A lesson from the bench

Hi there! You might think the title of this post is something related to a judge’s bench. Or a work bench. Wouldn’t that be so clever? Well, no. I’m not a judge and I don’t make things out of wood. This goes all the way back to middle school basketball.

Yep, I was one of the guys who only played when we were winning by a million points. Well, there was one time coach put me in because my girlfriend attended the game. I asked him that week if I could play in the first half and surprisingly, he did. But besides that I was mostly riding the bench.

It wasn’t all bad, though. From the sidelines there were two things I learned about myself, one of which I wish I had learned a lot earlier. The first is that after a loss, I never really felt bad because it couldn’t have been my fault. Remember how I never played?

Second, and this… I don’t think it’s fully registered yet but I have a memory I’ll never forget. In a team talk during a half time or maybe after I game, I don’t remember the scenario but it was definitely either half time or after the game, one of our starters was addressing the team morale and said this…

“The only one I hear encouraging us is Ben.”

That was many years ago but it’s stuck with me. As a middle schooler, being better suited as a team manager or something behind the scenes didn’t register. All I knew is that I liked playing basketball so I just had to be on the team.

As an adult, I’ve learned that I thrive behind the scenes, and in a support role. This is my personality. Do I still love playing sports? You better believe it. Can I still take my older brother to the rim? Obviously*. Did my girlfriend love watching me play in the first half?

All that to say, I like discovering that traits I like about myself have actually been part of my personality for a long time, even if I didn’t notice them as a kid growing up. Am I the best encourager? No. There is always room for improvement, and I can also be harsh with my words, which is, I guess, the other end of that same pendulum. But little Ben in middle school might have been on to something and now adult Ben is going to be more intentional about that personality trait thriving a bit more.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

*My older brother won’t read this, so I can get away with telling you all that I’m better at basketball. Truth is, he’s better at every sport we’ve ever played. I tell him that, but for now just let me have this one, mmmmmk? 🙂

Do opposites really attract? Not like this, they don’t!

Have any of you listened to Paula Abdul’s song “Opposites Attract” lately? I hear it every once in a while on SiriusXM’s 90s channel and, while the song IS old, it’s remarkable to me that in 2021 I just realized how unfit these two are for each other. I’ll explain why, but first, check out the song…

OK, where do we even start? Well, I’ve put together a little infographic to show all the ways this fascinating couple is wrong for each other, as listed in the song lyrics.

So let’s look at this objectively. Their friends say they won’t last. They won’t ever compromise on their differences. They admit to not even having a single thing in common. My question now is… why? Why would she even WANT to be with this guy? Why would he want to be with her? Oh wait, she has money. He’s a sugar baby.

Ladies out there, can you justify why this woman sticks around? The dude has no redeemable qualities. Can you imagine being with a partner like him?

The song topped the Billboard charts in many countries, including the United States. The video featuring an animated cat won a Grammy in 1991. All of this astounds me, as the couple actually fit better in any of the following three songs.

  1. How they can love each other is beyond me, so here is a fitting song for the real life.

2. The woman in Paula Abdul’s song should be asking herself this question from the following song: “What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here.”

3. She should also confirm in no uncertain terms… they are never, ever, ever getting back together.

Anywho, thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

Life hack: pulling sand spurs off your feet

Have you ever had those dreaded sand spurs stuck on the bottom of your feet? They are small, but the pain is real, let me tell ya! Some call them sand spurs, or burs, or hitchhikers, but no matter what you call them, there is an easy way to pull them painlessly from your feet.

At first, I’ll admit I laughed and thought, “No way!” But to avoid the pain, I gave it a try and wouldn’t ya know, it works. All you need to do is lick your fingers, then pull the spur out. I promise it works. You won’t feel any pinching or pain in your fingers or feet.

Try it the next time you step on these things, I’ll pass along your “thanks” to the person who showed me the trick. It’s a real game-changer!

Thanks for stopping by…

-Out of the Wilderness

Six goslings – Canadian Geese

The other day I wrote about these adorable little geese that intently follow their parents wherever they go. Check out that post here. My friend and I enjoy checking up on the neighborhood geese because so many have been born in the last few weeks. The parents using the nest we had been monitoring the most– consisting of 4 eggs– became parents to just one of the four eggs hatching. Here is the lone gosling, probably loving all the attention he’s getting…

Then my friend texted me about the family with six goslings. Six! Crazy. So I had to go see them for myself. They were cute, obviously. Here are a few pics of the little things.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

When robin parents attack!

Who knew robins could be so protective! Gosh, wow. I have been lightly monitoring a nest in my front yard that started like this.

It progressed to this.

this image is available on FineArtAmerica

Interesting development though, and maybe bird people out there already knew this, but as the chicks grew, the parents became more aggressive towards outsiders (me). This is the last good picture I was able to snag.

Then, and the best way to describe this is that the parents were basically kamikaze bombing me the closer I got to the nest. As it turns out, the babies were out of the nest and I could hear a change in the chirps from the parents the closer I got to the chicks on the ground. It went from a warning, to an all-out siren.

So today will be the last update on this little family. Why? Because this is what I was able to capture with my camera.

Those blurry shots are blurry because I was running away from the parents! Crazy. They were SO protective, even more than when the chicks were a day old. Hope you enjoyed the updates along the way!

-Out of the Wilderness