The Long Road

W.E.B. Du Bois was a prominent Black scholar in the 1800s-1900s and one of the founding members of the NAACP. He wrote "The Souls of Black Folk" in 1903, and this book has been called one of the most important Black history books ever written by an African American. I share an excerpt from Chapter VIII where Du Bois describes in detail the living conditions and culture in the "Black Belt" of Georg...

This is show #4 on "Lotus Light" by modern dance icon and author Ruth St. Denis. "Lotus Light" was a book of poetry and illustrations published in 1932 and beautifully illustrated by her friend Ruth Harwood. Ruth St. Denis was one of the biggest names in the world of modern dance during the early 1900s, and her work still influences dancers and movement artists even today. She's one of my favorite...

Echo Park in Los Angeles has been in the national news this week because of the homeless camp being removed and subsequent protests by homeless activists. What was the actual purpose of this park when it opened in 1895? Why were American parks built in the first place? Who are they for? Let's take a look at the rich history and social psychology of parks and refocus on making them safe places of "...

Southern California was ground zero for customizing cars. After WWII, GIs returned home to California and needed to replace the dangers of war with a suitable adrenaline substitute. They began fixing up old jalopies and racing them out in the Mojave Desert. This trend led into customizing street cars too--and the hot rod era was born. "Pin-striping" was created as a way to set off your car, and a...

Jay Bryan Nash was a PhD professor at New York University and in my opinion, was the top physical educator of the 20th century. I put Nash at this level not because of his physical prowess or emphasis upon physical fitness in PE--but because of the deeper value of his work that emphasized the elevation or our overall culture "through the physical." Nash had a very classical way of teaching PE and...

In 1969, American football coaching legend Ray Eliot delivered what very well might be the greatest "football" speech of all time entitled, "The Proper State of Mind." The speech is quite moving. I encourage you to listen to it even if you are not a football fan because his speech is really not about football--it's about life. Living the BIG life. Living a life of courage, determination, character...

There was a "N-word" road rage incident right down the street from me last week. There were many factors involved that were not shown in the social media video. It compelled me to think about the proper course of action in such a scenario. Do we really need more videos to inflame, or should we act more responsibly as citizens to de-escalate the situation? What would you do? Graphic Credit: "Anger"...

Many times the simple pleasures in life are the best...the awareness and spiritual reset of just having sunshine on your sweaty skin in a cool breeze can completely change your perspective. #thelongroadshow

One of my favorite trail running areas also has a large population of elder Asian hikers. As I ran by them yesterday making an extra effort to be polite in view of the recent violence directed at Asian Americans, I started thinking about how being outside on nature trails brings out better behavior in most. Let's talk about it. #thelongroadshow

The disparity of the weight facilities of this year's NCAA March Madness is a hot topic this week, but what is the true madness going on? Why are heavy weights there on the men's side in the first place? #thelongroadshow

This is show #3 on "Lotus Light" by modern dance icon and author Ruth St. Denis. "Lotus Light" was a book of poetry and illustrations published in 1932 and beautifully illustrated by her friend Ruth Harwood. Ruth St. Denis was one of the biggest names in the world of modern dance during the early 1900s, and her work still influences dancers and movement artists even today. She's one of my favorite...

These are my personal observations of a small family owned business in Burbank, CA. I was there last night when the police and fire department showed up amidst the political firestorm over the City of Burbank demanding restaurants and certain businesses close without providing scientific proof to validate the mandates. I literally watched history in the making last night. Here's my story and their...

California is opening schools, but they won't look anything like regular schools. Students who opt for "in-person" learning will be in hybrid groups only going to school a couple of days per week for limited hours. While on campus, they must mask, distance, and many will be encased in three-side plexiglass containers. There are many serious issues here from extended mask use to hygiene and cleanin...

Most men in America used to have tools and know how to use them. Hand tools like screwdrivers, hammers, and wrenches. Power tools like saws, drills, and sanders. There are many benefits to using tools in manual arts from the utilitarian standpoint as well as to develop the brain and cognitive abilities plus it can also be a way to teach life skills and lessons of social responsibility to children...

There are so many things being ignored today that have been critically important to the development of mankind and culture. It seems so obvious to me that ignoring them will never produce a positive long-term result, yet, we continue to ignore what seems to me and a few others to be obvious. Here are some thoughts and history on: borders, business, schools, churches, music, sports, PE, and free mo...

More poetry reading from the 1932 book by Ruth St Denis entitled, "Lotus Light" as well as the reading of a letter she wrote in 1964 called, "The Prophets" which was from my special holdings library collection archives. My library archives are quite off the radar, and you're likely never to hear them unless I share...enjoy the dance and life arts of RSD again. She's worth the listen.

Obesity has been in the COVID news a lot this past week. The higher COVID death rates are being found in the countries with higher levels of obesity like in the USA. Obviously, people are drastically overweight, but what is the real problem? A lot of the problem is a lack of physical literacy that begins in early childhood. Hear me out. Start thinking--and start observing how people walk and move....

I'm happy to share some of the poetry of modern dance icon Ruth St. Denis from her amazing poetry book, "Lotus Light" which was published in 1932 and beautifully illustrated by her friend Ruth Harwood. Ruth St. Denis was one of the biggest names in the world of modern dance during the early 1900s, and her work still influences dancers and movement artists even today. She's one of my favorite peopl...

I read a book as a child that changed my life forever. The book was, "Winners Never Quit" by Phil Pepe published in 1968. It was a book written for men. It was a book about being mentally and physically tough--with grit, courage, and determination. Vince Lombardi wrote the foreward and introduction which was too good not to share. As our youth suffer today, many without sports and in-person learni...

There are many benefits to failing. Too often today, we remove the opportunity for children to fail. By making it easier for them, we actually make it harder and remove an important building block of success--the FORCE developed by failures! Here are a couple of my early educational failures that drove me to success as a scholar.

It's "World Teen Mental Wellness Day" today on March 2, 2021. I got to thinking about the mental health issues with lockdowns and children with learning disabilities and thought it would be helpful to share my own learning disability struggles in the hope to inspire a better understanding and empathy for kids that are suffering these last few months. Children with learning disabilities and their f...

I walk you through another one of my vintage physical fitness books associated with the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports. This booklet was published in 1965 and includes some amazing support comments by Presidents Nixon and Kennedy plus sport, education, and medical leaders too. I have put the booklet into public domain. You can download the PDF version here: https://archive.org/de...

In 1967, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports published an important newsletter titled, "Activities to Promote Fitness of Elementary School Age Children." The newsletter had great points, so I read the first two pages then gave context clues to their main points and some of the important history behind them. I have placed this Physical Fitness newsletter into the public domain: h...

The Czech Sokols were the best example of classical physical education since ancient Greece. In 1965, the USPS marked their 100th Anniversary in the United States with a special commemorative stamp. What was written about the Sokols and celebrated nationally with the stamp is worth commenting. I have placed my Sokol stamp archive images into public domain which can be accessed here: https://archiv...

People keep asking me, "Why aren't we doing this today?" They are asking a rational question--with the overwhelming amount of data and history on the values of being healthy and physically fit--why are we not teaching this to our children in today's American schools? Great question. I don't have the answer, but I do share a 1983 national viewpoint of the values of physical fitness by the US Postal...