The Writer's Life 12/17 - Degrees

We all have a tendency to feel sorry for ourselves to a degree, which is often absurd in this nation of plenty. Occasionally we are brought to our senses by the story of someone who suffered real hardship. In 2006 Sergeant Jay Strobino, serving in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, was shot 13 times during combat. Awarded a Silver Star, he was in rehab a year. He just graduated from Middle Tennessee State U., earning a degree in Exercise Science, minoring in Biology. He was able to walk onto the stage to receive his degree, an inspiration to us all.  (From Foxnews.com, edited by yours truly).

NFL players are tough as nails, but they are not heroes to a significant degree. Last season, Eagles' starting QB Carson Wentz was injured. His backup, Nick Foles, led them to the Super Bowl, where he was the MVP. When Wentz was ready to return this year in week three, he was handed the reins. The team struggled. This week he was sidelined by a back injury, and Foles was again at the helm, facing the Rams in L.A., his team a 14-point underdog. The Eagles pulled off the upset, and the question must be asked: Are they better with Foles as the starter?... Two teams that looked like contenders seemed pretenders yesterday - the Seahawks losing to the lowly 49ers, and the Cowboys shutout, drubbed by the Colts... Only diehards thought the Giants were going to make the playoffs... As usual, the Steelers stepped up in a time of desperation. They've been a great franchise since the days of the Steel Curtain in the '70's... In the years that the Patriots have earned a first round playoff bye, they've gone to the Super Bowl. When they haven't, they have not. If the season ended today, there'd be no bye for them. Still, lesser teams - wild cards - have won the championship. 

And to a minute degree, the writer as hero. It looked like zilch for the floating book shop today, then B.S. Bob showed late in the session. I hadn't seen him in months and I wondered if he'd passed away. In his 80's, he's now hooked up to one of those oxygen feeders and, although walking under his own power, he's accompanied by an aide. He does not look well but he's still fighting. He has a meeting with someone at Netflix lined up and asked if I had anything, in case he gets lucky and lands a position as a producer, that might translate to the screen. I showed him A Hitch in Twilight, billed as 20 Tales of Warped Imagination. While he was in the bank, I recalled that I'd sold him a copy when it was published in 2009. I suggested he take Billionths of a Lifetime. Four of its 31 stories fall into the same categories as the aforementioned collection, and there are also two screenplays, a teleplay, and a one-act play. I told him to look for Hitch on his shelves. I know better than to get excited about this, as I've been down this road several times and ended up nowhere. Ditto for Bob, but we both keep at it, dreamers, not heroes like Sgt. Strobino.

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