The Tennis Shoes 

“A wise man will hear and will increase learning. “

 

   “A wise son heareth his father’s instruction”

 

 

There are lessons to be learned in our daily lives, if we will be open our minds and when we are rebuked, and realize that we can learn and do better!  My Dad’s rebukes (lessons) always make me a better person, when I listen, and I was reminded while reading Proverbs, “He who he loves he corrects!” I was very loved and was blessed with the best parents who taught me the important lessons in life.

The Tennis Shoes Lesson

 

 When I was young, I loved to play outside, and one game I loved to play was football with my buddies. Playing a lot of football and playing on dirt and in the street, it seemed like I went through a lot of tennis shoes. Tennis shoes were what we wore, and I never really thought about the brand or the style much until one time I saw a commercial for a pair of green and white tennis shoes.  I was enamored with the color and the look.  I guess somehow, I thought if I had a pair of tennis shoes like those, I would be able to run faster, jump higher and overall, just look cool.  

 

When my current pair wore out, I was hoping to get a new pair of green and white, cool shoes; However, when my dad brought home my new shoes, they we not the new style green and white shoes. The new pair fit perfectly and, truth be told a lot better for the money, the green and white pair were very expensive due to the fact it was a new brand of shoes. I learned later in life that sometimes you pay more for the name than the actual quality; however, at that time but being young and immature I had not learned that lesson yet. 

After just getting the new tennis shoes I headed out the door right when a game of football was getting going.  The lot that we were playing in was muddy, which made it fun to play football, but it was not good for brand new tennis shoes.  After, playing for an hour or so of playing, I headed home.  I was not thinking much about the mud or my new tennis shoes when I went into the garage. Inside the garage was our car, a 1967 Green Impala and my Father. When I emerged from behind the car my Father looked at the mud all over me and then looked down at the brand new tennis shoes he had just given me a few hours before. He looked surprised and a little frustrated of course. “Not the best way to treat new shoes, Daren. Why didn’t you just wear your old shoes?” His question was a great question, and I should have learned from that simple question, as he was 100 percent right.  I still to this day don’t understand why I said what I said next.  The words still haunt me, but in some ways because I said them, I learned one of my greatest lessons. 

 

 

“What does the mud really matter? They are just crappy brand shoes anyway!”. I said, kind of quiet but loud enough for my Father to hear.   I knew as soon as I said those words it was wrong. The shoes we not crappy, I was just acting like a spoiled kid.  But, I had said the words, and then I saw the look on my dad’s face, and it was not a look for happiness!  I had hurt him, and just as bad or worse, I had not been in the least grateful for his hard work and his sacrifice in making my life very easy. I had the best of all I needed, and he made it possible.  Anyway, the smugness of my words, and the total lack of respect and gratitude was more than he could stand.  In a flash he took off after me and to this day I give thanks for the 1966 Green Impala that I was able to run around while he chased me around the car trying to catch me.  He was moving so fast I still don’t know how I stayed in front of him, but I did.  As I was circling the Impala, I was apologizing fast and furious, as this lesson was sinking in fast and sinking in deep.  I had been a jerk and thankfully my Dad could sense I meant my apology and somehow the lesson of respect and gratitude was learned.  After a few more circles running around the car, he calmed down and we both stopped. I told him how sorry I was, and I truly meant it and to this day I still mean my words of apology.  Frankly I still am embarrassed at myself and my actions that day for the way I acted.  What a great lesson and I believe it was the first and last time, I ever showed a lack of respect and a lack of gratitude for all the amazing things my Father has done for me and our entire family.  I am also thankful for our Green 1966 Impala that saved my life that day 

 

A wise son heareth his father’s instruction, and I must add a wise son also watches and learns from his Father’s actions, and if he does he is blessed. 

 

 

 

 

365 Days of Gratitude #12 Helping Hands

Fishing season had just opened and I was excited to head to Pineview Reservoir with my Dad and Grandpa after school.  I took a day off of work and homework at the end of the school year was pretty light ( of course if truth was being told I wasn’t that good of a student in High School, but Homework was light, and so I added that  for good measure for my kids) so it was going to be a good night for fishing.  Fishing back in the late seventies had an opening day and a closing day, so fishing seemed more special back then. I think I believe it was more special because it was something I did with my Dad and Grandpa on a regular basis and it seemed I learned something from them every time I would fish with them.  The time I spend with my Dad shaped my life. I didn’t know at the time how lucky I really was but even then I had a sense how special it was that I was blessed to spend time with him and my Grandpa fishing.

We stopped in Ogden and picked up my Grandpa and grabbed a few sandwiches my Grandma had made with her hands and we headed up Ogden canyon. I loved Ogden canyon and not just because it is a beautiful canyon, but because there was a huge water pipe that traveled the length of the canyon from Pineview Reservoir, to the city, to provide water to the city. I loved that pipe because my Grandpa Standing had been hired to crawl through the pipe and look for holes or gaps in the steel sections.  If there we holes that weren’t fixed of course the pipe would It was a hard job and I could not imagine crawling on his hands and knees with the bugs and heat to complete that job. My Grandpa did it because he needed the money to provide for his family.  He did it out of Love for his wife and kids. I also guess he did it because he knew how important of a job it was for an entire city. His hands had been used to provide a service that still is helping people to this day.

We arrived at the spot we thought would be good fishing. It was along the old highway that had been covered by water when the Dam was build. When we showed up there were a lot of cars which was both good and bad.  Good from the point that people always seemed to know when fishing was hot and bad from the stand point there were going to be a lot of fishing lines in the water. After walking down the road we put on our waders and headed into the water.  The water was very murky and you could not see where you were stepping so you had to go fairly slow and take small steps as you could not see the bottom.  My Dad reminded me that somewhere in front of us was a channel where the river use to run, so it was much deeper in the channel than the area around it.  We found some open space and casted our lines into the water.  It didn’t take long before we were catching fish at a pretty quick pace. The pace was so fast I do not recall a time before or after that we ever caught as many fish at the rapid pace we did that night.

After a period of time I caught what felt like a huge fish and I started to reel it in. As it got close to where we standing I thought I was going to lose the fish so I stepped forward to get get it in quicker so I could grab it. The next thing I knew, I was going down in water fast and I was completely under water before I even realized what had happened.  It happened so fast,  I could not even realize that I was truly in great danger at that moment as 1) I am not a great swimmer, 2) the water was so murky no one would know where I was and 3) due to my waders that i had tied on my levis,  I was sinking fast and deep, and to try and get them off to get back to the surface would have been very difficult if not impossible. At that certain time in my life, the chances of me drowning were about 100 percent due to the depth of the water and my lack of swimming skills.

Without even missing a beat, my Dad, who I believe is just as bad a swimmer as me, and I also think is a little scared of the water, somehow moved though the water in lighting speed and reached down in the murky water with his hand and located me and pulled me back onto the ledge of the channel with such speed and strength that I was shocked to be completely under the water one moment and back on solid ground the next. I will never forget how powerful I felt his grip as he grabbed me.  Without thinking of himself of worrying about falling in the water himself he saved my life quickly and completely. If was as if he did it second nature and without any thought of the circumstances.  I knew at that moment my Dad would always be there for me to extend a hand to help and save me if needed. I have never had to worry if my parents would be there to extend a helping hand and even save me if necessary.  Because of my parents love for their children, it has never been a second thought for me to also be there for my kids in time of need.  We teach by example and I had the best examples from my mom and dad, and where much is given much is required.

God and his Son are always there to extend their hands to help as we ask and I love the pictures where Jesus is reaching his hand to lift someone up from lower to higher places. Luckily I learned this principal by example in my home from a loving Mom and Dad who were taught by my Grandparents.  

I am grateful for Helping Hands

#daren Hogge

365 Days of Gratitude - #11 Lessons Learned when you realize you were wrong - Don't Judge

As you have learned from my previous posts, I love the game of baseball.  It reminds me of life, both the good and the bad.  A lot of the actual game is based on judgements of another individual over someone else.  A strike to one umpire may not not be a strike in the judgement of a different umpire. Frankly sometimes a judgement placed is just plain wrong, it is way off base so to speak. Oh the anger we feel when we see an injustice towards ourself or someone we love. Last night I learned I am guilty of this very act and I am thankful that I did not cause harm to another, the harm was really to myself being judgmental of someone else.  I learned along time ago I am not perfect and try not to judge others, but last night I learned I am not as far as I thought I was in trying to be better.

I also love the little league world series. A game that kids are having fun and doing the best they can and because they are kids you witness pure emotion.  They make amazing plays and make mistakes, just like life!

Back in 2001, a player emerged that caught the attention of the entire country.  A young man from the Dominican Republic who spoke little english.  He was dominating and won every game he pitched by margins that were not even close. In fact he threw a perfect game and struck out everyone except two players. A perfect game the first one since about 1955 I believe!  He was amazing.  A kid from the Bronx was bigger than the Yankees and everyone instantly fell in love with this kid. He was easy to like and easy to cheer for! However, with that kind of attention comes people who want to know more. People who will investigate all facts surrounding the circumstances. People started digging and soon a huge question was being asked, was he really only 12? They found two birth certificates and one was showing he was not 12, but 14.  The rules  do not allow kids 14 to play in the Little League World Series.  A few days later is was shown he was in fact 14.  I remember how disappointed I was personally.

to be continued ....

365 Days of Gratitude - #10 Baseball

I love baseball.
I love the lessons baseball teaches.
I love the game, a game that teaches you life is hard. A game that you have to takes chances every second to succeed and the realization that many of the chances that you take are necessary for success but often end in failure.
Failure is part of the game, just as failure is part of life. There is no escaping it, but without taking a risk it is impossible to win.  Think about that for a moment and you will realize it to be true.

One must step into the batters box where the advantage is in the corner of the pitcher. A great batter fails 6 put of 10 times and most likely 7 or 8 out of 10 times. Those who do get paid millions of dollars to fail.   Don't be afraid to to step in the batters box, for if you don'f failure is certain and boring.

To "steal" a base to advance and help your team you must leave the safety of the bag. No one is fast enough to keep one foot on the bag and steal a base. Most likely the player will be thrown out for trying but the reward is putting your team in position to win. YOU MUST TAKE RISKS to get a reward that will allow you to win.

Not every call will go your way.  You may get called out on a strike that is not a strike, You may slide safe at home only to be called out. You will get upset and realize a mistake was made but the call will most likely stand and there will be nothing you can do about it to change the outcome.  You can either move on or freeze and not advance anymore.  CHOSE TO MOVE FORWARD.  For those who cannot let it go and move on are eventually ejected from the game. The game gets tired of those who lose their control.  But i also love the fact there is always another game and an ejected player gets another chance to start fresh and is not punished in a new game for past actions. However, a player is also not rewarded for past success in a new game, they start over and must earn rewards every game. It must be earned.

Yes, baseball is slow moving sometimes, like life. However, each action and intention figures into winning or losing, just like life.

Baseball is life.  But don't let the fear of striking out keep you out of the game!

I soon will smell baseball in the air and I will remember the games my boys played in and I will smile and think of the lessons learned from baseball

PLAY BALL