Could they, will they, might they, should they?

I’m referring to the newest miracle on the shores of Lake Erie. Certainly not the Browns. The Cleveland Guardians are the darlings of the diamond – having surprised everyone but themselves and their coaches. And probably a few fans too. As I write this (Monday morning, Oct. 17) the Guardians are headed to the Bronx to play their old-time nemesis, the Yankees in a winner take all Division Series game five this evening.

When you read this, the Guardians will either be headed to points unknown for the winter – OR – already playing what is arguably the best team in baseball – the Houston Astros – for the American League Pennant. They can do it because no one told this group of (mostly) rookies that they couldn’t beat the Yankees. They might have – or they might not have – but regardless, it will be a season to remember and next year will bring all that experience to bear. Despite having many successes at Cleveland, Boston and other stops in his storied career, this could very well go down as Manager Terry Francona’s best season as a manager.

Is it possible that the college football season could come down to “The Game” between the Buckeyes and you know who? Sure. Same scenario as last year probably – if both teams go into that game undefeated – the loser is out of the playoff. It’s that simple. There are too many other teams stacked up behind them – at this point anyway. We will see, and that’s why they play the game!

Did the global pandemic change the way you think? Act? Make decisions? I was not sure about myself until the spouse and I ran into a bit of a household maintenance task on Saturday morning. A seemingly simple chore actually – change out a light switch (with dimmer) that appeared to not be working on a dining room light. Not difficult and something I have done many times previous. You do all the “normal” things – like use a multi-meter on the switch (appeared to be bad), turn off the breaker, and grab a new switch. Easy peezy.

Except, the new switch did not turn the light on. Ah, come on man! Now what, I thought to myself – it must be the light itself went bad. Probably corrosion (who knows?) or something like that. I was ready to tear into the light when the spouse said, “Let me try something.” Sure enough, she turned the knob on the side of the light (this is one of those multiple bulb lights) and voila! Lights. So, I said to myself, “Self, you obviously don’t know how to use a multi-meter correctly (even with 100 videos on Google – of which none say the same thing) and next time, try the simple thing FIRST!” Lesson learned – maybe.

The point of the story is this – when faced with a challenge or setback AFTER the pandemic, does your mind go to the worst possible scenario – or do you start with easy. The suggestion of course, is to start with the easy. It’s less costly, time consuming and oftentimes, will solve your problem. Which was not a problem at all. This is where we are as we face empty store shelves, high gas prices, inflation and a seemingly unending torrent of bad news.

Here’s some positive news – Apple Butter Stirrin’ is this weekend, the Fall Farm Foliage Tour is this weekend, and the beauty of autumn is in full splendor across Coshocton County! Enjoy.

Category: Mark's Musings