LFS: The Storyteller

©2014 by LeeZard Let’s see, the last time I was in a crowd of any size was November 1999. It wasn’t nearly as much fun; the air was filled with pepper spray and I was dodging rubber bullets fired by the ill-prepared Seattle Police Department during the WTO riots – but that was “only” about 50,000 people. In 1979 I joined 300,000 to cheer the NBA champion Seattle Supersonics. I’d have to go back another 30-years to the original Woodstock and a pair of massive anti-war marches on Washington, D.C. But those crowds were “only” about half-a-million. This week I was at the heart of The 700,000 , The Seattle Seahawks screaming, cheering, adoring fans, their storied 12 th Man, massed for the team’s Super Bowl parade through downtown Seattle. I love big events. I go as much to observe – and write about – the people as I do for the event itself. This one provided plenty of fodder; it was a singular life experience. I knew as soon as the final whistle blew on Seattle’s thrashi...

©2013 by LeeZard Are you tired of hearing The Richard Sherman Story, the one about his explosive interview with ESPN’s Erin Andrews after the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game? I am and yet, I feel compelled to write about it. Well, not so much about the interview – that was (and is) pure Richard Sherman. I want to write about the man-child – because that’s what he is and that’s why he said what he said and said it the way he said it. The Play - Richard Sherman tips the ball intended for Michael Crabtree. It’s not difficult to parse his tweeted apology. He didn’t apologize for what he said, per se; he apologized for taking the limelight away from his team and teammates by declaring himself the best cornerback in the game – which he is. What he didn’t apologize for was his comments about the abilities of 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree. Again, that’s pure Sherman. In the interest of full disclosure, I love Richard She...

©2014 by LeeZard The time has come today….. Chambers Brothers Ti-i-i-ime is on my side, yes it is….. Rolling Stones Time keeps on slippin,’ slippin,’ slippin’ into the future….. Steve Miller Band Who invented “time?” If you enter the question into Google, several sites address the question and all in a similar way; nobody invented time. If you look further  you learn that the concept of time was more the evolution of observation(s), i.e. the changing of the seasons, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, etc. I’ve looked at several explanations of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and, frankly, my eyeballs start rolling back into my head. Clearly I am not a physicist. The closest thing I found to an understandable (to moi) explanation is at  http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/02088/einstein.htm : “In 1915, Albert Einstein first proposed his theory of special relativity.  Essentially, this theory proposes the universe we live in includes four ...

  ©2013 by LeeZard “Look” is such a simple word. If you look it up at Dictionary.com, however, it becomes quite a bit more complicated with no less than 20 definitions, 27 phrases and five idioms. Why do I bring this up? I’m glad you asked. I saw something at work the other day that reminded me of perhaps the scariest, unspoken and most widely used version of the word. I am talking about THE LOOK. Dictionary.com skirts around the power of THE LOOK in definition 13: “to express or suggest by looks: to look one's annoyance at a person. ” Urbandictionary.com nails it in definition three: “ A phrase to describe when your partner/spouse is highly annoyed with you and gives you 'The Look.' After receiving 'The Look' the receiver is usually filled with immense dread at prospects of hearing what he/she did wrong or being subjected to severe punishments. Punishments may include but not limited to: the couch, 'headaches', and television out the...

©2013 by LeeZard The real me lives by the sea, With flying hair and sun kissed brow, I’d give anything to be there now. A wave can propel you forward, pass you by or capture you in its turbulence. This is true in life and in the ocean. Sometimes you make the choice and sometimes it’s the wave. That’s deep, very deep (small wave joke). In this particular instance, I made the choice, or did I? I was 14-years old but I remember it as if it happened last summer; it was that dramatic. Fourteen is a very strange time in a young man’s life. The hormones are just beginning to flow but the mind and the body are not quite ready. There’s hair down THERE but you don’t really know yet what to do with the hair or your pecker. But, you know things are changing. For me, it was the summer of 1961 and I was about to enter high school. I was aware of the blooming young girls in my eighth grade class; oh yes, there were stirrings. I even asked a few out for a date and some close-mouth...