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July 2008: Cine-Philosophy, Part III
Preface: For the May through October Soapboxes, I will be presenting a six-part series on “Movie Quotes as Life Philosophy.” In my family, quoting movies is as natural as breathing. So, I thought I would make use of this habit and wax poetic on some of my favorites.
“Start using your head! That’s the lump that’s three feet above your ass!”
I’m guessing no one ever called Jimmy Dugan eloquent. But he certainly was pithy. Tom Hanks played the rough-edged manager in “A League of Their Own,” and he didn’t mince words with Evelyn when she let the tying run get on second base and thus lost the Peaches’ lead. Wow. . . . Talk about a straight shooter.
But you know, I think we all need to be told, straight up, to use our heads every now and then. There is too much victimization and too little personal responsibility sometimes, and people try to get away with cruising through life without thinking.
Take training, for example. You might read about a famous runner who puts in 100 miles per week and say, “why, that sounds like a good idea.” Now, are you really using your head in making this statement? Is it reasonable to expect to be able to run 100 miles per week with a full-time job and a family? For elite runners, running IS their job. And they tend to be married to other elite runners. So maybe it is not reasonable to expect that we regular joes should be able to keep up the same training schedule as Bernard Legat, who no doubt gets to nap daily and has his own massage therapist.
But let’s say you do not use your lump and you decide to try the mega-miles training program. Likely, you will get hurt sooner or later, most likely sooner. Does it make sense, then to address the issue right away and maybe lose only 3 or 4 weeks of your training? “Why, yes, Aimee, it does,” you say! So why, then, do most people train through injuries, not stretch, not do the strengthening exercises, not take a little bit of time off? Not using the lump!!! And when you come to me to ask for advice, I will simply harrumph and not feel badly that you have lost 3 or 4 months of your training.
As another example, let’s look at diet and nutrition. Yes, there is a lot of confusing and even conflicting information out there. But use your lump and do some investigation! Don’t just believe everything you hear on TV. For instance, there is a commercial out now for a certain “light and fit” yogurt. It is claiming to be fat free yet fortified with vitamins. One of these vitamins is vitamin D. Well, any dietician could tell you that vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. In other words, no fat = no absorption of vitamin D.
Next time you come to one of those decision-making points in your life, imagine your own Jimmy Dugan, coaching you to start using your head. Take a second, think of the big picture, and use your lump. Because in the real world, as in baseball, there’s no crying.
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