Is a baseball that important? When I was a kid I carried my glove to the ballpark with the hope of catching a baseball. I never came close. As an adult I got three of them. I caught two and Older Daughter Jennifer got the third. Last week end a tragedy happened at the park in Texas. A man fell to his death, tumbling over a guard rail while trying to catch a ball for his son.
Last night during the Home Run Derby it almost happened again. According to news reports a fan stepped up onto a metal table and reached for a hit baseball. His momentum carried him over a railing. His brother and friends were able to grab and pull him back to safety. He and his friends already caught three baseballs, he was quoted as saying, "we were going for the cycle." (if a ballplayer has four hits in a game, all of the bases and a home run)
Is a baseball that important? Now may be the time to ask the young man who caught Derek Jeter's 3000th hit baseball. There was speculation the ball could have fetched seven figures at auction. The kid returned the ball to Jeter in exchange for several baseball related items. Now there's talk that the IRS may want to collect on those items, potentially $14,000. I doubt that will happen, it's just not right. Or, if it's becomes an issue I think the Yankee's would pay it.....and then the IRS would bill him on that. This 23 year old baseball fan could have made a lot of money but he did the right thing and now the IRS comes calling.
I often hear commercials for law practices or tax accountants that brag of "saving you thousands of dollars in owed back taxes." Maybe the people who owe should pay up? I wonder if that would help the country? Maybe the people that owe should pay up? I wonder if that would help the kid who did the right thing?
One of the BluRay disks we recently purchased was defective. I tried several different fixes but nothing helped, it kept freezing up. While good for taking bathroom or food breaks it was annoying for movie watching. We never had this issue with regular disks. With BluRay, this is the second one. I guess, more detail is more that can go wrong? The difference in picture quality is incredible so I'm more than willing to put up with a few problems.
This morning I went to Target to exchange the bad disk. The movie is "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Around 9:15 I approached the return desk and was greeted by a nice, polite, young woman. I didn't let the safety pin in her lower lip distract me. Dissolving stitches would have been a better fix but if that's the way she wanted to keep her lip on it's not really my business.
Frieda......(I can't remember her name) told me to get another copy and bring it back to the desk. "Should I take this with me?" I asked, nodding toward the bad one. "And I also need to pick up some milk, can you ring that here too?" Frieda told me she could take care of the entire transaction and off I went.
While I was walking to the video display I told myself to be sure and keep the movies straight. I didn't want to confuse them and buy the bad one again. I was thinking I would keep the good one in my right hand, the bad in my left............STUPID, the new one will be sealed shut, the bad one is opened. When I came to that realization relief washed over me. One less thing I need to think about.
I picked up a new movie, got the milk and returned to the exchange desk. There are signs in several places plus info on the receipt about exchanging movies. If the package is opened it can only be exchanged for the same title. I was surprised when Frieda, prior to giving me the new disk, sliced the package open.
While I was standing at the Target return desk it hit me: Some people would buy a movie watch it, then return it as defective. If the new copy was left unopened it could be returned for a different movie or a refund. I had enough trouble keeping my new, and old, disks straight. I could never extended the energy and thought needed to get around the system.
Occasionally I think about what I accomplished with my life. If I am feeling a bit morose the answer is, not much. I never had a parking space or my name on an office door. I never got the "gold watch" when I retired. I don't play an instrument or speak a foreign language. I don't have a small fortune socked away in a vault. I have never been published or traveled to exotic locals. But, maybe none of these things are important?
I've always tried to strive for two things I was taught as a child. Honestly is the best policy so always tell the truth. Follow the Golden Rule and treat others as you would like to be treated. Just two basic ideas that make life pleasant. Maybe I'm naive but I think these simple things are really what's important.
I think if all the people that extended energy to trick the system and get something for nothing used that energy for positive things maybe we would live in a better place. I think if all the people in power, all the people who can really make a difference, used their energy to do what's right, to do what's honest, we could, we would, all live in a better place.
I am paraphrasing: In this life it's not what you have but what you do. I'll try to remember that.
No comments:
Post a Comment