Remembering Dean Smith

In memory of Dean Smith, who passed away February 7, 2015, may your skies always be Carolina Blue.

If you make every game a life and death proposition, you're going to have problems. For one thing, you'll be dead a lot. - Dean Smith

What to do with a mistake - recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.
- Dean Smith


Dean Smith was a legend, not only at UNC, or in the ACC, he was a basketball icon.  He was not only a master of the game, but a caring leader, well loved by his players. 

“All of that is credited to him,” Michael Jordan once said of his career. “It never would have happened without Coach Smith.”

“I can’t put his impact on me into words,” Phil Ford said of Smith. “I don’t know where I’d be without him in my life. He’s been such an influence on me, and a friend and a brother and a father figure…Before I chose North Carolina, I felt that Coach Smith would be there for me my entire life. I was right.”

"Coach Smith was one of the most influential people in my life, and his passing brings me great sadness. However, he was a great man and someone I loved and respected greatly, and I celebrate the fact that I knew him and had him in my life for as long as I did." Mitch Kupchak, Lakers General Manager and former UNC player.

Not only was he loved by his players, he was admired and respected by the coaches he faced on the court.

Mike Krzyzewski on Dean Smith's passing: "We have lost a man who cannot be replaced." Coach K went on to say "...his greatest gift was his unique ability to teach what it takes to become a good man. That was easy for him to do because he was a great man himself."

Over the years I probably watched hundreds or even thousands of hours of basketball, listening to it on the radio when the game was not televised. I shouted for joy when they won and fell silent when they lost.  Most years there were more wins than losses, and I clearly remember the 1982 championship game.  I was seated on the floor in front of the TV with a rolled up newspaper in my hands.  I alternated between barely breathing and shouting the house down.  When the final buzzer sounded, shredded paper rained down around me.

Another game that stands out is the 1974 game between Duke and Carolina.  UNC was 8 points down with 17 seconds left on the clock, and they won the game.  Here is a clip of that fantastic finish.

If you can't see the video, click here.

Although I don't follow college basketball like I used to, I am still a Carolina fan at heart, and this is, by far, the Tarheels' greatest loss.


Read more about Dean Smith, the man and the coach.




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Quote of the Week

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

- Neale Donald Walsch

Draw a small circle on a piece of paper.  This represents the defense, or your comfort zone. Then draw a larger circle. This represents the offense, or all the amazing things you'd like to try but aren't comfortable with. See the disconnect?  Let's merge those two circles and that intersection is your new end zone, or goal.

You don't want to be left sitting on the sideline, so whether it's trying something new, conquering a fear by facing it, or just going to a Super Bowl party when you know zero about football, get out there and stretch your territory. Sure, you may fumble or even drop the ball, but you will still be a champ because you tackled something new or daunting.

Congratulations to the New England Patriots on last night's Super Bowl victory.


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Spotlight on Sophie

This is the final day of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Please join me as we wrap up a month of reading, writing and discovery. Today's topic is And then there was one.

And then there was one...and she thinks she's the queen of the house.

For over 20 years we have had two or more cats, but after the passing Rosie and Dood within a year of each other, Sophie now has the spotlight.

She loves boxes

One man's trash is another man's treasure.  Sophie had been waiting a long time for a home when we found her.  She's been with us for over seven years.

What cat doesn't love a basket of fresh laundry?

When we first met her, she was called Paris. It looks like she loves to pose for the camera, but really she does this just because she wants to.

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Steamed

This is day 19 of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Please join me as we share a month of reading, writing and discovery. Today's topic is Steamed.

Image Source: Bkt Tinggi BBQ

Steamed seafood is a favorite of mine.  There was a place on the beach in Florida that we used to go to for their steamed mussels. It was across the street from the Gulf, perched on the bank of the intracoastal. The view was fantastic and the mussels were equally as good.

We would sit by the window and order a bowl of mussels and a couple glasses of chardonnay.  This was accompanied by their delicious bread and butter. Yum! 

Sadly they closed, and even though they reopened a few years later in another location, it was not the same. I continue to order mussels but I haven't found any to compare to those.

On another note, I was a little steamed yesterday when a bottle of olive oil slipped through an opening in my cart and broke at my feet, dousing my shoes and jeans.  Ugh!

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Imagine That!

This is day 18 of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Please join me as we share a month of reading, writing and discovery. Today's topic is Imagine that...

Originally published November 15, 2009, I tweaked it for today's challenge post.

Image Source: Pixabay

Imagine that we could vacation on the moon. I heard recently that there is water on the moon.  Now why it has taken NASA and a whole host of scientists 40 years to discover this, I'm not sure.  But what a breakthrough.  This could be the resort of the future, the Lunar Riveria.

Let's think about this.  We need transportation, shuttle pilots, flight attendants, gourmet food service and in-flight movies, which means more shuttles, larger accommodations, more pilots (read astronauts) and flight attendants. To build the resort, we need engineers, architects and plumbers trained in minimal gravity design...think toilets.   We don't want that stuff flowing upstream now do we?

As for electricity, how would we produce that in space.  Burn coal?  Can't.  Fire won't burn without oxygen.  Besides we've already polluted one planet.  Let's hope we've learned something.  As far as I know, there is no wind on the moon, so wind-generated power is not an option.  I know, how about giant solar panels so we can capture solar energy and store it.  If you can store solar-heated water, and power lights and radios, there should be a way to power other things.  This is not new technology.  The concept of solar energy has been around for many years.  As a child I had a solar powered radio - actually I still have it, and it still works.  However, the methods of collecting it, storing it and using it have surely improved over the years.

All of these measures are of little consequence, if we cannot breathe.  This brings us to greatest obstacle - how do we get oxygen in adequate supply for survival?  Possibly large tanks of oxygen and a distribution system?  Too bad we can't pipe it in like natural gas. Picture that pipeline!  To go outside one would need to don a space suit in order to survive the lack of air pressure.  Otherwise all the liquid in your body would boil, and what happens next would not be pretty.  There is an up side to this.  The fashion designers would all be competing to come up with the hottest new line of space apparel. Good-bye itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini.  I guess space age swim suits would kinda take the fun out of things - at least for the guys!  That's a argument for indoor swimming pools - heated with the solar panels, especially given that there is an approximate 500 degree swing in temperatures on the moon's surface.  Bottom line is step foot outside without protective gear and you're dead!

At this point I am thinking we need a much larger shuttle system involving cargo transports for the building materials, oxygen tanks, solar panels and storage units, contractors, etc. and that is just to provide life-sustaining structures.  

Speaking of life-sustaining measures, what about food? In such extreme conditions, crops can't be grown or or livestock raised, so all food would have to be transported from earth until we can figure out climate controlled farming.  This would definitely require more transports and create more jobs.

This is just the beginning... Financially speaking, your Lunar Riveria getaway will make a Hawaiian vacation seem like a trip to Walmart, and cause your credit cards to expire on the spot.  So, who's paying for this adventure?  There are many questions unanswered...after all we just discovered that there is water on the moon.

Also see A Lunar Vacation, Part 2.

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