A good quote I read today

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

-- Abraham Lincoln.

In Remembrance of John Wooden

William Shakespeare once wrote the following, which I think sums up John Wooden perfectly:

     His life was gentle; and the elements
     So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up,
     And say to all the world, THIS WAS A MAN!

About 8-10 years ago, when I was waiting tables at Marie Callender's in Northridge, Mr. Wooden was one of the regular customers. He would come in and eat at least every other week, sometimes every week, on (IIRC) Monday evenings. Usually sat in the same booth up front.

One of my favorite stories of that time happened right before Father's Day. We struck up a conversation and he asked about my dad -- I told him how my dad was a coach as well, mainly in soccer, but also baseball and basketball. He finished his dinner, and came back an hour later with a brand new basketball autographed and addressed to my dad. Mr. Wooden did that on his own for no reason other than he's a really nice and generous man.

One of the funnier things about it was that he also handed me the receipt for the ball. He had bought it across the street at the sporting goods store (when it was still Sportsmart), and told me (tongue-in-cheek) that if I didn't like it, I could return the ball. LOL. Yeah right.