This year is the first time since 2004 that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been a part of the NHL playoffs. They were, until last week, the owners of the league's longest post-season drought. You would also have to go back a lot of years - specifically, to 1967 - to find their last (13th) Stanley Cup win. That gives them the unenviable title of also having the NHL's longest-active championship drought. It's not easy being a Leaf's fan. Trust me on this one.
Just when hopes were high this season, the Leafs have now found themselves in a 3 - 1 deficit against the Boston Bruins. Somehow, this doesn't surprise me from the team that is now the NHL version of the Chicago Cubs. This doesn't qualify as rhubarb as much as it is a painful reality for Leafs fans worldwide.
Reality check aside, and before Leafs depression sets in once again, there is plenty of rhubarb to make you stop and ponder just what makes the world go 'round. Alas, Episode 66 of the Rhubarb Report - game on!
Last month was a tough month. The events of Boston, Massachusetts and West, Texas brought tragedy front and center in our world once again.
The news of the Boston bombings was everywhere you looked. Many were exposed to the devastation that struck the community of West. We are in a world these days in which the more sensational or shocking the news is, the more tragic the event is perceived. It could be Boston or West or Newtown or Columbine or Oklahoma City. You don't have to go overseas to find examples. Just look in our own backyard.
Throughout that fateful week, the overwhelming thought wasn't one of making sense of the evil, the pain, or the suffering. My mind kept coming back to our responses to the tragedies among us.
Rush arrived at the Frank Erwin Center on Tuesday night for the start of their latest tour, just 5 days after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What ended up as a phenomenal 2.5 hour performance started with a song from 1982 called "Subdivisions". It immediately took me back to a place many years ago: January, 1984.
I will admit, those were difficult times, struggling as many do with trying to find your place in the world. While my friends gravitated towards the hollow mind candy of Top 40 hits, I found myself immersed in musicians like Jimi Hendrix and, yes, Rush. I saw the world a little differently than most of my friends, and it certainly wasn't without it's share of friction.
Meanwhile, there was this class called "Canadian literature" that I had to survive. Little did I know that it would change my world and forever alter the course of my life.
The last few days have had me in a reflective mindset. I think it relates to spending more time out walking and hiking at a local park. It is a time to breath, to get away from the demands of the world - just me and my thoughts, nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, the clarity gained while wandering the trails leads to a natural flow of thoughts and plenty of ideas for writing. It is amazing how much good rhubarb can be found out on the trail.
Episode 65 of the Rhubarb Report dives into running, responses to recent national tragedies, and, who else, Rush - and not the Limbaugh variety either.
The Madness is over. No more basketball marathons. Louisville cut down the nets in a epic final against Michigan - well, an epic 30 minutes at least. So now it's time to get back to reality. Or go into hibernation until college football season. Or both.
Oh, wait, the Stanley Cup playoffs are right around the corner, and it looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs might actually be a part of the festivities this year. The zombie apocalypse must be upon us. The Leafs haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967, and their fans are becoming the hockey equivalent of Chicago Cubs fans.
So before I start the annual process of getting my hopes up for the Leafs, let's get moving on Episode 64 of the Rhubarb Report.
The blank page. Such simplicity. Clean. Yet so daunting. Scary.
Staring at a blank page, or screen, or canvas, can be one of the most daunting yet exhilarating moments we face. There can be a degree of trepidation and anxiety that forces you to put off the creative process. Maybe a better time or a better frame of mind will come. There are always any number of excuses to walk away from it. Hey, I don't need this right now. You can't make me do it.
Fear of the blank page. I have had my share of moments when I sat looking at this computer screen, thinking that there was simply nothing to say. I think we've all had those moments, not just in creating art, or writing, or pondering the origins of space and time. They come to us in the blank pages of our lives that we are creating moment by moment.
It is now time to take a deep breath. Whew. Week one of the NCAA men's basketball tournament is officially over. If 2 nights and 4 full days of basketball isn't exhausting, I am not sure just what is.
I think that there really should be a new ICD-9 code established for MMS - March Madness Syndrome. It is a seasonal affliction that presents with a number of hallmark signs and symptoms. Those affected by MMS have buttock discomfort associated with prolonged sitting, a subconscious ability to recite RPI rankings and scoring statistics, eyes dilated from prolonged viewing, and a sense of hangover-like symptoms the day after an extended viewing period without having consumed an ounce of alcohol.
Fortunately, the intervention for MMS is simple: more basketball - at least for a couple more weekends. There will be plenty of time after April 8 to recover.
The latest episode of the Rhubarb Report celebrates two of the reasons that make March such a great month - college basketball and the beginning of a new Formula One season. Enjoy!
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.