Tag Archives: burn

Coke

Coke: (n) A popular short term for the popular soft drink Coca Cola.

I had an explanation. I really did.

I did not wish to share it because it made me look wimpy. I don’t like to look wimpy. I don’t think I’m alone in this. All of us want to appear noble, brave and strong.

Yet a bit of wimpy lives inside each of us, and jumps out at the wrong moments, exposing us for the sniveling cowards we are.

For years I refused to drink Coca-Cola–or as my friends called it, Coke. Every once in a while I got challenged.

“Hey, man, what’s with you and the Coke thing?”

I would put on my face–a combination of perturbed and surprised. “What do you mean–Coke thing?”

This aggravated the questioner. He or she followed up by saying, “You know–the fact that you never drink Coke.”

It was an easy accusation to side-step. “I do. You just don’t see me.”

But the truth is, they were right. I did not drink Coke. I wanted to, but I desired a drink which could be guzzled–and only certain carbonated beverages could be consumed that way without burning your throat and making you cough. I was not about to share that Coke was too strong for me.

So one day, in a fit of determination to achieve normalcy, and having completed some exercise which left me hot, sweaty and thirsty, I grabbed a bottle of Coke, tilted it back and began to swill.

About three seconds into the process the Cola burned my throat. I choked and spit it out in all directions. This created alarm and humor from all bystanders. I was completely emasculated.

After the laughter calmed down, a friend took me to the side and said, “Listen. Between you and me–Coke is too hot. So here’s what I do. When they offer me a bottle of Coke, I hold it behind my back and shake it up, life my thumb from its place on the top and let off some of the steam and carbonation. I do that about three times, so when I put the Coke to my mouth and down it, I look like one of the guys.”

I was so relieved. I followed the idea completely. He was right. It worked. I was able to slurp my Coke with a big gulp. It was a little flat, having lost its carbonation.

Wait a second…

Maybe that’s how they came up with RC Cola.

 

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Burn

j-r-practix-with-border-2

Burn: (v) to flame while consuming

Snakes and fire.

I believe these two are natural enemies of all humankind.

I’ve always been afraid of snakes, without shame. But I realized my apprehension about fire when I found myself staying at a cheap motel called “The California.”(Yes, welcome to the Motel California…)

I was there with my family and we were occupying a room in the front corner near the office. One afternoon, we were half asleep, watching television, when there was a knock at the door. The manager was informing everyone that there was a fire.

I stepped outside, couldn’t see anything, but decided it was a good idea to get my family and some of our belongings out of the room, load them into the van and move the vehicle away from the property, just in case.

We gathered with the other patrons of the motel in the parking lot, when all at once the second floor, as if on cue, burst into flames. It was so sudden that everyone gasped. In unison, we moved back about twenty paces.

The heat was intense, the smell stung our nostrils. and our natural fear kept pushing us all further and further from the inferno.

It wasn’t a large motel, so by the time the fire trucks arrived, the entire establishment was engulfed in flames–except for the lower level near the office.

The firemen told us it would be many hours before we would be able to get back in to retrieve any belongings that might remain, so we went out to visit some friends and took advantage of a free motel room offered by a kind establishment down the road.

Over breakfast the next morning, I couldn’t keep my hands from shaking. I didn’t know what was wrong. But now I realize that I was completely terrified by the experience, and horrified by what might have happened.

An hour or two later, when we returned to the burned-out shell of the motel, we found that our room was intact, and that our belongings were a little damp, but able to be retrieved.

I don’t ever want to burn.

I guess the worst scenario for me would be to die in a fire while being bitten by snakes.

 

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Athlete

Athlete: (n) a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.dictionary with letter A

I often find myself aggravated when I listen to one of the pundits on ESPN or other sports programs talk about athletes having a “God-given ability.”

I think it’s one of the largest cop-outs in our society. It seems to me that when we discover that anything will take effort or demand commitment, we pull out the DNA card and insist that “we are not born with that particular inclination.”

The trouble with ignoring your inner athlete is that you rob yourself of the grace, agility and even healthy lifestyle that are conducive to human well-being.

I think it’s disgusting that we are not encouraging all young people to participate in some sort of team sport actitivity, which would enhance their abilities, so that they would possess the confidence and physical know-how to maneuver themselves through the narrow spaces of life.

Yes, athletes have an advantage, and it’s not just in high school and college. People who are athletic tend to stay trimmer, thinner and in better health than those who aren’t.

As a young boy I was allowed to vegetate, with the most exciting part of my day being breakfast, lunch and dinner. The end result was obesity.

When I finally got old enough to discover my “athlete in residence,” I was already so overweight that it was nearly impossible to return to a normal size. It has to start early–and we have to escape the notion that our five-day-old child has a personality; that because he laid his tiny hand on a ball in the room that he will someday be a superb “baller.”

We are trapping our children in a destiny that doesn’t exist, and in so doing we are robbing them of the power to find the full extent of their athletic ability, which grants them the jubilance and health to be alive and virile.

  • We are all athletes.
  • We are all given opportunity.
  • We are all provided life.

And as soon as we allow our children to tap that energy within them, the obesity rates that have been going up will suddenly drop.

For I will tell you–it’s not about how much you eat.

It’s about how you burn it.

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