Stop and Smell the People
This is actually a follow-up to an earlier story you may have seen right here in this column. It started at a high school football game… and now little Jonah’s dream will take him all the way to Carolina Panthers Stadium.
We have great news! Stop and Smell the People has a sponsor! It’s a company that believes we all can use a little relief from a cynical world! And the owner is willing to put his money behind that belief!
Andy Bovender, our very first sponsor!
Let me introduce you to Andy Bovender of The Bovender Real Estate Team.
For those of you who have been reading SASTP since May… you know how the story started… with a layoff. Mine.
My wife Anna had two reactions:
1) Start your own website ASAP. “You don’t want to leave your job and your viewers. They are a part of our life!”
2) Call Andy and put the house up for sale. We both knew it was likely a move was in our future. But to tell you the truth, she was kind of unemotional about the house I poured myself into for seven years. When the you-know-what hits the fan, she’s like a drill sergeant… in a good way… mostly.
And so, in the worst real estate market in our lifetime, Andy Bovender came over, sat on our couch and listened to us for 20 minutes. When we were done he said a number. The number was what he thought the house would sell for. We were encouraged because the number he came up with was $15,000 more than it appraised for just eight months earlier. And in a couple months Andy sold our house for that number exactly. True Story.
The man is an expert on the Charlotte area housing market and has an undeniable instinct for it.
What we didn’t know was that Andy Bovender was already part of the SASTP Nation. He was following along. Over the
SOLD!
course of selling our house we talked with him about the future of this website, where we wanted to see it go and how to get there. Andy’s response? “I’m in! I’ll be a sponsor.”
We had dinner the other night and I asked him why he wanted to do this… Andy’s answer was simple and humbling, “At the end of the day you have to spend your money on something you believe in.”
He’s not just saying that. Andy knows a thing or two about believing in something. In fact, it was his dream to play in the big leagues – baseball’s big leagues. He played professional… Continue reading ‘Our First Sponsor: The Bovender Team’
Michael Vick is not a genius. He’s a gifted athlete shaped by his culture. A man who had no sense of purpose. He did whatever those around him did. And that included dog fighting and torturing dogs to death.
What he did is heinous, beyond cruel and criminal. It makes my blood boil. I’m a dog lover.
But I’m also a sinner. I have faith and belief in God… and I fail my beliefs on a daily basis. Every day I need compassion and mercy. Every single day.
I don’t know if Mike Vick has seen the light. All sorts of people have said that and it wasn’t true. I’ve said it when it wasn’t true. The only way we will know is by his actions. And I believe he deserves the opportunity to prove he has changed. If it turns out he hasn’t, than he’ll have hell to pay. But if he really has changed, he has experienced what I consider the greatest gift any human can… redemption.
I will not boo Michael Vick on the football field today. He did his time. Now he deserves a chance to prove what kind of man he wants to be. Will he slip back into the slug he was? Maybe. Is he just saying all the right things because he was coached up and he knew it was his path back to millions of dollars? Maybe.
But I don’t know what is in Michael Vick’s heart until I see his actions. ”Time will tell” is a cliche for a reason. Because time reveals all truth.
I believe in second chances, because when I needed one, I got one. I changed and grew up and became a better more “conscious” man. I live intentionally now… not by habit. I wish the same thing for anyone else. Even Michael Vick.
MR
A friend just sent me an e-mail saying how excited he is about the NFL starting tonight. I stared at my computer screen thinking… “What kind of man am I that I don’t know this?” A tear rolled down my cheek. “Am I crying?” What next? Shirts that match my socks? Umbrella drinks? Grey’s Anatomy?
Before my #2 son was born in March I knew all things NFL. Now I spend my days compiling lists of questions for our pediatrician and studying infant mortality rates of the Swine Flu. We were in the baby doctor’s office Wednesday for Crowley’s 6-month shots and check up. They were handing out particle masks to anyone with a child who had a fever above 100.
I took my son and marched right back out the door and waited in the hall. Until a mom and her little boy, both wearing masks, walked out to join me. AAAAAAAAAAH!
I have issues.
Among them, I didn’t know the NFL season was starting tonight? What the? I should have had this date circled on my Calendar months ago. I have crossed over a line somewhere. I might as well be sitting at a salon getting a pedicure talking about whether or not I think Ellen will do a good job replacing Paula on American Idol. ‘WHY DO I KNOW ELLEN IS REPLACING PAULA AND NOT THAT THE NFL STARTS TONIGHT?”
What has happened to me? And why am I calling them by their first names only, like we’re friends?
I’m going to go out to my garage and organize my tools. Grrrr… (I hope I have tissues out there.) MR
Sat down to write a mind blowing critique on health care “debate” and then my brother-in-law mentioned the Panthers were on.
Apparently I’d rather watch my team lose in a poorly played pre-season football game. I’m just so freakin’ glad it’s football season again.
Okay, it’s bed time. Go football! …MR
There is an astonishing story emerging right now in France. Two stories actually. The human drama unfolding is like a Hollywood script: The aging ex-champ comes out of retirement to to take on the younger, stronger, faster current champ. But how about a twist not even Hollywood could dream up? The younger champ is the retired champ’s brother! Let me explain.
If you’ve never watched the “Tour de France” this would be the year to tune in. If you used to watch when Lance Armstrong was on his 7-year romp but lost interest the last three years, break out your yellow wrist band. (I know many of you SASTP readers are not cycling fans. Try just this once to get into it. Push yourself. You won’t be sorry.)
This is far and away the most interesting tour in years. Maybe the most interesting in decades. The two big stories are as follows: 1. A 37-year-old Armstrong (ancient by cycling standards) who was expected to be an “also ran” this year, is only a few seconds from the lead. Story #2. The current champ and the man who is favored to win again this year, 26-year-old athletic superstud Alberto Contador, is on Lance’s team! The legend and the new champ are on the same team? WHAAAAAAT? Unheard of. (So you know that team is called Astana.) The battle within Armstrong’s team is fascinating. Lance has even admitted to the media there’s quite a bit of tension on the team.
As the Tour winds down to the brutal ride through the Alps who will attack and who will crack? Many experts (including Armstrong) think the three-week race won’t be decided until the second to the last day on what Armstrong calls the hardest climb ever in the Tour. Does the older, wiser Armstrong have a surprise for everyone? Or will he crack on the crushing roads of the Alps?
And who will the rest of the team follow? The younger, more powerful current champ and leader of team Astana or the legend and wily old veteran. Or will Armstrong and Contador beat each other up so a third rider from another team can squeeze by them for a shocking upset?
If you don’t have the “Versus” TV channel you can do what I do, log on to Versus.com and click on “Tour de France” and then click “Watch Live” and then choose the FREE option. Voila! Live continuous coverage with great play-by-play that explains all the nuances for beginners.
You can thank me later… MR