Monthly Archives: December 2015

Special Birthday Request

by Woody

STRAW_CoverWoody’s new book STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter is available for Pre-Order HERE NOW! In time for the holidays!

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Turning Down a Birthday Request

            The letter writer was polite, almost apologetic, and full of praise. Also, as is often the case when readers reach out to me, had a request.

“First of all, thanks for taking the time to read this email,” Chuck Herrera began. “I would like to say I enjoy reading your column every Saturday in the Ventura County Star and also in the past had enjoyed your sports write ups in the Star-Free Press.

“I just recently got a great tip last week in The Star about a cool book sale in Santa Paula where I purchased all kinds of great books and music. I tell you, my purchases were the best entertainment value I have had in quite some time.

“In the digital age, I still prefer turning book pages. A couple of books of interest I picked up were “Jim Murray: The Last of the Best” and your book “Wooden & Me” which I plan on giving to one of my brothers for Christmas. He is a huge Coach Wooden fan.

“Another reason I am writing . . .”

Aha, after the introductory butter-up here comes the favor request.

“. . . is because I have five brothers and the one I plan on giving your book to, his name is Ron, and it happens to be his birthday on Christmas Day. And this year is a special birthday for him.

“He is turning 60, which for him is truly a miracle because Ron was born in 1955 and he was born with Spina Bifida with a slim-to-none chance to survive. But my parents refused to believe that and took him home and cared for him and loved him. If there were a Parents Hall of Fame, they would have been first-time ballot selections.

“Ron is amazing. He has never kicked a football in his life, but by studying books, film, clinics, etc., he learned. He volunteers and coaches high school-level football kickers from Buena to currently Rio Mesa High School. He also coaches Freshman Basketball. The kids love him and he loves coaching.

“For all the times Ron has been in and out of hospitals, months at a time in some instances, and even the times we thought we were saying our final ‘goodbyes’ to him, he has never once felt sorry for himself or complained about one of the million things he could complain about.”

Having a hold on my attention, and my heart, Chuck then added my favorite Wooden-ism to try and seal the deal: “Ron just goes about Making Every Day His Masterpiece.

“My request, if possible,” Ron concludes, finally getting to The Big Ask, “is we are celebrating his Big 60 with a big celebration for him on Saturday, December 26th. If you could give him a birthday shout-out in your column that Saturday, he would love it! If you can’t, I understand.

“Thanks for your time,

“Chuck Herrera”

Well, Chuck, I obviously cannot wish your brother Ron a birthday shout-out in print today. It would simply set a bad precedent.

I mean, if I granted your request the next thing I know every remarkable person kicking Spina Bifida’s butt for six decades and serving as an inspiration and role model for the rest of us on how to slam dunk self-pity and instead Make Each Day Our Masterpiece, no matter the challenges we face, would all want me to do the same for them.

There are just so many important things I should write about in my column. For instance, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which is all everyone is talking about these days. I really should offer my two-cent review.

Or perhaps share my New Year’s resolutions or predictions for 2016. And, of course, there’s always El Nino to write about as well as the verbal El Nino known as Donald Trump. And on and on.

So, Chuck, thanks for your letter but I just can’t honor your request. Sorry. I hope you understand. Maybe next year I can find a small space in my column to offer a “Happy Birthday, Ron!” shout-out.

Sincerely,

Woody

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.

Wooden&Me_cover_PRCheck out my new memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece”

 

Top-shelf Books from 2015

by Woody

STRAW_CoverWoody’s new book STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter is available for Pre-Order HERE NOW! In time for the holidays!

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Turning the Pages Through 2015

Good things, sometimes, must come to an end. After doing an annual column for the past six years recommending some of my favorite books, I was of the mind to end the tradition – or at least take a hiatus.

The short reason was that my reading list was too short on this trip around the sun. My yearly goal is to read 52 books, but I fell far shy of averaging one a week in 2015. My tally to date, in fact, is only 29. Writing a new book, it seems, interferes greatly with reading them.

Catching up with Drew Daywalt, author of "The Day the Crayons Quit" and "The Day the Crayons Came Home."

Catching up with Drew Daywalt, author of “The Day the Crayons Quit” and “The Day the Crayons Came Home.”

But I changed my mind the other day when I was in a bookstore picking up a copy of “The Day the Crayons Came Home” as a gift. A woman recognized me – and also said I was much taller in person than my column picture suggests, although I have no idea how a tiny mug shot can suggest height one way or the other – and asked when I was going to share my annual book recommendations.

When I answered I was passing on the book column this year, she begged me to reconsider. I did. Here goes.

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 I will begin with none other than “The Day the Crayons Came Home” by my friend and Oak Park resident, Drew Daywalt. (Which means I am also recommending Drew’s debut children’s book, “The Day the Crayons Quit.”)

As with the best of children’s literature, one need not be a kid to enjoy these two mega-award winners – the first is even being made into a big-budget movie. So pick up a copy of each for a child you know – but read them yourself first!

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Another surprise recommendation is a YA – Young Adult – novel.

“All the Bright Places” is also written by a friend of mine, Jennifer Niven, and has won a wheelbarrow full of 2015 honors – and is also being made into a movie, starring Elle Flanning.

Despite being YA, “All the Bright Places” is dark and gritty and mysterious enough to captivate OA – Older Adult – readers.

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After reading John L. Parker’s newest novel, “Racing the Rain,” I felt compelled to re-read the other two books in the trilogy about Quenton Cassidy: “Once a Runner” and “Again To Carthage.”

“Racing the Rain” is the prequel to “Once a Runner,” which was originally published in paperback in 1978 in such limited numbers that its cult following caused tattered copies to sell for $200 and higher on eBay until it was finally reprinted in hardcover in 2010.

Reading the entire story in chronological order – “Again to Carthage” was the second to come out, but is the finale – enriched all three.

By the way, one need not be a runner to enjoy Parker’s storytelling because Cassidy’s running quest is a metaphor for the journey of life.

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“The Yosemite” by John Muir. Enough said.

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David McCullough again makes my top shelf, as the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner does pretty much any year he comes out with a new historical gem, this time with “The Wright Brothers.”

The most obvious, accurate and shortest blurb to describe this latest effort is: “ ‘The Wright Brothers’ soars!”

My enjoyment of this text was enriched by seeing McCullough give a talk in Santa Barbara about the Wright Brothers.

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Similarly, I read “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban” after seeing the Nobel Peace Prize’s youngest-ever winner – at age 17 – speak at the Arlington Theatre this summer.

Rest assured, her story is equally inspiring on the written page as over a microphone.

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After beginning this column with a couple friends, it seems fitting to end with one more.

Recommended to me by my pal Clint Garman, who as a pastor and owner of Garman’s Restaurant & Irish Pub in Santa Paula is an expert on both topics covered in the pages, “The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World” by Stephen Mansfield was as enjoyably rich in education as a pint of “the good stuff” is rich in flavor.

Cheers! And happy reading in 2016.

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.

Wooden&Me_cover_PRCheck out my new memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece”

Inpsirational Ball-Givers

by Woody

STRAW_CoverWoody’s new book STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter is available for Pre-Order HERE NOW! In time for the holidays!

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Acknowledging Ball-Givers Bellringer-Style

“I always turn to the sports page first, which records people’s accomplishments,” former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren famously said. “The front page has nothing but man’s failures.”

When Christmastime rolls around, I like to turn to the Star’s “Local” section first to read the Julius Gius Bellringer campaign’s daily update which records nothing but people’s generosity.BallDrive

Gius, the late, great, longtime editor of The Star, was a role model and his annual Bellringer drive helped inspire “Woody’s Holiday Ball Drive” dedicated to giving new sports balls to disadvantaged kids.

And so, Bellringer-style, I want to acknowledge in print a few benefactors who represent many, many more who to date have donated more than 100 new sports balls this holiday season.

As has become a tradition, the very first person to get the ball rolling was Jim Cowan, who again donated ten Spaulding NBA basketballs.

“In the past I have done so in honor of my family, my coaches and friends,” said Cowan, a former star college basketball player and star educator afterwards. “This year I did so with a thought from a poet that didn’t attend Whittier College as I did, but I am sure John Wooden would have been one of his fans – John Greenleaf Whittier: ‘The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.’ ”

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Jim Parker, my old press-box pal, wrote in an email with the subject line One More Through The Hoop: “I drained one from 3-point distance into the annual St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Christmas toy/gift drive box. Swish!”

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Sherrie Basham swished Five More Through The Hoop, writing: “I have a small landscape design business with wonderful clients, who gift me generously this time of year. I decided to turn some of that around and donate to your drive.

“My mom, Janice, who died in 2013, would have been on board with this so in her memory I dropped off five NBA basketballs.”

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“We just dropped off a basketball, football and soccer ball with Lea at the Ventura Boys and Girls Club,” shared Alan and Kathy Hammerand, adding: “Lea told me that she has been working there since 1988 and looks forward to the ball donations from your program every year.

“We are grateful to be able to be part of this effort to keep kids active and bring joy to them at this special time of year.”

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Glen Sittel, who donated a basketball, football and soccer ball, similarly noted: “It’s always a great feeling to give something so simple, yet so important, to our youth in need.”

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The narrative behind Leslie Seifert-De Los Santos’ donation of two NBA basketballs is especially touching. She shared:

“I spent some time thinking about my father, Arthur Seifert, whose lifelong recreation was basketball. He loved and excelled in it until he was 79 years old, when he suffered a heart attack while playing basketball.

“Dad recovered enough to shoot baskets for several years. He died three years ago, at 92 years old, after watching a basketball game with me the night before.

“Whenever I see a basketball, hear one bounce, watch children or professionals play, I remember my father’s eyes shining as he taught his daughters, the neighborhood children or the ‘young guys’ at pick-up games all over town, how to play and appreciate the game.

“Hopefully, whichever youngsters plays with the basketballs can enjoy that lifelong love of the game as well. Thanks for giving me the moment to remember.”

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The thanks belongs to everyone, too many to mention all here, who have already contributed and a reminder that there is still time to drop off a new sports ball at any local youth club or the Ventura County Star offices (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Dec. 21) at 550 Camarillo Center Drive near the Premium Outlets.

If you do pass out an assist, please email me at woodywriter@gmail.com so your donation can be added to the final tally.

And remember, “The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.”

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.

Wooden&Me_cover_PRCheck out my new memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece”

Bah-humbug thoughts

by Woody

STRAW_CoverWoody’s new book STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter is available for Pre-Order HERE NOW! In time for the holidays!

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Bah-Humbug Hangover From Black Friday

If you were expecting 700 words of holiday nice and pumpkin spice here this morning, you are going to be as disappointed as a kid who doesn’t find a Hoverboard under the tree this Christmas morning.

I have a Black Friday hangover. If you want good cheer, phone your grandma. I’m in a “Bah-humbug” mood.1bahumbug

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For starters, it annoys me when an all-inclusive “Happy Holidays” is misconstrued as being a “War on Christmas.”

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Call me Scrooge, but I say “Bah, humbug!” to Black Friday and Cyber Monday and to radio stations that started playing nothing but Christmas music before Thanksgiving arrived.

Ditto for stores and homes that put up holiday lights and reindeer decorations before the Halloween pumpkins were tossed out.

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It annoys me that so many drivers fail to even yield at a STOP sign but stop at YIELD signs when the roadway is clear.

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The simply red “War on Christmas” holiday cups at Starbucks don’t bother me, but I was annoyed the other day when the barista wrote my name as “Woddy.”

Actually, it made me laugh.

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“Small Business Saturday” annoys me – not because I am anti-local businesses, but because I think we should all make an effort to shop locally every Saturday.

For example, one study claims that for every $100 spent at a local businesses, $68 remains in the community versus just $43 for chain stores.

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I’m steamed at Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg for announcing that he, and his wife Priscilla Chan, will give away most of their fortune – 99 percent of their company shares with a current estimated value of $45 billion – in an effort to make the world a “better place” for their newborn daughter, Maxima, and others.

Why am I ticked? Because hitting the “Like” button for this Facebook post seems wholly inadequate, as does a modest donation to The Star’s annual Julius Gius Bellringer drive.

However, small local donations – to any cause – matter, so we all need to follow Zuckerberg’s example and give what we can.

As me hero John Wooden used to say, “Small things add up to big things.”

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I don’t much care whether Los Angeles gets an NFL team because I am a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan (pronounced “sufferer”).

Well, the Brownies – 12 seasons without a playoff appearance, 21 years without a playoff win, 51 years without a championship – ticked me off yet again last Monday night.

As they lined up for a last-second game-winning field-goal attempt against their archrival Ravens, I told my wife: “Because they’re the Browns, you just know the kick will get blocked and returned for a touchdown.”

My old Star sports page colleagues Jim “Swami” Parker and Derry “Deuce” Eads were never more clairvoyant: the blocked kick was returned 64 yards into the end zone as time expired. Even for the “Factory of Sadness” Browns, it was an impressive way to lose.

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Speaking of losing, Kobe Bryant ticks me off for not retiring two years ago instead of turning the Lakers into a West Coast “Factory of Sadness.”

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Telemarketers who ignore the No Call List get me more steamed than a freshly made Starbucks Holiday Pumpkin Spice Latte in any color cup.

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I’m also steamed at Adele, the pop megastar whose comeback album broke the all-time record for first-week sales with 3.38 million.

You see, I pre-ordered “25” as a gift for my daughter only to now learn that for the same price there is a Target Deluxe Edition available with three bonus tracks.

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It annoys me when the salsa is gone before the tortilla chips are.

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Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like it when guys wear hats in a restaurant. Many of them remind me of a quip my writing hero, Jim Murray, once told me at the sight of a young man wearing a ball cap backwards in the press box dining area: “I bet he has his brain on backwards, too.”

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I will end my bah-humbugging here before providing too much evidence that my own brain is on backwards.

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Wooden&Me_cover_PRWoody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.

Check out my new memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece”