Tim Eichenbrenner's Blog
July 22, 2026
The Proving Ground (Michael Connelly; 2025)
In Michael Connelly’s The Proving Ground, former defense attorney Mickey Haller, aka the Lincoln Lawyer, changes his stripes and becomes a public litigator. The case: The parents of a teenage girl, killed by her ex-boyfriend after he was told to do so by an A.I. bot, sue Tidalwaiv, the A.I. company. The boy actually becomes enamored with the A.I. posing as a jealous lover. The question at hand: Is an A.I. company responsible for the intelligence it creates and, if not, what’s to protect any of us from the power of that intelligence? That question holds true especially for children and teens, whose brains’ frontal cortexes are not fully developed.
Fans of Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer books will enjoy Mickey’s new approach to the law and will love this one!
reviewed July 2026
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July 20, 2026
Tuesday Thoughts: Dare We Dream a Possible Dream?
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
—Thomas Edison
Perhaps you, as am I, are still troubled by the statistics I cited in my June 23rd blog regarding U.S. citizens’ views of our country. Clearly, we live in a nation where a significant percentage of people don’t appreciate the blessing it is to be an American. That’s especially true for our young adults.
If there are two words that best characterize the U.S., perhaps they are “freedom” and “opportunity.” Clearly, some of us were born into circumstance much more conducive to success than others were. Some “won the lottery” simply by having responsible parents, economic advantage, and favorable living circumstances. Others were not so fortunate.
Yet there’s no denying the fact that birthright citizenship in the U.S., regardless of how and where we start, affords us a myriad of possibilities and a measure of freedom that so many people in other parts of the world could only dream of.
The American experience is replete with stories of rags to riches success. Some we know because the subject is a public figure. Many more go unknown—successfully laboring in obscurity save for those closest to them. Some examples:
• Consider two U.S. Senators from South Carolina: Tim Scott and the late Lindsey Graham. Sen. Scott was raised in severe poverty by a single mom who worked double shifts to provide for the two of them. She insisted that he place a premium on his education, and apparently she “held his feet to the fire.” Sen. Graham grew up in a single room behind his parents’ saloon/restaurant. The family of four boiled water on the stove to use for bathing. He was the first in his family to go to college. Suspend your political persuasions if you must. These stories are bigger than politics. They speak to American gumption, a pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps approach to life.
• You may begrudge Jeff’s bank account ending in zeros as long as the Amazon, or you might not think Taylor’s all that swift, but consider their stories. Bezos and his then-wife started his mammoth business by boxing books in their garage and taking them to the post office to mail. As a young teenager, Swift traveled from radio station to radio station and venue to venue, playing songs she’d written and handing out demos.
• Another, perhaps more relatable story, is that of Tony Barzar. Forty years ago, he started his blue-collar career at Costco. His nest egg now makes him what’s known as a Costco millionaire. How many other stories are there of everyday Americans who brown bag it to the job, day in and day out, for their entire work career, and are the better for it?
The common threads throughout these stories are discipline, hard work, a certain stick-to-it-ness, and the belief in one’s ability to make the most of the opportunities afforded them . . . and what country better than America makes such success possible?
Certainly not all, but many young adults suffer from a disease known as “Entitlement.” They’ve grown up soft, with things handed to them, and have no idea what hard work is, and what’s required of someone to be truly successful. When they fail, they have no idea how to rebound. No wonder they’re unhappy. Someone or something has to take the blame, so they choose to disparage our country. That’s disingenuous.
Often, the cure for that disease is a kick in the seat of the pants. When we work for things, when success comes from self-initiative, it feeds on itself and is appreciated much more.
The last existential threat to our nation was the Second World War. Few remain who fought in it. From our country’s inception through the subsequent two-hundred years, men and women were periodically called to step up and defend it. How often are those sacrifices overlooked? How easy it is to take our freedoms and opportunities for granted.
We just celebrated our country’s glorious semiquincentennial As we stand on the shoulders of those who made our lives as Americans possible, maybe we should each take a moment, look toward the heavens, and thank God for His providence; then, look down at the ground and thank Him that we’re standing on U.S. soil.
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July 6, 2026
Tuesday Thoughts: When Sports Unite Us … and Teach Us
“Sports has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.”
—Nelson Mandela, social activist and former President of South Africa
If the television ads are to be believed, my wife and I are the only two people in the world not watching the World Cup. I’ve got nothing against soccer, I just didn’t grow up with it. When I was young, if I heard the word “soccer,” I interpreted it as meaning to punch the arm of the girl who sat in front of me in school. You know: the one who made straight A’s and always broke the curve.
But there’s no denying the fact that people around the world are watching the World Cup and displaying their national colors and their civic pride for their respective countries. And I love it.
One can downplay the importance of sports until the proverbial cows come home, but there’s no denying they capture our attention in a vicarious and pleasurable way few other things can accomplish.
Witness the recent NBA champion New York Knicks. That team got on a run and blistered their way to a title for the first time in fifty-three years. Did you see the reaction of New York City citizens? A city that markets itself as a melting pot finally acted like one. Young or old, rich or poor, Democrat or Republican, black or white—none of it mattered. There was dancing in the streets . . . literally! A shared sense of pride.
Do you remember the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team’s defeat of Russia to win the gold medal? Even those of us who thought “icing” only referred to something on cakes celebrated that feat. I suspect that since that win, not one of those teammates has ever gone into a bar and paid for his drink.
Say it’s just a game or consider it silly that grownups are playing kids’ games. Advocate for the far greater importance of academic pursuit if you will (and I would), but ask yourself this: Who will be remembered longer by their classmates, Fernando Mendoza, who quarterbacked Indiana to their national football championship, or the student who graduated number one at the university? I’m not saying that’s right, it’s just the way it is.
Of course, the “elephant in the room” is the parent who places way too much emphasis on his or her child’s athletic accomplishments, sometimes at the exclusion of other activities that make for a well-rounded child. But that’s a hot topic for another day.
More importantly, and perhaps a more cogent argument, is the fact that sports are a metaphor for life. Consider the following quotes:
• “Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly.”—Shaquille O’Neal
• “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”—Michael Jordan
• “Champions keep playing until they get it right.”—Billie Jean King
• “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”—Wayne Gretzky
Notice how easy it is to apply these quotes to non-athletic events. These well-known athletes have all gone on to success outside of sports. I suspect they’ve used the same principles in their business endeavors that they did on the court or ice. Sports teach us the importance of preparation, and then teach us to win graciously and lose honorably. That alone argues for their importance, for we all win some, but lose even more often, in life.
So, when you don the red, white, and blue, tune in to the Cup, and chant, “USA, USA, USA,” do so with excitement, anticipation, and pride. Enjoy the games and the U.S.’s run.
Heck, I might even sneak a peak!
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June 22, 2026
Tuesday Thoughts: Is This the Land That We Love?
“God bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her, and guide her, through the night with a light from above.”
—from “God Bless America” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
I suspect most of you would respond “Yes” to today’s title. Sadly, not all Americans would agree. This being my last post before our nation’s 250th birthday, I want to address some articles I’ve come across.
A recent Associated Press poll of almost twenty-six hundred U.S. adults reported only twenty-five percent of them consider the U.S. to be superior to all other countries, while forty-four percent feel the U.S. is one of the world’s greatest countries.
Forty-four percent of 18- to 30-year-olds regard other countries as better than ours, while only twenty-two percent of those over age 60 feel that way. Furthermore, fifty-one percent of those polled believe the American dream no longer holds true—a number skewed by the young and those who identify as Democrats or Independents.
The Hill reported on a Quinnipiac poll of thirteen hundred U.S. adults showing twenty-two percent of us are not proud to be an American—thirty-seven percent of 18-to 34-year olds and seven percent of those 64 and older. Fifty-seven percent say the democratic system is not working—sixty-five percent of Republicans say it is and seventy-four percent of Democrats say it isn’t.
My hunch is those latter numbers would be reversed if we were in a season of Democrat control of the White House and the Senate. Such is the bias of our political parties. For those who think democracy is a terrible form of government, Winston Churchill would agree, as he once said that it is, “except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
Clearly there’s a trend: Younger adults are much more dissatisfied with our country than are older adults. I’m no sociologist, but I suspect much of that is due to the way our young adults were raised. I’m painting with a broad brush, but they seem to feel more entitled and less motivated than older generations. In a sea of opportunity, they seem rudderless, often completing high school or college with no idea of what they want to do.
Other contributing factors include the decline of the nuclear family, a diminished emphasis on faith, and less emphasis on the importance of education. In a WSJ article recently posted in the Free Expression newsletter, Matthew Continetti reported that seventy-seven percent of Gen Zers were unable to explain the significance of the Fourth of July. Seriously?
If that bothers us, imagine the angst it causes our veterans, our families who lost loved ones in the defense of our country, and our founding fathers, who must be turning over in their graves.
Clearly, the elephant (and donkey) in the room is politics. It’s likely that only our members of Congress, their immediate families, and their family dogs believe they’re doing an admirable job . . . and the dogs are wavering! Most of those polled believe our politicians on both sides of the aisle serve out of self-interest, not the public’s. Maybe we’re too quick to pin blame on them, but the offices they hold demand the highest level of accountability and productivity.
Interestingly, CNN recently reported that those of us registered as Independents, or Unaffiliated, is at an all-time high of forty-seven percent. That constitutes a plurality, and it means that most Americans probably fall about midway between the right and the left. They don’t subscribe to the histrionics and hand-wringing of either side. They would love dialogue, compromise, and productive work from those we elect and pay to represent us.
So, what to do with all this information? My evil twin would tell the disgruntled not to let the door at the airport or seaport terminal hit them in the fanny on their way out of the U.S. The better angels of my nature, to borrow from President Lincoln, would say, “Do something about it other than complain.”
Parents need to re-establish and emphasize the importance of their children’s education, including American history, warts and all. They need to demonstrate to their kids their belief in American exceptionalism by what they do and say. Screen time and content need to be monitored. It’s highly unlikely our kids are watching videos or reading things that positively portray basic American values. In families who subscribe to faith as existential, they need to get back to their version of “church,” and take their kids with them. Those who don’t subscribe to faith in God should at least rethink it.
Grounded by parental guidance and fortified by a good education, our kids will mature into better-educated and well-informed young adults, giving them the chance to lead lives of significance. My hope is they will depend on trusted news sources, engage in their civic and faith communities, and get involved in our political process, even if it’s only to cast an educated vote.
We’ve fumbled the ball in America, and allowed our society to deviate from what the founders envisioned for our country. But it’s not too late to recover that fumble and change the direction of the game. Indeed, God has blessed America, but He’s also ceded to us, as U.S. citizens, the responsibility of sustaining that blessing.
What better time to get started than on our nation’s 250th birthday?
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June 8, 2026
Tuesday Thoughts: When Life Hands You Pickles, Think Pickleball!
“In pickleball, the only thing better than winning is laughing with friends.”
—from PICKLELAND
One of the newly-found pleasures in my retirement is the game of pickleball. I’m certain most of you have heard of its immense popularity. According to a report in Axios, it’s actually the fastest-growing sport in America. What started as a dialed-back version of tennis, inspired by ping pong and badminton, and geared toward retirees, has now become a national phenomenon.
I’ve thought about the game’s rules, etiquette, and competition, and it strikes me that pickleball is a metaphor for a good way to live our lives. Stick with me here, please.
Most players acknowledge that the game is more fun when played as doubles, not singles. In doubles, each partner counts on the other to help cover the court, and being in just the right spot when needed. Is it not the same in life? Don’t we count on our friends and family members to be there for us when we need them the most—when we’re in a pickle (see what I did there?)? Life, after all, is best lived with help from, and the company of, others.
Often times, there are more players than court space to accommodate them. In that event, players rotate in and out so that everyone has an equal shot at participating, regardless of their level of play. In life, shouldn’t everyone have the opportunity to become involved with something greater than themselves? Give everyone a chance, and then let their skill level—that is, their strengths—determine where they best fit in on the “court” we call life. There’s no reason inclusion has to exclude meritocracy!
In pickleball, foul language is discouraged. While there’s no penalty for said language (thank goodness!), a player will get rightfully-deserved looks and comments when he or she lets a choice word slip. Bad language, paddle tossing, and uncalled-for arguments are simply poor etiquette. How much better would our lives be if we strove to eliminate such talk and behavior?
There’s no line judge, head judge, camera, or instant replay in pickleball. You call the shots in or out on your side of the court, and your opponents do the same on their side. Honesty, trust, and benefit of the doubt come into play. Oh, if that were only the case in our everyday lives! From the highest level of government to the privacy of families’ living rooms, we need, and should be able to count on, adherence to those virtues.
Regarding the elephant in the room—the injuries: Yes, as in all sports, there are injuries that force a player to sit out, rest, and recuperate. In life, sometimes we need to do the same—take a “time out” to simply rest and reflect. As the psalmist quoted God, “Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10 NIV).”
In “sandlot” pickleball, the game’s as much about the joy of fellowship with other players as it is the final score. Good thing, because players at my age usually forget who won the game before they even get home from the court! We compete and play hard, but the fact that we have fun is what draws us back to the court. In life, wouldn’t it be nice if we valued the effort and fun along the journey, just as much or more than the final outcome?
Finally, if you’re physically able, but you haven’t tried the game, I hope you will. Don’t sit it out and miss the fun so many people are enjoying!
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May 25, 2026
Tuesday Thoughts: Will We Sit It Out or Dance?
“Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
—from Memoriam A.H.H., by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
A friend and fellow writer recently blogged about dancing, taking the reader from her granddaughter’s dance recital to the Biblical account of King David dancing for joy as the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Jerusalem. https://www.katherinepasour.com/blog/dance-with-might/
Dancing with nothing on but a skimpy ephod, David withstood the criticism of his people, especially Saul’s daughter. He was excited for the return of the Ark, and he didn’t mind showing it.
Don’t we do the same? Don’t we express our emotions openly when we are excited or celebrating? Especially when we take a chance and succeed? In David’s case, one man had already lost his life when the Ark was being moved. The importance of its return to the Jews prompted David to take that chance. The Ark was returned and David danced for joy. Great story!
Had I been there, I would not have danced. I am not a good dancer. Actually, that might be the understatement of the year. I don’t even try, but I do love the way musical lyricists, especially of the country genre, use “dance” as a metaphor for opportunities in our lives. Tony Arata’s “The Dance,” made famous by singer Garth Brooks, is a perfect example.
Arata’s inspiration for the lyrics was the movie, Peggy Sue Got Married. In the film, the characters played by Kathleen Turner and Nicholas Cage are in a dumpster fire of a marriage and are about to be divorced. She faints at her twenty-five-year, high-school reunion and wakes up as a teenager again. Knowing how her future marriage will play out, she decides not to marry the guy . . . until she opens her locket where she keeps pictures of her children. Catch the drift?
No one knows how the choices in life we make will turn out. Some succeed, some fail. We lose a loved one unexpectedly; a career choice doesn’t pan out and we pivot; a marriage ends in divorce; a dream’s almost reached, but then it’s vanquished. Yes, there’s pain. It’s called life.
But what if we hadn’t tried—what if we’d sat it out, so to speak? We’d have missed all those precious moments with our loved one. We might have never discovered a new talent, a new career. Those children from the marriage would have never been born to us. And the dream not realized? Often, it’s more noble to try and fail; the pursuit can be more exhilarating and fulfilling than the end result.
When our time draws near, will we celebrate the efforts, the reaches, the risks and rewards, or will we rue the fact that we sat it out and didn’t take a chance. Will we regret that we failed to dance?
Aratas’s and Garth’s iconic song includes these lyrics:
“Our lives are better left to chance
I could’ve missed the pain
But I’d have had to miss the dance.”
Let’s dance, shall we?
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The Widow (John Grisham; 2025)
Simon Latch, a down-on-his-luck lawyer in “Nowheresville,” Virginia, gets a career-changing client in Eleanor Barrett, an elderly and wealthy widow who hires Latch to handle her estate. Little does he know the career change could be him landing in jail for murder, compelling him to discover the truth behind Eleanor’s claim to wealth while defending himself for being accused of her murder.
John Grisham’s long career of writing legal thrillers is stellar, but with this novel, The Widow, he throws in a murder mystery. What I love most about him is how he’s using his knowledge of the legal field, and his concern for innocent people falsely accused and convicted, to champion the cause of this injustice. His writing supports The Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries, two non-profits that fight for the release of wrongfully convicted prisoners.
Whether or not you support these causes, The Widow is a fun read that will keep you turning the pages. This is Grisham at his best!
reviewed May 2026
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May 11, 2026
Tuesday Thoughts: We Are as We Think
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
–Former football coach Lou Holtz
Last week I was privileged to sit in on one of my spiritual mentor’s Sunday School lessons—her final one after fifty years of teaching. The lesson was from 2 Timothy. Listen to these words, spoken by the Apostle Paul almost two thousand years age.
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:1-4 NIV).”
Paul thought the end times were on the horizon, and surely he had no idea how prescient his warning would be centuries later. But here we are, and those words certainly ring true for us today. We live in a world seemingly on fire, with no one capable of quenching the flames. Vitriol has gone viral, ridicule runs rampant, and unctuousness is ubiquitous.
Sadly, we see this at the highest levels of our federal government. Witness the Senate, historically known as “the greatest deliberative body in the world,” seemingly consumed with small things and petty fights, not big ideas and collaborative efforts—junior high behavior, with all due respect to our middle schoolers!
Hateful rhetoric, inflamed by group think just as fire tempers steel, sets in motion regrettable events: Consider the violence at the Capitol on January 6 or the riots in cities like Minneapolis and Portland. What kind of example are we setting for our young, impressionable, but rationally-immature children?
Look at what kids witness in real time at these seminal events, and couple that with what they’re exposed to on social media. Is it any wonder we’re seeing an uptick in bullying, kids with guns, suicide, and violence in schools and on the streets? Aren’t they just mirroring what they believe to be the norm in our society?
Today, some teens and college-age youth retreat into “safe spaces.” They choose to isolate themselves and inevitably become self-absorbed, the opposite of the social interaction they so desperately need.
Sadly, within this environment, vulnerable children are made to think our world is on a self-destructive path with no chance of a course correction. They view themselves as victims of their circumstances. Nothing will change, so why not either wall themselves off or capitulate to what’s going on around them and join the fray? That makes for a dark present and an even bleaker future. There’s no hope . . . or is there? I believe there is.
We need to “right this ship,” and that opportunity is readily available. It starts at home, where parents teach their children wrongful behavior is unacceptable, words matter, and they should treat others the way they’d like to be treated. Those ideas are then reinforced by teachers, coaches, faith leaders in houses of worship, and civic organizations like Scouts and Boys and Girls Clubs. If we expose children to that mindset, they will become better versions of themselves than they would have otherwise believed possible.
Our younger generation needs a new vision for their future—a sense of hope, not despair; of promise, not pessimism. For that to happen, it starts with us adults. More importantly, as I said, it starts at home.
We all need to get to work.
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April 27, 2026
Tuesday Thoughts: Friends? Who Needs ‘Em?
“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”
—Khalil Gibran, author and poet
Three years ago, then Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy announced his concern about a rising epidemic. It wasn’t hypertension, heart disease, cancer, or the re-emergence of Covid-19. It was loneliness.
Even before the Covid pandemic of 2020-2021, adults in the U.S. were reporting loneliness as a personal problem at a rate nearing fifty percent. It’s only gotten worse since then, especially with the work-from-home trend and baby boomers aging out of the job market.
But don’t we all crave time alone, when we’re free to do as we wish? Yes, to an extent. Too much time alone, however, is statistically linked to premature death, heart attack, and hypertension. And then there’s the association with depression and other mental health issues.
We’re not designed for solitude. God recognized that at the Creation, when he made woman from man (Genesis 2:18, 21-23). Of course, it was necessary for procreation, but He also wanted man to have a “helper” to share in the bounty of the Garden.
Men are particularly vulnerable to the effects of loneliness. They’re less likely than women to make the effort to meet socially with other people, go out for a meal, or just have coffee. Men are also less inclined to reach out to a friend in the event of a crisis, and are more likely to gather with large groups, where intimacy and trust don’t come into play.
When the son of best-selling author and actor Andrew McCarthy observed that his dad really didn’t have any friends, it prompted McCarthy to go on a journey to reconnect with other men. Out of that trip came the just-released book, Who Needs Friends? (Grand Central Publishing; March 2026). Turns out, we all do.
A recent Wall Street Journal article (WSJ) discussed the number of friends we need. In short, more when we’re young, fewer when we’re busy with family and career, and then more in later life. If, in retirement, friendships aren’t maintained or established, the above-mentioned comorbidities are much more likely to come into play.
Is there a magic number? It varies from person to person, but suffice it to say that, on average, most of us only have three to five people who are true friends—friends we’d call any hour of the day or night for any problem or concern. One third of us have up to nine friends, and thirteen percent have ten or more.
In an odd twist, notwithstanding today’s technology that allows us to reach people around the world via text message, email, or, heaven forbid, a phone call, we’ve become less connected to each other and more connected to our screen devices. Often, what we read on those screens is far less useful than meaningful dialogue with another person.
So, how many friends do you, or I, need? The answer will likely be different for each of us. But what is the same is that each of us needs to reconnect with long-lost friends, reach out to our current friends, and/or make new ones.
Doing so won’t just prolong our lives, it will enrich them too.
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April 13, 2026
Tuesday Thoughts: What’s Your One Shining Moment?
“Class is striving hard to be the best at what you do while taking the needs of others into consideration.”
—Roger Staubach, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback
I neither have, nor ever will, experience the emotion, intensity, and adrenaline bundled in one’s pursuit of a national championship. But Geno Auriemma, coach of Connecticut’s Lady Huskies basketball team, has. It was on full display once again during the Huskies’ semi-final game with South Carolina’s Lady Gamecocks week before last. And the coach didn’t meet the moment.
During an interview between the third and fourth quarters, he blasted the officiating and Dawn Staley, the highly-respected coach of USC. He even threw in a word you don’t typically hear on ESPN unless it’s accidentally caught on a hot mic. Even worse, he got into it verbally with Coach Staley after the game, and then he walked off the court without shaking the hands of the South Carolina players. Certainly not his one shining moment, but a glaring one nonetheless.
To be fair, and as expected, he apologized the next day—to the staff and team, but not to Staley by name. Auriemma’s a head coach, charged with leading and developing not just the athletic skills of his players, but their leadership and sportsmanship skills too. His behavior was reprehensible.
Full admission: I’ve been there, and you probably have too. Not on such a big stage as a televised major college sports event, but in our everyday lives. Sometimes, we fail to present the best version of ourselves. We drop the ball, to continue the sports theme.
Someone once asked baseball icon Joe DiMaggio why he hustled down the baseline to first base on every routine infield grounder. His answer: “Because there might be somebody in the stands today watching me play for the first time.” Wow! That’s the epitome of professionalism and self-awareness.
In the same way, our first and possibly only encounter with another person is important. As the saying goes, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.” How you act and what you say can have a lasting impact on another person. How do you want to be remembered?
Fortunately, we usually get a chance to make amends—to improve our behavior, our language, and/or our conduct. That’s a measure of grace, and not something we should take for granted. It forces us to swallow our pride, a quality that can be tougher to conquer than a dominant basketball program. But it also offers us a lesson in humility, something all of us need from time to time.
So, we’ll try to get past Coach Auriemma’s conduct, and we’ll give him another chance. Like anyone else, he deserves to have that opportunity.
But Coach, if you haven’t already done so, pick up the phone and call Dawn Staley.
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