Just read and now recommend this remarkable book. David has done his homework and some fascinating data is included for sports professional and fans in general.

UPHEAVAL by Jared Diamond deals with several different nations and crises they confront.  Chapter 9 deals with the USA and asks “What lies ahead for the US?  Strengths, and the biggest problem.”

*Wealth-Geography-Advantages of democracy-Other advantages-Political polarization-Why?  Other polarization.

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Below are notes I took for myself as reminders from the text:

ADVANTAGES OF THE US

1.  Wealth- size and resources.  2.  Military -10 Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.  France has the only other.  3. “Wedge shaped” geography and temperate zones for agriculture.  4.  Waterways —shipping by water 10-30 times cheaper.  Rivers plus great lakes.  Plus  Atlantic on one side, Pacific on other is unique, and with barrier islands also to protect us.  4.  Advantages of democracy (Churchill’s quote–worst form of government except for everything else tried.  Citizens can propose, and debate. (Vietnam, Germany/Hitler), Less civil violence.  5. Compromise.  6.  Federal govt. 50 states differ (turning right on red – Calif, assisted suicide, pot, tax rates, ) 7. Citizens control the military.  8.  Limited overt corruption, but covert is bad i.e. the influence of wall street, lobbyists, illegal contributions. 8. Public investment in education, technology, research (half of major top 10 scientific univ in U.S.), Infrastructure. inventions. 11. Immigration.  surprise!  1 of 3 nobel prize winners from U.S. are foreign  born.

2.  AMERICAN DISADVANTAGES:

“The first, and I feel the most ominous, of fundamental problems now threatening American democracy is our accelerating deteriorating of political COMPROMISE.”

2.  ELECTIONS:  Diamond quote:  “If a country has a constitution or laws specifying democratic government but the country’s citizens don’t or can’t vote, such a country doesn’t deserve to be called a democracy.”

3.  INEQUALITY:  Again, a quote from the book: “Sadly the problem is making itself worse; economic inequality has been increasing, and socio-economic mobility has been decreasing, in the U.S. over the course of recent decades.”

4.  INVESTMENT:  Education/more on prisons.  Declining performance of students.   Working two jobs.

“The result  is that the U.S. is losing its former competitive advantage that rested on an educated workforce, and on science and technology.”

Page 379

QUESTION:  When will the U.S. take its problems seriously?

ANSWER:  When powerful rich Americans begin to feel physically unsafe.

 

 

 

Jared Diamond’s new book (May 2019) deals with crisis.  His chapter on his fears about the United States includes this sentence:

“The first, and I feel the most ominous, of fundamental problems now threatening American democracy is our accelerating deteriorating of political compromise.”

UPHEAVAL

TURNING POINTS FOR NATIONS IN CRISIS

Burt Lancaster as Bob Starbuck in THE RAINMAKER (1956): “…BUT DON’T ASK FOR DELUGE!”

Hurricane Florence got us (Emerald Isle and lots of North Carolina). Luckily we could bolt for Son Dan’s home in Raleigh. Thanks for that.
We went one day to the North Carolina Museum of History. I was unaware of the artist/football star, Ernie Barnes, or his dual status as both. The museum’s exhibit of his artwork stunned me. Native to nearby Durham and a graduate of North Carolina Central University, his work portrayed the time I grew up in small town NC, but of a different culture. As I viewed his large showing of work, it looked vaguely familiar and yet different. It was.
Ernie died at 70, April 1990.
I went to Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College, from 1959-1963. And returned there as a teacher/coach/administrator until 1985. And served in similar roles at Elon College/ now University until 2004. Lots of changes. None more than in the sports world. Integration the most volatile. No football at ACC during my stays. And the only black guys I played against was when we played college basketball against military teams. As an assistant basketball coach, I was proud to help recruit ACC’S first black players–Clifton Earl Black, and Jimmy Jones of nearby Conetoe (pronounced kah nee tah) NC. Great young men. Black broke almost every record we had. Many followed and while I stopped coaching basketball I taught almost all of them. Being a small school you got to know the kids well. Speedy Gainor, Stan Lewter, Lorenzo Jones, George Bell, Richard Battle, Damien Carter, a few of these new friends. As Athletics Director, I knew the girls too–Cindy Wall, Sheila Keel, Annie May Wooten. Good people and players. A kid from Murfreesboro, William Bogues was 5’11” and led the Carolinas Conference in rebounding! Say what? Saw it!
The small town where I went to high school played 6-man football,and, while I loved playing, it didn’t resemble what awaited 25 later at Elon. Almost immediately I supervised the team’s trip to Orlando to play a tough Central Florida team. Many had never flown. The team operated in “herd mentality”. My small tennis teams sort of wandered around wherever.
As I saw these guys and their coaches work, I really appreciated them. Kyle Wills ramrodded the work-study players, a majority of whom were black kids. I watched them in their blue work suits clean the post-game gym with precision.
And as much as I loved those ACC kids, football guys are just different. I never missed a game at home. And they made it a great learning experience. Somebody said John Bradsher became a General in the US Army. I don’t doubt it. Everybody loved Dwayne Clark. I did too and wept at his funeral. Stanly Hairston, Russell Evans, Al Hendricks, Ronnie Purcell, Jeff Slade, Gino McLamb,
Willie Williams, Grady Williamson. Our defensive backs and receivers were often just a little smaller than those at big schools. I marveled at Arketa Banks, and Steve Ferguson. Leo Barker was a super coach and others too many to name.
Over those twenty years we played North Carolina Central University, Barnes alma mata. DR. Leroy Walker always spoke. BIG HOUSE GAINES and I sat together all day at the NAIA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS in Kansas City in 1976 . The first of 8 games that day began at 11am, the last at 11pm. Coach Gaines and I watched all eight. We ate 3 meals plus at the concession stand. Popcorn, ice cream, pretzels, cokes, hot dogs, candy bars. Coppin State (with Joe Pace) won the NAIA. Big House won the concession contest.
Arthur Ashe was the Jackie Robinson of tennis. He spoke to Elon on PROPOSITION 48 in 1988. For years I have bought every copy of his DAYS OF GRACE I have found. I gave many of these, his most personal perspective of race in America, to those great kids I coached and taught. My thanks to Arthur.
I don’t know how long the Barnes exhibit will remain in Raleigh. I encourage its viewing and study. Mr. Barnes is well known in the art and football world. One book of his history and work is FROM PADS TO PALETTE (By Ernie Barnes). All football. When I finish I am sending my copy to Elon University Football. What a story.

P.S. for fun google 6-man football in Texas. going strong with scores in the 70 point range. I believe Crowell High School has had the best program.
P.S.S. Just purchased the new biography, ASHE, on Arthur Ashe. Into first 200 pages, and so far, so good. tp

Google Duke University library. Search “H. Lee Waters Film Collection”. Here you will find a directory of a very large number of towns. A few are nation-wide. Several are from Virginia and South Carolina, but most are of small North Carolina towns. These are truly interesting and of very good quality. No sound,being done in the late 30’s and early 40’s.
Remembering this period is post “Great Depression” and pre-World War 11 and before integration, one can see a world that was quite different. There are all kinds of settings and a lot of them, yet it seems the photographer emphasized schools and the youngsters (then), downtowns and their stores and owners and customers, and factory workers as they exited the day’s work.
It is difficult to look at the pre-teen and teenaged faces knowing that very shortly many of these will be in a war that affected so many of them. And us.

A movie, “Bernie”, and a book “My Ideal Bookshelf” by my son Dan’s friend, Jane Mount have prompted me into a couple of comments, etc. The sound track of “Bernie”brought back memories of a childhood’s moments in music in a southern baptist church. Thus, the “HYMNS TEST” post. Next, having admired “My Ideal Bookshelf”, I have listed some of the books I have enjoyed and benefitted from.

(1) Lyrics (1962-2001), by Bob Dylan
(2) A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson
(3) Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
(4) Sports in America, by James Michener
(5) Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
(6) Chesapeake, Michener
(7) The Drifters, by Michener
(8) The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy
(9) My Losing Season, Pat Conroy
(10) The Little Red Book of Golf, by Harvey Penick
(11) The Short Game Bible, by Dave Pelz
(12) Centennial, by Michener
(13) Inside Tennis, by Jim Leighton
(14) The Godfather, by Mario Puzo
(15) The Synonym Finder, by T.J. Rodale
(16) The Legend of Bagger Vance, by Steven Pressfield
(17) Cyclone Country, by Russell Rawlings
(18) Stikky Night Skies, Lawrence Holt Books
(19) Shit My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern
(20) Chronicles, by Bob Dylan
(21) The Covenant, Michener
(22) Mexico, by Michener
(23) Fire in the Hole, by Elmore Leonard
(24) The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
(25) A Season on the Brink, by John Feinstein
(26) On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
(27) The Blind Side, by Michael Lewis
(28) Texas, by Michener
(29) The Fifties, by David Halberstam
(30) The Awakening, by Karl Fleming
(31) Blood Done Signed My Name, by Timothy Tyson
(32) Catch 22, by Joseph Heller
And finally and for fun,
(33) The Final Four of Everything (Bracketology), by Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir…

North Carolina is divided into 3 distinct parts. The eastern part features our real characters. They get out of bed thinking of something funny to say. Being a child of the 60’s (Brando, James Dean, Dylan) cool things to say catch me ear.
Jules from “restaurant scene in PULP FICTION: “I been saying that %^*& for years. And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant. I thought it was just a cold blooded thing to say to ^%*%$#@% ‘fore you popped a cap in his ass.” Jules was as cool as Miles Davis.
How bout JUSTIFIED’S Raylan: “It is hard to imagine the wonderful things that might happen if you can plant the seeds of distrust among a garden of assholes.”
Winston Churchill: “When you are going through hell, keep going.”
“He could fight as good from the bottom as from the top”. (Did Country say that?)
Jim Drummond: The boss said his worker had ADD (…all day to do it).
Regarding current politics, one easterner says he is suffering from E.D. or “Electile Dysfunction.”
“How do I sound more Southern and blend in better?” asked the newcomer. Southern friend: Next trip to the store tell the clerk you want some nanners, maters, and taters.
Upon trying this technique the clerk replied, “…you’re not from around here are you?” Northern newcomer, puzzled, “…how did you know?” Clerk: You are in HOME DEPOT.
“The secret to management is to keep the guys who hate you from the undecided.” Casey Stengel.
Jake LaMotta claimed they we were so poor that one Christmas eve his Dad took his twelve gauge out into the back yard and fired off a round. Came in and declared,”…Santa committed suicide!”
One golfer said another was even tempered on the golf course: “He was an asshole the whole round.”

•Tom Brokaw concluded: “For parents, bribery is a white collar crime. For grandparents, it’s a business plan.” Loved Brokaw.
•This from DRIVING WITH THE DEVIL, a great book on the real beginnings of NASCAR (know
who Roy Page was?) has this comment: “Money won’t buy everything, but it’ll keep your family closer.”
•And children getting named down here? One kid in the local paper had a first name of “Wedjunald”. “Mam, what do you want his first name to be? (Wedjunald? Reginald?). Some classic names out there.
• At a recent post-golfing social event, I overheard one wife chastise another. “Alice, you’ve got the wrong name tag on.” Alice: “… I’m much too drunk to wear my own name tag.”
And then, there are always the Duke Cameron crazies. In unison this bunch pleaded with Miami’s super large Reggie Johnson, “PLEASE DON’T EAT US, PLEASE DON’T EAT US.” He IS a big tater.
• Tough choice coming up! A local fisherman from Stella, North Carolina has concluded that the White Oak River is being contaminated by run off from the many hog farms in eastern N.C. HMMM. Seafood or barbecue?
•Remember the “HOI TIDERS” (HIGH TIDERS) from way
DOWN EAST? My friend, Randy Campbell, told me this one.
A hoi toiler from “…down to Atlantic” was asked by another local if the guy would mind him leaving his boat in his yard for a week. ‘My Lord, no. A week will be okay.” After the original guy burned this boat down, the issue went to court. Whereupon the judge asked why did you burn the man’s boat? “Well, your Honor, he didn’t show up after a week so I called him. He said he’d be by soon, but he didn’t show the second week. I thought about calling him a second “toime” (time), but then I thought what the hell. “I LIT HER UP”
• I have included a couple of pictures of the pier. I continue to be a PIER GROUPIE (blog article #75 with the pictures). The operative question on the pier is “anything biting?” A hoi toiler responded recently, “Not on this pier, mate, but “oi” (I) heard the red drum was eating the sand off the end of the oiland (island).”
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JAMES ALLEN ROSE
•A local high school running back was extremely quick and agile. A zig-zagging touchdown kickoff return brought this comment from an admiring hoi toiler coach: “My lord Son, you run ‘er like a hard crab”.

Picked up a library book on Will Rogers. Still funny. Clipped this vignette from animal lover Will: “In London five years ago, old Lord Dewar, a great humorist and character and the biggest whiskey man in the world, gave the children a little white dog (Sealyham), saying, “If this dog knew how well he was bred he wouldn’t speak to any of us.”
“We have petted him, complained at him, called him a nuisance, but when we buried him yesterday, we couldn’t think of a wrong thing he had ever done.
“His bravery was his undoing. He lost to a rattlesnake, but his face was toward him.”
from Daily Telegram
Mar.24,1931

“I have no idea what you are writing about, but that advice you just gave would be good for a lot of people.” So, while I’m thinking about it, allow me a serious moment here.
For people undergoing surgery:
• Expect the unexpected. Somehow something happens that can throw you if you let it.
• Judge improvement by the week, not by the day. • Be patient. Did you get me?
Be patient. It takes time. When it is over you won’t remember the bad.
• Do your rehab. This is a must. Sometimes it’s painful, but do your rehab.