I just came back from a trip to Canada - to see my family. Some friends of mine think that "going to Canada" entails "going on vacation". I would suggest that "going to Canada" entails "spending a lot of time with family" ... and that's not always a vacation!
After a number of days of great conversation and catching up with family and friends - I am exhausted.
Five days can go by very fast. Since I only get home about once a year (go ahead, interject the "bad son" thoughts here before you read further), it seems like you take those 5 days to get caught up on all the goings-on from the recent and not -so-recent past. Add in a reminiscence or two and lo and behold, you're ready to head back to Austin.
I've become a "Seinfeld" fan since it's been in syndication. I didn't really enjoy it when it was first on TV, but now I fully appreciate it. Have you ever seen the "Seinfeld" episode in which George Costanza is trying to keep his "worlds" - his love life and his life as "one of the guys" with Jerry and Kramer and Elaine - separate? He's concerned that his "worlds will collide", thereby ruining a good thing.
I bring this up because a similar thing has happened to me recently - an episode in which two very divergent parts of my world collided in a very surreal fashion.
It all comes down to one particular address that brought it all out - 1109-B South Congress. For those of you who know me well, that's my new office address - within the walls of the South Congress Athletic Club. This brings me to my tale for today ...
It's time for a recollection or two. Today's topic: higher education.
Back in the day (i.e. when I was in high school in Canada), going to university wasn't a given. In high school, you were "tracked" into a university program or a college program. What, you say? Aren't they the same? No, actually, in Canada they aren't the same. University programs are oriented towards the attainment of a degree ... in the intellectual pursuit of "higher learning and education". Professional programs - doctors, lawyers, physiotherapists, dentists - those are all university programs. But so is the Bachelors in Arts focusing on Canadian history (a bit of a misnomer since we all know that Canada doesn't have much history - at least much that we are prepared to acknowledge!). The university setting is all about attaining a higher level of knowledge in something - and, frankly, it's not for everyone. It's for the best students, those with the highest grades, those who have the greatest potential to expand and add to the knowledge base, the research base, the development and enhancement of what we as a species know.
Now here's something odd - a US president pardoned somebody the other day. Oooops sorry - he didn't, he just commuted a sentence. I'll pull my tongue out of my cheek now.
Let me check my Constitution here. The legal system is set up to provide a fair trial ... to examine the evidence ... and to provide a verdict which is then upheld by the system itself. Beautiful. Elegant. Fair (more often than not). Good stuff. The Constitution of the United States of America - a work of art.
Dateline 2007 ... Scooter Libby's going to jail. Or is he? He was convicted ... and thus, if he's in the same category as any other convicted criminal, he's headed to jail.
But wait! President Bush flies in with his Superman cape on and says "no worries mate, it doesn't matter what the legal system says because what *I* say matters most - and I say you're not going to jail".
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.