open ahos head

where thoughts are worth more than the paper they are printed on... until you print them

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Location: Mayberry, North Carolina, United States

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10.28.2004

astonishing




It wasn't supposed to happen this way...
-The Red Sox were supposed to lose after being down 3 games to 0 to the Yankees.
-They were supposed to rip our hearts out at the end of the ALCS after stringing us along for an extra four days.
-The Cardinals were supposed to make better pitches and hit the ball better than they did (and they surely could have).
-No one is supposed to sweep the World Series, it is the two best teams.
-The Sox are supposed to make it stressful for us.
-The Cards were supposed to win their home games.
-Manny was supposed to be released last winter.
-D. Lowe was not supposed to pitch.
-You are not supposed to look that much like Jesus.(or the Jesus white people drew in Sunday school in the 50's)
-And the 18 years I have been a baseball and a reduces fan didn't prepare me for them winning it all. I still expected that the Cards might come back, you know it has happened before, pretty recently as a matter of fact.

-BUT-

It happened, and the Red Sox won, they had the best team and won the most games, and by winning 8 in a row, they won the most postseason games in a row ever. They also are now forever a footnote since they came back from the 3-0 deficit. I am very happy for the team and happy as a fan. Every teams fanbase should have the priviledge and joy of experiencing their teams victory.

I am sorry it cannot be your team this year, but I am glad it is mine. And the thing I think might have turned the tide was an innocent night in May, May 25th to be exact, when the Ahos sat along the third base side in a obstucted view seat in Fenway Park. Kurt Schilling won the game that night as the Sox outscored the A's 12-2. Manny hit one off the monster and Bellhorne hit one out. It was freaking cold (43degrees at game time) and one of the greatest sporting experiences of my life. Right up there with Duke/Carolina at Cameron Indoor, the Caronlina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Michael Johnson breaking the 200m world record in the 96 Olympics. I have been lucky to have seen all this stuff and am lucky to have been a RedSox fan so I can now celebrate with them this year.

Thanks for reading..
peace, and don't burn too much stuff if you choose to celebrate.



ps. some guys are not supposed to have corn rows, (bronson.)












:)

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10.27.2004

theme for the day

Today's theme was humility. It is never something you pick out for a day, rather it is a theme that emerges through the events of particular day. Today, I chose to embrace it especially since I knew the Sox had game three tonight and I might get really humbled by the Cardinals.

But, humility emerged as something I should think about and live out today, so I tried and I hope it went well for everyone else.

Finally, though, as I realized that this was going to be something I would have to deal with today, I was reminded of my favorite humility story, here it is:

A very good friend of mine was invited to be a part of the Mr Collins Hall Pageant when we were freshman at Baylor (Spring of 96). He was nominated by a great hall of girls and performed extremely well. As a pledge class we were all proud of him and glad to spend the evening at Collins Hall with some girls instead of returning Scarface to Love Video in Lorena. (Which we did do for Jason Smith and his roommates at one point, and it definitely was Scarface, not something else).

But back to humility. In the finals of the competitions was the conversation portion of the pageant. He was asked questions as was his opponent, who we will call the "Cheeze-ball." His final question was "what is one of your best qualities?"

My friend thought for a few seconds, and then, with the deepest, most honest sincerity possible, he said: "I'm humble."

This was a brilliant move and an honest and true statement about himself. He was humble and the best thing he could do for himself was to not talk about it but let it show through in his life. It was also brilliant because the other guy said something like "I have nice eyes and I get my hair cut often." This meant that "Cheeze-ball" would win the Mr Collins Hall pageant and my friend would be lost in oblivion as only the runner-up, which was the first best place to be. No one really wanted to go down as the winner except for the big cheeze.

My friend reads this blog and can reveal himself if he wants to. I wont tell here though.

And finally, How would I have answered the question: I can tell a really funny story, really poorly.

thanks for reading

PS.
I am really excited that the Red Sox are now only one game from their first title in 86 years. I know as good as anyone that it is not over yet, but we really are close. I am only disappointed that it means that my friend Tom's (Not in Mr Collins Hall) team will have to be the team on the other side. He is a true fan as well and the Cards are a great team with great players and had a phenomenal year. And if I cant have Jesus in centerfield, I would want Jim Edmunds.

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10.25.2004

new horizons

I am in fear that I may have spoken too loudly or too soon in my last post. I dont want to jinx anyone so I will watch faithfully from the correct seat in my living room and watch. I will watch with the sox fan mix of hope and pessimism that we carry around. Atleast it is Yankee fan saying, "wait til next year."

In the mean time I am passing time (procrastinating) with my guitar in hand while I avoid watching You've Got Mail, which is what my wife is watching while she works. The problem is that I am supposed to learn barre chords this week. I am having a really hard time with them. They are like speed bumps. In some parking lots, you can avoid them, but sooner or later, you are gonna have to deal with them. So, this week as I struggle with Dylan's Tangled up in Blue and Dave Matthew's Grey Street, I am intentionally passing over the bar chords. Wish me luck, I am hoping for a good week all the way around.

Peace






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10.21.2004

....

There are times in life when you do not know what to say. Often these words point us towards times of tragedy when we must attempt to assist someone who is in shock. We ourselves will be on the side of tragic shock in life as well. This is all a part of living.
In the song Hurt, Johnny Cash, and NIN (though I dont understand the way they sing it), he speaks of hurting himself to see if he still feels. The pain is the only thing that is real.

But, tonight, my inability to speak, and my ability to feel has nothing to do with pain and suffering, unless you count the 18years I have been a suffering fan. No, tonight I am speechless and in awe becuase of what has happened in the Bronx. No team has ever come back from being three games down in the series. The Sox were not supposed to beat the evil Empire. But it happened. I am elated.



As fans we like to pick teams that win but and at 27 I have developed firm loyalties. As a Dolphins fan, I am used to not winning anything After November 1. As a Duke fan, I always have the same team remianing after the 63 games of the NCAA tournament. As a Carolina Hurricanes hockey fan, I am ok with the reality that we may not come close to the Stanley Cup Finals for a long, long time (especially if we dont get hockey back). And as a Red Sox fan, I am used to not being able to finish the season with a win. But this year could be different.



I expect the National league team to be stronger, fresher, and looser, but I will keep hope. I will hope that we can beat Clemons and his latest team and stomp the curse. I am hopeful that we can beat the Yankees of the NL, the Cardinals. But mostly, I am excited that my team will be the first to have achieved an against the wall sweep. Winning four in a row after three losses is a sweep of sorts. Not the kind of sweep my nerves and sleep pattern likes, but it is a SoxSweep. The first and possibly the last any of us will ever see.




I only wanted to establish my allegiances and I have typed alot. That is what happens when I type after midnight. I will go now. Later I may write about how the Red Sox are God's team, if God has a team. And my thesis doesnt necessarily mean that we win everytime. For now, I am leaving, thanks for reading, sorry if you are dumber now.
peace


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10.15.2004

funny

on a lighter note today. If anyone wants a quick laugh about politics, click the link below. It is regarding our friends in Florida and is Kerry-friendly. It will only take a second.
Happy blogging

Aho

http://wearabledissent.com/101/floridaballot.html

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10.14.2004

Communicate

In an effort to better communicate with people and integrate my world, I have gotten a screen name for an aol im account. My screenname is chrisdukegrad. I don't really know how all of this works, but I think you can add me to your buddy list and if I know your screen name, can do the same.

Maybe those of you who have real jobs and need an afternoon distraction can look me up. I sometimes work.


Debate
I hope everyone enjoyed the debate last night. It amazes me how two people can completely talk past each other and still disagree. Certainly there are stark differences between these two candidates but it is unfortunate that these two speak such different languages that many will miss the other candidate's point.

I agree with both on some issues, but what I find unfortunate is that many undecided voters might vote for Bush because he would be a cool guy to sit on the porch with and have a beer (I keep hearing this over and over). I recently heard John Stewart say that he would like for a for someone to run on the platform that "they have been preparing their whole life for this job, That is what makes me more qualified." He wants our political system to no longer be dummed down by us favoring the cool guy over the better leader.
I too would like to sit on the porch with George or take a bike ride through the country with John, but I don't want to decide who to vote for based on which would be the better conversation.

Sports, Finally
Maybe I should have saved these thoughts for a few days worth of Blogs, but I am on a roll with my typing. I am typically a Miami Dolphins Fan, but that really sucks this year. But Football season is interesting becuase I have joined an online fantasy football league. My team is "the funk nasty" and we have had two tough weeks (ie. lost to a team with peyton manning the week he threw for 5 touchdowns) but we are going to make a great push. Trouble is, my rooting is now divided across the league. Donovan McNabb is my QB and Sean Alexander is my RB. Patriots are my Defense. There are lots of interest conflicts here. But it is fun.

Finally, as a Red Sox fan, the last two nights have been hard. I watch the lastfew innings each night and hope against hope that this year might be different. Probably wont be. God's team doesn't always win and actually lost pretty bad for a little while in Palestine about 2000 years ago. I hope, that as Red Sox fans, we are enduring the longest Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday ever. Redemption will come for the Sox, I hope.

Peace to you all, thanks for reading.
Chris

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10.13.2004

Coming back around

I knew it had been a while since I blogged, but I did not realize it had been more than a month. I have actually been pretty busy since then, especially for someone who has a part time job. On the weeks when I was not out of town, I tried to stay really busy with work at church. But speaking of being out of town, I have spent a week in Atlanta, Ga for the emergent conversation with Walter Brueggemann, A week in Upper Michigan with family, and a weekend in Farmville VA for my high school buddy's wedding. That really only leaves two open weeks since I last blogged and sometimes I dont want to blog, sometimes I cant blog about things on my mind becuase they are not blog material, and sometimes, I just surfed instead of investing thought and energy.

Nonetheless, I am back and looking to make a meaningful push towards Christmas with my blogs. I have been trying to read more. I recently finished Johnny Cash's autobio and am working on the Lance Armstrong autobio from a few years ago. It is pretty much brain candy and quick reading, but it is enjoyable. I have also begun work with Cornel West's Democracy Matters. A timely critique of America's current political situation.

I have watched the debates, plan to watch or listen tonight, and am a bit tired of these two guys repeating the same things to each other and really them just talking past each other. I wonder how much they would reall agree upon if they actually spoke the same language, and I am not talking about english.

Well, that is all for now. Thanks for reading this update, comment and lets talk again soon.
peace,
aho

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