseball Writer's Association of America (BBWAA) elected to that August group will be made later this month.
Here is some analysis as to whether Mark Buehrle should be enshrined in Cooperstown. I'll be back later this month to share my feelings on Buerhle and the others who are appearing the BBWAA ballot.
Robert Redford and Rob Reiner were two of my favorite actors turned directors. They both passed away in the last 4 months of 2025 and as a result I've been thinking about them and their work. Yesterday, quite by accident, a movie quote popped into my mind. I could not place the movie at first, so I googled it and soon this scene was on my phone.
This quote from The Natural, although said to Redford's Roy Hobbs rather than by him, informs and leads the protagonist to the decisions that makes up the film's climax.
Thinking of Redford naturally made me think of Reiner. Thinking of Reiner led to thinking of the Princess Bride, which led me to this brief scene.
In reviewing the context of both of these scenes, the hard fact that life is painful cannot be denied. Both characters were denied (albeit temporarily) true love due to circumstances beyond their control. The quotes are both delivered to their respective true loves when at each point of the film a happily ever after doesn't seem to be in the cards.
Hope and bitterness both carry transformative powers. The concept of hope in the line "the life you learn with, and the life you live with" says to me, yes life is pain, but much like pain you endure in a fire swamp you can learn from that pain. Thinking that life is only pain can create a bitterness that is hard to overcome. I am glad that the 4 characters depicted in these scenes found their happy endings. When I think of Redford and Reiner and all the stories they told through their acting and directing, it makes me sad that their lives have ended (especially in the tragic way Reiner's ended ) but glad that I am still learning about life through their work.
Today, is my last post of the year. I originally started this one September 14th after the AP writers release this, their 4th college poll of the year. The University of Illinois was 3-0 and they got ranked 9th to show that, The University of Tennessee was 2-1 having just lost 44-41 to the University of Georgia in overtime so they were rewarded for their loss by staying put at 15th. This may seem unfair to some of the 17 other teams along with U of I ranked in the AP top 25 who started 3-0 especially the 8 3-0 teams ranked below TN all because the Volunteers played the Bulldogs close.
However one team dropped inexplicably in the rankings and they certainly had a bigger axe to grind than the 3-0 teams who felt slighted by TN. This team had started the year ranked 6th in the preseason poll . The next week they dropped from 6th to 9th. They had a bye week in week 2 so they were able to jump us from 9th to 8th but then the indignity of plummeting, freed falling, dropping from 9th to 24th.
This of course was South Bend Indiana's gift to Football itself, Notre Dame. What did Notre Dame do to deserve this national embarrassment? Failure to achieve any of the goals they set for themselves? No, I think that might just be too on the nose for the AP writers. Notre Dame had lost their first game and then after 2 weeks to think about it lost their 2nd game. Now, they only lost by a total of 4 points, so that was plenty of reason to place them above undefeated U.S.C. (who beat their 3 opponents by 115 points), and BYU (+93 point differential in their 2 games).
I mean that's crazy? How entitled can BYU get complaining thinking that their 2-0 start should be rewarded and place ahead of a team that could at that point in the season count all their victories with no hands.
I meant to get that out much sooner than today, but Notre Dame started winning and my original post got relegated to draft status. I always like to resurrect a post or two from draft status near the end of the year and I thought the title of this post, alone, merited an end of the year reprieve.
Yesterday Illinois and Tennessee met for the first time on the gridiron in the music city bowl here are the highlights.
As we speak, I am watching Pierce Pettis in concert in Lake Forest (Go Bears!) Illinois. I was first famiiar with Mr. Pettis' work as a song writer in the late 1980. He wrote I don't ever want to live without You which is a cornerstone of Randy Stonehill's 1989 Return to Paradise. This song Moments is the title tune of his 1984 independently released debut album. Bot sure if he'll play it today, but it should be a good concert either way.
On This Day 45 years ago White Sox Pitcher Ed Farmer faced Pete Rose in the 1980 All Star Game. This was back when the Houston Astros were in the National League and the Milwaukee Brewers were in the American. In the 6th inning with 1 out, Farmer pitched to Rose who hit a ground ball to 2nd Willie Randolph, who flipped the ball to SS Robin Yount for the 1st out and then threw out Rose at First Base.
Special Shout out to Sox Nerd who reminded me of this play in his Jan 1, 2025 post, Pete Rose and The White Sox. Rose passed away in 2024, and Farmer in 2020, making the footage from my youth feel even more poignant.
On April 11th 1955, The Film Marty premiered. It would go on to be nominated for 8 Academy Awards and win 4 Best Film. Best Director: Delbert Mann, Best Actor: Ernest Borgnine and Best Screenplay: Paddy Chayefsky.
Chayefsky's screenplay was adapted from a television play he wrote which was performed live in The Philco Television Hour in 1953. Each Tuesday in June at 6:30 A.M. central I will be posting a section from the television program with some fun facts at the end. Since I am showing these in serialized fashion, and showing them in the a.m., I am calling them Breakfast Serials.
Marty 1953 Part I
.
Fun Fact: Esther Minciotti, Joe Mantell, and Augusta Ciolli who played The respective parts of Marty's Mom ,best friend, and Aunt all reprised these roles in the 1955 film. Mantell was nominated for best supporting actor Oscar but did not win.
Join us next week for another installment of Marty.
Introduction: Vladimir Lebedev is one of my favorite people in the world. I have thought this about him almost since I met him in Khabarovsk, Russia in December of 1992. Vladimir has has worn many hats in the time I've known him. chauffeur, itinerant musician, soldier, interpreter, pastor, international student, father, husband, missionary but with every hat he's always tried to adorn himself with humility, wisdom, grace, and a desire to show God to others.
To that end, I was delighted, but not surprised, when Vladimir shared some thoughts on musicians using their platforms on his Facebook page earlier this week. I am sharing them here with links to some of the songs that he referenced. I'll add some of my thoughts about his musical musings at the end.
Rock musicians keep dreaming. Good intentions. Strong lyrics. Terrific music. Is there a solution to the world’s evils? Can humanity come together to live in peace? Can we stop hypocrisy and greed in the governments to bring wars to an end? Can we finally start caring for one another instead of looking for reasons to separate and hate?
Long ago, John Lennon with his “Imagine.” Freddy Mercury of Queen with his “Show must go on.” Ozzy (Osbourne) with his “Dreamer.” Russian rockers of various types Zemlyane, Kruiz, and Aria with their “songs for peace.” And more recently Udo Dirkschneider with his soul-shattering “One Heart, One Soul.”
This indeed is a passionate call for common sense, for something every human soul feels deep within. But where is it really taking us? Is there something missing in this search? Is it not crying out into a void? It is impossible to, in the words of Bono from U2, "find what we are looking for" without turning to our Creator and Savior who revealed himself to humanity in the person of Jesus the Christ. He has everything that our whole beings are craving for.
Maybe Blacky Lawless of WASP is right when he sings:
[Verse 1]
Gazing through the window at the world outside
Wondering will mother earth survive
Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her sometime
After all, there's only just the two of us
And here we are still fighting for our lives
Watching all of history repeat itself time after time
[Chorus]
I'm just a dreamer
I dream my life away
I'm just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days
[Verse 2]
I watch the sun go down like everyone of us
I'm hoping that the dawn will bring a sign
A better place for those who will come after us this time
[Chorus]
I'm just a dreamer
I dream my life away, oh yeah
I'm just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days
This indeed is a passionate call for common sense, for something every human soul feels deep within. But where is it really taking us? Is there something missing in this search? Is it not crying out into a void?
It is impossible to “find what we are looking for” (in the words of Bono of U2) without turning to our Creator and Savior who revealed himself to humanity in the person of Jesus the Christ. He has everything that our whole beings are craving for.
Maybe Blacky Lawless of WASP is right when he sings:
Jesus, I need you now
Show me, I'm lost somehow . . .
Is there no hope for me?
Oh, somewhere you'll show for me?
Oh, I'm holding on, believing there's a reason I can find
Ooh, Lord remember me, take me up tonight
(Golgotha, 2015)
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Sing 2
Draw closer, though they’re still as cold as ever…
And like at the hour of eclipse,
And like at the hour of eclipse,
We wait for light and see our earthly dreams…
And we dream not of thunder at the cosmodrome,
Not of the ice-cold blue of the sky -
But we dream of grass - the grass beside our house
Green, green grass…
—
And we fly our orbits,
Unbeaten paths -
Lifetimes like meteors in the vastness…
Courage and risk were justified,
For the music of space
Floats into our matter-of-fact talk…
In some opaque haze
Earth in the viewport -
An early evening-time twilight…
But the son misses his mother
But the son misses his mother -
The mother waits for her son, as the earth awaits her children…
And we dream not of thunder at the cosmodrome,
Not of the ice-cold blue of the sky -
But we dream of grass - the grass beside our house
Green, green grass…
Dave's Thoughts: I really appreciated Vladimir's take on this, I think it's especially important to note that trying to fix a broken world is a universal pursuit. It is not just an American past time. In the 1970's there were many popular songs that I would call searching songs. Songs like Desperado by the Eagles and Dust In the Wind by Kansas. In the late 70's early 80's the years of my spiritual formation many people would use these songs in the same way Paul used the statues on Mar's Hill, as a way to pointing to the truth of Jesus. Vladimir is essentially doing similar work in his comments here.
Yesterday I posted Ronald Reagan's commencement address from Eureka College when He was President of the Unite States. . Today, I have footage of him while Governor of California performing at a celebrity roast for Bob Hope.
My Brother texted me during the coverage of the announcement of the new pope that one of my childhood White Sox heroes, Chet Lemon had passed away. Now, that Dick Allen has been elected to the Hall of Fame, Lemon is one of the best White Sox players to not make it to Cooperstown. A 3 time all star, and a World Series champion with the 1984 Tigers. Lemon was aggressive at the plate, on the base paths, and patrolling center field. In the time he played in the MLB between 1975 and 1990 he was 2nd in being hit by a pitch. He holds the American League single season record for most put outs as a centerfielder (509 in 1997) when he was with the White Sox.
Some of Lemon's leatherwork is in display when he was on the Baseball Bunch T.V. show. In the episode he works with young players on how to run down a ball and be aware of the fence.
Footage of Lemon's famous catch in game 3 of the 1984 World Series.
I shared a clip from this speech last year. I thought it would be interesting to share the speech on it's 43rd anniversary, the year that the average Eureka grad is reaching retirement age.
Around 5 years ago Allen Levi shared this song on you tube. It was April 27th 2020. We were about 6 weeks into Co-vid lockdown and Allen shared this song from his porch. I meant to share it last Sunday which was the 5 year anniversary of it's release. I was just at the end of catching up in the A to Z challenge and finishing the last week up. Now that the song is 5 years and a week old I'm sure it will resonate just a little differently than it would have last week at 5 ...
My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me. Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day. Today's letter is Y so let's get right to it shall we?
Way back on April Fool's day when I was posting about my being an amateur parodist I mentioned a little about Weird Al and his influence on me. Today I will be sharing 10 videos of some of my favorite Yankovic songs. They range from his national T.V. debut on the Tomorrow show to a video my friend Patrick (a hardcoreYankophile) recorded to concert footage from Amsterdam.
Some of these may not be among my top 10 favorite Yankovic songs which is one of the reasons why I am not numbering them or ranking them.
Word Crimes
Ebay
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota
Another One Rides The Bus
Ode To A Superhero
Hamilton Polka
Don't Download This Song
It's Still Billy Joel To Me
Yoda
The Saga Begins
That's all I have for my penultimate entry in the ABC's of me.
To get to the A to Z Challenge webpage click here.
