Author: Dot

I lived in Nashville in 1999 when the Titans played in the Super Bowl.  A friend at work invited me and my young son, Phillip, to a Super Bowl party. Phillip’s first … and mine.  I am a less than avid football fan but this was the Titans! This was the Super Bowl!

My son was as excited as a 10 year old could be, being included in a grown-up party.  The host (with a straight face) instructed Phillip to “bring lots of quarters” because we would be playing “guessing games” about the commercials and different aspects of the game, including the final outcome.

The only team shirt Phillip owned boasted a Dallas Cowboys logo, totally inappropriate to wear to this particular event, so we went shopping. Titan shirts were at a premium that week and the only one we found (in a men’s size large) was one celebrating the recent championship. It looked rather comical on Phillip’s scrawny body, but he didn’t seem to know. 

When I heard of Steve McNair’s death, I felt sorrow for the loss of a good athlete. Then, I thought of the fun of that Super Bowl Party. Friends I enjoyed being with but never see any more. The excitment of a little boy in the floppy shirt watching the spectacular game. And his tears at the dramatic ending.

Someone younger and wiser than I said, ” … when we remember celebrities we remember a part of ourselves … what they meant to us in different stages of our lives. … In our comments we talk about ourselves as much as we do them. …when a celebrity dies we confront our own mortality.”

By 8:00 pm on the day Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died, two major television networks had put together a one hour special on each of them.  I watched, occasionally switching between the two channels and finally settling on the female anchor I liked best.  After the shows were over, I said to myself, “Well done. Now I’ve seen it, I don’t need to see any more.”  I determined to not watch the junk reporting and speculation that inevitably follows the death of a famous personality.

Since that night I have made a concerted effort to avoid any tabloid-type stories on either of these celebrities. I change stations at the mention of either name. (I had already taken this step with Jon and Kate months ago.) Consequently, I have not seen an entire broadcast of the national news in over a week. And I almost missed an important event that took place in Washington, D.C.  I read in the newspaper that the House of Representatives passed the climate change bill. After years of apathy, procrastination and denial it looks like we’re finally taking steps to protect and perhaps restore our planet.

Our nation’s environment has been in trouble before.  In the 1930s, improper farming had damaged the land resulting in the Dirty Thirties. Inches of topsoil were lost as the sweeping winds created dust storms that traveled across several states. There were debates about whether anything could be done to reverse the situation and repair the land. Soil conservation legislation met with opposition but finally passed and the success of the efforts were seen in only a few years. 

I find hope in these words from the Old Testament: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2Chronicles 7:14)  What a promise!