4. A rope for Baltimore Orioles management so they can pull themselves out of the big hole called complacency. Baseball, like business, is proof that you must constantly evolve and improve your product.
The Orioles have done nothing in the off-season to improve themselves following a better-than-expected result in 2012. They lived a charmed life in the Charm City last year and I don’t see that happening again unless they add a veteran starting pitcher and another slugger to play first.
I’ll take three years of Adam LaRoche and a scoop of mashed potatoes for my Christmas dinner.
5. And for mankind, I’m asking for a CD with one of my all-time favorite tunes: “Respect” by Aretha Franklin.
After reffing more than 50 high school and youth soccer games this fall and working at a newspaper for the last 20-something years and reading in horror about the events in Newtown, Conn., earlier this month,
I’m convinced that a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T could go a long way in bringing us together.
Life is hard sometimes, and I guess I don’t get it why we are so disrespectful to each other at times.
We see many examples of how we do respect each other and respond to help others in need. The efforts to help the victims of Superstorm Sandy and the Sandy Hook shooting are just two of the most recent.
But we can do more. We can slow down, hold the door, put a little extra in The Salvation Army kettle or the offering plate and let the car go in front of you in the Target parking lot today when we are rushing around for last-minute stocking stuffers. We can volunteer at the library, join the PTO at your kids’ school and show up to help at one of the food pantries or soup kitchens in your town.
It’s not just a good way to show respect, but a great New Year’s resolution.
6. And finally, I wish all of you a warm, Merry Christmas however, whenever and wherever you celebrate it.
Bill Kohler is Tri-State Editor of The Herald-Mail. Reach him at billk@herald-mail.com or at 301-791-7281.
