ELEGANT CRYSTAL RIVER!

There are many beautiful rivers in my home state of Wisconsin, but one that has special meaning and loveliness is the Crystal River, near the small town of Waupaca, Wisconsin.  It’s also the region where my childhood friend lived until her tragic death of leukemia at age 13, over 50 years ago.  In remembering her, I’d like to share a winter's photo of the Crystal River and a beautiful location, as well as a poem I wrote about the majestic river over ten years ago.

MAJESTIC RIVER, EVER CHANGING UPON THE STREAM OF TIME,

NOT UNLIKE THE FRAGILE, UNPREDICTABLE COURSE OF HUMAN LIFE.

ELEGANT CRYSTAL RIVER, GLIDING GRACEFULLY ‘ROUND THE BEND.

TO EACH OF US, WHAT MAGICAL, MYSTICAL TALES DO YOU NATURALLY PORTEND?

I SEE IN YOU REFLECTIONS OF LIFE—

ONE MOMENT SUBLIMELY SURREAL,

THE NEXT MOMENT PERILOUSLY SWIRLING TOWARDS THE INFINITENESS OF TIME.

HOW MATCHED WE ARE IN MOVEMENT, AND IN SPIRIT.

HOW VAST AND DEEP OUR POTENTIAL.

MAJESTIC RIVER, EVER CHANGING UPON THE STREAM OF TIME.

"WE LOVED EACH OTHER. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT." (Paul Hornung, former Packers Great, and a Football Legend)

The Lombardi trophy, given out to the winner of the Super Bowl, represents a legendary coach and time and a standard of excellence.  Having grown up in a Wisconsin household in the 1960’s, Lombardi and his teams were a source of tremendous pride in our state and the city of Green Bay, the smallest city in the National Football League.  Vince turned the Packers into winners and champions after dismal years that we thought we would never recover from.  He was a fascinating man in so many ways, and when the Lombardi trophy is hoisted high, regardless of who wins it, I always think of the legendary coach and hero.  I thought that if I wanted to know more about him and the trophy that bears his name, others surely would as well.

Vince Lombardi grew up in Brooklyn, a devout Catholic who played at Fordham University.  He was a member of the “Seven Blocks of Granite.”  He coached football in high school, college, and the pros.  He became an assistant at West Point and was eventually hired to be a Giants offensive assistant.  He wanted to become the New York Giants head coach, but when that didn’t happen, he accepted the Green Bay head coaching job offered to him in 1958.  In those days the team was terrible and in disarray.  Paul Hornung, the Packers halfback and future Hall of Famer said about that time, “Vince changed my life, and he came along at just the right time.  My first two years with the Packers were so unhappy and unsatisfactory that I was ready to quit and do something else.  I needed a sense of purpose and direction in my life to keep me from drifting, and that’s exactly what Lombardi gave me.”  He went on to say, “All of us who were touched by Lombardi were defined by him.  He taught us how to win, and the winning gave us an identity that each of us has carried through life.  After all these years, he still lives in the hearts of all of us.” 

During Lombardi’s time during the 60’s, the Packers won five NFL championships and two Super Bowls.  There was a definite mystique about Lombardi and his teams. Hornung said, “Because of Lombardi, our teams had a sense of closeness that enabled us to beat teams with more raw talent.  We loved each other.  It’s as simple as that.”  For many outsiders, Lombardi was the tough disciplinarian who wanted to win at any cost.  For those players and coaches who knew him best, that was an unfair assessment.  Vince was tough and harsh at times, but more than anything, he wanted his players to work harder than anyone, believe in themselves and their teammates, and pursue excellence.  As Willie Davis, an outstanding defensive lineman for the Packers once said, “He made me believe I could do anything.  I would have gone through hellfire for that man.” Jerry Kramer, the famous offensive guard for the Packers perhaps summed him up best when he said, “What they don’t know is that he was a very, very sensitive man. He could tear you apart, but he also had a knack of saying or doing just the right thing to bring you back up and make you believe you could be a lot better than you really were.”

After Lombardi’s second Super Bowl victory in 1967, he retired and became the Packers general manager.  But that didn’t last long—Lombardi missed coaching and took the Washington Redskins coaching job in 1969.  In just one year he was able to turn the Redskins around, but then he was diagnosed with cancer and died September 3, 1970 at the age of 57.  For the fans everywhere who revered him and the players who gave every ounce of effort for him, it seemed impossible that Lombardi, the giant, the legend was gone.  His son, Vince Jr. said, “Being a coach wasn’t enough for my dad.  He had to be a teacher.  He had to be a molder of men.”

Even though my team, the Packers were just eliminated from playoff contention, I will watch proudly as the Super Bowl winning team celebrates their achievement by holding high the most accomplished prize in American sports—the Lombardi trophy. I've included some of Vince Lombardi’s most famous and memorable quotes:

            “Football is like life—it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority.”

            “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

            “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can achieve excellence.”

            “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

            “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-time thing.  You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately, so is losing.”

            And just a few interesting facts about the Super Bowl itself.  Whatever team carries home that trophy will be able to display it permanently since a new one is made every year.  To this point, the top five teams with the most Super Bowl trophies are:  Pittsburgh Steelers 6, Dallas 5, San Francisco 5, Green Bay 4, and the New York Giants 4.  San Francisco has the best record in the Super Bowl—5 wins and 0 losses. 

"IF YOU DON'T TRY AS HARD AS YOU CAN . . ."

Roberto Clemente, an exceptional Major League baseball player for eighteen years from 1955-1972 once said, “If you don’t try as hard as you can, you are wasting your life.” Roberto never stopped trying to be the best possible professional baseball player he could, but more importantly, he did everything he could to improve the lives of people around the world who needed help, especially in his native Puerto Rico and Latin America. He never forgot what it was like to be poor and in need.

Roberto was born in 1934 and grew up loving the game of baseball.  His early bat and glove were made from a tree branch and coffee sack.  He had no money—just a love for the sport of baseball and amazing determination.  Eventually that desire and phenomenal skill brought him to his first Major League team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.  At the time he arrived in Pittsburgh in 1955, the Pirates had a losing record.  That didn’t last for long!  He made the city proud again.

The superstar from Puerto Rico was one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived.  I remember watching him on television many times as he played my favorite team, the Milwaukee Braves.  By the time his life tragically ended in a plane crash in 1972, Roberto had helped Pittsburgh win two World Series titles against the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles and been named Most Valuable Player in the 1971 World Series.  He batted an unheard of .414 in that seven-game series, including a home run in the critical 2-1 victory in the seventh game.  The amazing thing about Roberto is that he was also a fearless right fielder.  He had such incredible determination that no right field fence was going to stop him.  His career ended with twelve Gold Gloves, 3,000 hits, fourteen All-Star appearances, and a lifetime .317 batting average.  He led the National League in batting four times and on July 24, 1970 he was honored with a Roberto Clemente Night at the stadium in Pittsburgh. Many proud Puerto Ricans were in attendance.  The night also raised money for the numerous charities he generously supported.

Roberto died in a plane crash on December 31, 1972 as he was on his way to help earthquake victims in Nicaragua.  He was carrying food and supplies, which he paid for, to help survivors.  There was heavy rain, and engine failure caused his plane to crash in the ocean. 

In 1973 Roberto Clemente was voted posthumously into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He was the first Latin American player to have been so honored. 

Today there is a sports facility in Puerto Rico created so that poor children might have opportunities like Roberto.  His generous donations helped create it. 

Roberto is a hero worshipped and revered around the world.  He was an outstanding baseball player, but an even more amazing human being. He never stopped trying to make the world a better place.

ALL WORKED HARMONIOUSLY . . .

Having watched and agonized over some political turmoil during the last few days, I turned to much lighter thoughts and reading this morning. Thanks to my Great Aunt Sarah (a delightful lady), I found a diversion.  I love the stories and flowery language of the early 1900’s and I re-discovered a wonderful article from the 1917 Colby, Wisconsin Phonograph that made me laugh out loud. 

The local drugstore was having a contest during early April of that year and Aunt
Sarah won the biggest prize of all—a 1917 Ford.  Here are a few lines from that newspaper report:

Early 1900's--my hometown

 

            “Out of thirty-four contestants who entered the race, twelve stayed with it to the last and all worked harmoniously and honestly, but with lots of vim.  The race was fast and furious toward the last.  The telephone wires were kept very busy by anxious friends asking for the results of the contest.”

The phrase “all worked harmoniously” stood out at me.  That’s truly  a novel thought today, especially in politics.  Those might not have been “the good old days” nearly a century ago, but they've made me yearn for more harmonious times today.  I’m going to make a little extra effort to achieve that in my own daily life.  The New Year offers a fresh start—thank goodness!