The Long Road

"Life in its lowest terms is a matter of passing the time." -Randolf Bourne (1916) Randolf Bourne (1886-1918) was one of the "young radicals" during the WWI era. He was classically educated and an insider to the intelligentsia. He was critical of American involvement in WWI and cited, "war is the health of the state" regarding the financial connections to creating wars and elongating wars. Today's...

My master's thesis was on "Mental Skills Training for Youth Sport Coaches, Athletes, and Parents." I share this to help adults help children have the best developmental experience possible. Youth sports was a positive influence on my life as an adult, and as a youth sports coach, I know the kids really need positive team experiences that build sportsmanship, citizenship, discipline, character, and...

"...the play impulse is too irrepressible to be denied." -Jane Addams Chicago has a long history of industry and immigration--it also has a long history of gang violence going back to the mid-1800s. Jane Addams was a very prominent person in Chicago who operated the Hull House for inner-city youth. She basically helped these inner-city children to learn through classical education and the arts in...

A few comments about the deep joy of being the very first X-Country coach for some of my new 3rd grade distance runners this summer. The psychology is very important plus monitoring them for safety in the heat and exertion areas too. I hope they reflect back someday on their early running days and smile. :)

Are we doing more harm than good with American youth sports? Many programs are actually doing more harm. Our kids would literally be better off NOT playing organized sports the way some of these programs are being conducted. Here are some facts on psychological research and history regarding youth sports that should be helpful. *Photo Credit: Richard Olsen Negatives, Box 001, Image 0007-CA Women B...

Hands are critically important for brain development--but the use of large muscle activities that involve legs, arms, shoulders, etc. are also mandatory for the development of young children--including health and wholesome living! Here's an interesting view of the debate between large vs. small muscles in schools and recreation. *Source: "Recreation and the Total Personality: An analysis of goals...

A collection of personal and national topics this episode from coaching youth XC to Jason Aldean's song controversy and back to post-WWII history of leisure, re-creation , and democracy. Reference: "Recreation and the Total Personality" by S.R. Slavson (1946)

*Language warning on this show! We are being told that the US munitions supply is so low that it can take up to 18 years to replenish some of it. I'm calling BS and citing the real America as evidence. At the beginning of WWII, America went from no ammunition industry after WWI to creating the " Arsenal of Democracy" that not only supplied US forces in WWII but also supplied the allies. Let's get...

As promised, here is my summary and overview of the American College of Sports Medicine keynote presentation I did this past June in Denver, CO. It was a great experience with an interesting backstory to how I got there and what I observed. It's a long road...keep traveling and keep learning.

There is something "new" trending with our young people called "Bed Rotting." It's where our youth stay in bed for days on end looping on Netflix or TikTok videos, etc. It's actually nothing new although the modern tech in bed is new. In the late 1800s, a neuropsychic condition developed--people tried to cure it with more bed rest--it backfired. People then realized what people needed to heal them...

There was a very famous questionnaire commissioned by the Saturday Evening Post in the late 1950s to seek "The Secrets of Long Life." Gallop Poll conducted the study and put together a 24-page 221-question survey on diet, health, birthplace, climate, and heredity. The subjects were all 95 or older. Here's a summary of foods, fluid intake, tobacco use, health, body size, physical activity, religion...

We have a masculinity crisis in America! Guess what? It's nothing new because we have had many masculinity crises in modern history. In today's show, I read you three of my newspaper articles that are all related to the Muscular Christianity movement and this problem of having men who are overly feminized. Weekly, I write a community health article for our local rural newspaper, so some of these a...

There is a story about Abe Lincoln who said if he had hours to cut down a tree--he would spend a lot of time sharpening his axe. It got me thinking about the lack of proper sharpening in my life from working "too much" and NOT resting enough. Here I share some self-criticism in hopes to help some of you not make the same mistakes so you can improve the quality and production of your lives.

I heard something on the radio that reminded me of this very important concept I learned decades ago relating to the final act of decay as our bodies prepare to die...the "compression" of morbidity . Learning about this really changed my perspective and opened my eyes to seeing the world differently. I hope it helps you too. *Photo Credit: "Cankles" by Ron Jones

Following the Crash of 1929 and into the Great Depression of the 1930s, the US Government began involvement with "prehabilitation camps" that sought to make the American males fitter following WWI. Spinning around this movement was the Civilian Conservation Corps program--the CCC. Men could sign up for the CCC for one full year and get room, board, plenty of good food (which was hard to find in th...

The Climate Communists now want to outlaw wood-fired pizzas in NYC. Forget the ban on flames--let's fire it up on this show! (Note language disclaimer this episode) Yet more! Russia in the news, real stories from Kalifornia when they banned surfing and skating (your pizzas are next in line on the firing squad NY), deportation camps in South America videos and reports coming out now about the US be...

Here are some latest updates on the US state of military UNreadiness. I go over current rejection rates and injury issues within the first few months of training with Army recruits. Points made on the history of PE and quality of movement focus from "classical PE training" vs. current physical "illiteracy" with our 18-29-year-olds. *Sources: "Study finds out-of-shape recruits cost Army millions as...

Here are some current updates on the savage storm that hit the Tulsa area around 12:30 AM this last Sunday. The OK Corral did well despite branches and limbs being flung all over our property. We never lost power, but up to 200,000 in the Tulsa area lost power, and some will not get power until this Saturday afternoon with the heat index climbing to 90-95 degrees tomorrow. Preparation came to mind...

"In developing knowledge men must collaborate with their ancestors." -Walter Lippman In 1940, Walter Lippman delivered the following speech entitled, "The State of Education in this Troubled Age: A Sweeping Indictment of Modern Schools and Colleges" at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Lippman was one of his era's great...

"The very success of previous civilizations has always proved to be the cause of their downfall." -George Barton Cutten On December 26, 1940, George Barton Cutten, President of Colgate University, delivered his speech, "Democracy is not a Gratuity; It is a Conquest" at America's Town Meeting of the Air in Miami, Florida. Here's the speech with a few context clues added. Think about it. *Source: ht...

Here is another share of a segment of public relations history, social psychology, and propaganda. This idea of "diversity" to get away from a totalitarian "monolithic unity of group think" started in the early 1960s. The idea was to get away from controlled media by government overreach , yet that punted ball was returned right into our own end zone! *Source: "PR!: A Social History of Spin" by St...

Sometimes in life, you hit a situation that requires a full STOP . Your original plans or existing thoughts fly out the window. Yesterday afternoon marked the beginning of a full stop for me...and many others in my community.

Back in the mid-1990s, I was in a really hard place where I was going to college part-time but could not yet afford to go full-time. This time was absolutely agonizing and miserable because I was SO READY to move forward but was still stuck in a hard place for a while--then I took one small action to mark this important moment along my life's timeline that still motivates me today to keep going fo...

Most of what is on the news is actually created for the purpose of controlling people. Sound like a conspiracy theory? Think again because this admission came from the father of modern propaganda and public relations Edward Bernays who was voted as one of the most influential people of the 20th Century. Here are a few shares on how most news is indeed "created" and what is being done behind the sc...

I noticed an advertisement on the back of my magazine for some new shoes by Skechers. The catch lines were, "No Bending Over. No Touching Shoes." I get why they are making and marketing these shoes--Americans do not move well especially as they age, but where does this philosophy of living end? The promotion of rigidity and being LESS mobile does not sound like a good idea! Here are some quick tho...