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March 2012

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

New dimensions to March Madness

In case you've been resting in a cave during this very stranger winter, we're now in the season of March Madness. College basketball brackets are popping up all over with TV stations and others luring fans to pick their teams for the chance to win big prizes or just boasting rights.

Though I attended Ohio State during a basketball heyday in another era, I don't follow this nearly as closely as I once did. Instead, I've been paying attention to other varieties of March madness this month.

For instance, you can discover some great new authors, perhaps win a book or even a contribution to a dog rescue on author Emily March's current March Madness promotion. Though we're past my day of the promotion, there are plenty of other authors on her website, so take a look at www.emilymarch.com. And if you haven't already, give her books a try.

In yet another version of this month's frenzy, here in Miami we're engaged in Manning Mania, otherwise known as the great hunt to capture quarterback Peyton Manning. Even before Manning's long ties to the Indianapolus Colts were cut, the Miami Dolphins and their fans were salivating over the possibility of luring the famed quarterback here. That he already owns a home in Miami Beach seemed to some to be a portent of the edge we'd have.

Then came the Denver Broncos. Then the Arizona Cardinals. Today it's the Tennessee Titans. Manning must feel as if he's in some surreal episode of The Bachelor, being courted by more people than he can possibly satisfy. While I'm sure that's thrilling on some level, it has to be just a little disconcerting, especially since all these teams are counting on him to ride in and save their respective football franchise butts.

I'm watching it all with my heart in my throat. No question that Manning is one of the great quarterbacks of this era, but he has had serious neck surgery. The thought of him back on the field in any team's uniform terrifies me, never mind that his doctors have cleared him.

Obviously football is in his blood. His father was another great in the game. So is his brother, Eli, who took the New York Giants to Super Bowl victory this year. But if I were his dad, his brother, his wife or even a friend, I'd be on my knees begging him to take a job in management, in coaching or in the announcer's booth.

Given the nature and location of his injury, one wrong hit could end not only his career, but his life. I understand the desire to get back in the game. I don't understand the willingness to take that kind of a risk or those who would encourage him to do it.

If he does play this year, I hope he's successful. More importantly, though, I pray he stays safe.

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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Tipping the scales of generosity

When and how do we teach our children to be generous?

This is a question that's been bugging me for a couple of weeks now. Remember in the olden days when we were kids, the lessons most likely started on the playground or maybe in the backyard. We were taught to share our toys. Some of us probably did that with more enthusiasm than others, but the lesson eventually took hold.

We were also taught to put a little of our allowance into the collection plate on Sundays or to save our pennies for a contribution to a mission at church or maybe to bring canned goods for a food drive at school.

There were lots of ways we were taught to share what we had, no matter how little we could spare, with others who needed it more.

Fast forward to adulthood when tipping became part of that same spirit of generosity. We learned that waiters and waitresses who provided us with good service should be tipped accordingly. In general these workers earn less than minimum wage because employers envision tips supplementing their low salaries. That's an issue for another time, but the reality is that for now they can get away with it.

Often -- though far from always -- these low-wage earners are young, just starting out, maybe in a first job. How distressing and disillusioning it must be, then, to discover that their peers completely ignore the most basic courtesy of tipping!

This hit home for me in the past couple of weeks as I was stopping by my favorite Starbucks for my morning fix of caffeine and found myself in the middle of a teen frenzy of caramel lattes and mochas. Not a one of these young people spending $4, $5 or even more on a pre-school coffee drink or a pastry left so much as a handful of loose change for the employees waiting on them. I'm not even sure I've heard a thank you thrown in.

I asked one of the workers if they ever tipped. She merely shrugged and said, "The ones who like me do."

A day or so later I ran into a few more of their peers at a local pizza place. Same thing. The kids spent a fortune on pizza and sodas, but didn't leave even a dollar in the tip jar.

Now, I will grant that these are not full-service restaurants, but the employees not only take orders, they often prepare the drinks and food! Frankly, I want them to love me, not wonder what they can do to get even next time they see me!

Of course, the concept of possible retaliation isn't even the point. It's that someone has neglected to teach some of these entitled teens basic generosity. If they can afford a $5 cup of coffee, surely they can spare some change for the person who makes it and serves it to them. One of these days they need to be in line behind the homeless man who cleans up at the pizza place in exchange for a meal. He always tips! Shame on them for not following his example!