What Keeps A Coach Optimistic?

September seems to signal that Fall is in the air (Fall officially begins September 22nd this year). Also, September usually points to the beginning of high school and college football games.
Most all Americans take some interest in football games; some more than others. There are those like me who keep up with it enough to make intelligent conversation about wins and losses. But my question in this Blog is " Have you ever thought of how coaches cope with losses?" Now teams and fans also have to manage the disappointment of losses. However, this week I tip my hat to the coaches. As I mentioned above you may be a "fair weather" football fan or not a fan at all. Regardless I think all of us would agree that coaches have to be made of tough stuff! Several years ago Robert Schuller wrote a book entitled "Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do!" Losing seasons may last but coaches must stay optimistic.

They have to remain positive and give an optimistic appearance even if it is the fourth quarter and they are behind. They have to encourage the team when the starting quarterback and major defensive players are injured and it appears they will be out for the remainder of the season.

What qualities do coaches possess that give them this ability? I haven't done research but in my opinion coaches choose to not let the facts totally discourage them. They, just like all of us, have disappointments and events that don't go as they plan or want. They fall down just like we do, however, they have the resilience to get up and go again. They are encouragers ... to themselves and to their teams. They are people builders. They have learned to "stick to the task" and to "dance in the rain instead of waiting for the storm to pass!"

So whether your team wins or loses the next game and/or the next season, remember it takes a special person to take the risk to be a coach!

Volunteering at MDA Cookouts

My brother, Ron, is active in raising money for MDA each year. One of his main events (as mentioned in an earlier blog posting) is a Hamburger/Hot Dog, etc. Cookout each year.

Our sister Nedra always makes baked beans to offer as a side with his hamburgers and hot dogs. Once again this year she made lots and lots of baked beans. She did this in addition to baking the 150 loaves of pumpkin and banana bread for his bake sale.

Also, for the past several years I have made potato salad to offer as a side. And every year they always run out of baked beans and potato salad. So this year I used 30 lbs. of potatoes. Now, let me tell you that is a lot of potatoes to cook, peel and dice along with the other ingredients. I spent most of Thursday, August 27th, making the potato salad ... and slicing onions and tomatoes for the hamburgers. Larry and Nedra felt for me and helped peel the cooked potatoes.

Mother Nature cooperated with Oklahoma City and Friday, August 28, was a little cooler - there was a nice breeze. Our son-in-law Harold was in town and helped set up the tent awning. Ron is grateful for a supportive family. Larry took tables and helped complete the set up. I made my appearance about 10:00 a.m. The cookout was scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. However, if you know Oklahomans, there are always a few earlybird customers. Fortunately the volunteer cooking the meat was ready by 10:30 a.m. when the first customers arrived.

We had originally scheduled me to be the "money lady". Now that means watching the line to make sure no one "slips through" without paying. It really is a good price - $5 for a hamburger and a choice of two sides (choices were macaroni salad, cole slaw, baked beans, potato salad). However, when we got really busy around the lunch hour, I not only took the money but helped serve as well.

When I was young I tried my hand one day at trying to be a waitress. Needless to say, I wasn't very good at it. I soon found there were other part time jobs that fit better with my set of skills. So I did as a volunteer what I couldn't do for money ... that is I helped serve the food at the cookout! :)

I was especially pleased when Candace and Vance responded to my advertising of the cookout and came for lunch. Also Cathy and Harold stopped by on their way out of town. It's times like this that one especially appreciates friends and relatives.

The cookout location was in front of the 7-11 Store at 415 N. Rockwell. As customers arrived at the location, I enjoyed using my old "yell" skills from high school cheerleading to remind people there was good food available! Guess I wasn't too obnoxious ... at least no one told me to "go away"!

We were scheduled to close the cookout at 5:00 p.m. Some people requested we stay until 6:00 p.m. so they could pick up food on their way home from work. All in all it was fun and Ron informed us the proceeds exceeded last year's total. That was a good thing!

I guess I did okay as a volunteer "cashier/server" because some of the 7-11 employees had scheduled an Asian-American Cookout for the next Thursday. They asked if I would come back and help them that day. Being the new retiree that I am I agreed to help.

One of the unusual events of the Thursday cookout was meeting two customers from Germany. The two men were traveling Route 66 on motorcycles (I'm not sure if they were Harleys or not). They stopped at the cookout around 2:30 p.m. ... I asked what their destination was for the day. They planned to spend the night in Clinton and tour the Route 66 Museum there before resuming their trip. Interesting accents!!!

The Muscular Dystrophy Association has helped so many people through the years. We keep hoping that their continued research will some day bring an end to so much suffering. I am grateful I had the opportunity to do a little part in helping "Jerry's Kids"!

The Story of Nedra's Bread for MDA

Most of you are aware that the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) fund raising drive concludes on Labor Day. Our brother Ron is manager of a 7-11 convenience store. The 7-11 stores are active each year in MDA fundraising and Ron's store is no different.

Ron does various programs and activities to reach a goal of approximately $5,000 in donations from his store alone for MDA. He has an annual cookout, asks for MDA Bucks contributions, promotes a Silent Auction and has a Bake Sale.

The Bake Sale is where my sister Nedra really gets involved. For the past several years she has baked at least 100 loaves of pumpkin and banana bread for his bake sale. This year she started several months ago and surpassed that number -- she baked 150 loaves for the Bake Sale which will run this first week of September. Now, don't get alarmed the pumpkin and banana bread both freeze really well and Ron's freezer has certainly been full.

Included in this Blog is a copy of her original recipe (she still pulls it out of her recipe box when she bakes another batch of bread). Also printed below is the recipe (in the event the original is a little hard to decipher).

Pumpkin Bread
Mix together:
4 eggs, beaten 3 cups sugar
1 cup salad oil 2/3 cup water
1 can pumpkin (2 cups)

Sift together these dry ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour 2 teaspoons soda
1 1/2 teas. salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Add the dry ingredients to the first mixture.

Add 1 cup finely chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bake in 4 loaf pans at 325 degrees for 1 hour. For the last 15 minutes bake at 300 degrees. Check glass plans at about 45 minutes.

This same recipe can be used for Banana Bread (use 2 cups mashed bananas instead of the pumpkin); for the Zucchini Bread (use 2 cups shredded zucchini).

Nedra, Larry and I all join together to help Ron in his fundraising efforts. However, since Nedra spent many, many hours baking loaves of bread, I wanted to highlight her efforts in this Blog.

Stay tuned for the next Blog .... I will write about my experience of helping with his MDA Cookout last Friday.

Celebrated Cathy's Birthday!

Friday, August 21, 2009 was a special day ... Cathy's birthday ... and her lovely daughters Christine and Lauren helped Larry, Connie and Nedra celebrate with her at Lakeshore (our home). It was a fun time. Lauren was our master chef responsible for grilling the steaks! Nedra showcased her baking skills with a strawberry cake. Connie filled in with the rest of the meal ... and a couple of hours before the celebration time decided we needed table decorations and something special. I (Connie) decorated a basket, sorted through some photos of events we had all enjoyed and designed a "Remember When?" game.

We had the cake and ice cream on the patio and enjoyed our "Remember When?" there as well. We made some good memories --- just wished that Harold could have been here with us. But duty at Harvester Church in St. Louis called for his presence. He will be flying down next Tuesday, August 25th to spend a few days in Oklahoma City. That is always special!

Each evening I text a scripture to Christine and Lauren. And they often send one back to me. The one I shared on 8/21/09 was from Psalms 8: "O LORD our Lord how excellent is Your Name in all the earth, who has set your glory above the heavens! " Lauren had sent one earlier: " Let us not become weary in doing good. For at the proper time we will reap the harvest if we do not give up", Galatians 6:9.

Helen Keller wrote two very profound statements: "No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit." She also stated, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."

I want to finish this blog for today with something I heard many years ago: "Stick to the task until the task sticks to you. The beginners are many, but the finishers are few." So keep on keeping on!