Anna, the diaper and the Zig Zags

It's Thomas Edison's birthday today. I've always had a trivial brain. It packages unrelated facts with no redeeming value other than my ability to be able to think February 11 and have a lightbulb immediately appear on the brain screen.

Heaven forbid, for the day when that lightbulb burns out. It must have some life left because Thomas Edison occupied his annual space today. He's kinda cool for lots of inventions, but for me, the fact that he was born 100 years prior to my arrival also makes him kinda special. Happy 160th, Thomas.

My brain also likes to keep track of the quirky stuff that happens in the world. Of course, it lit right up the first time earlier this week when I read about the astronaut, the pepper spray and the diaper.

Finally, after all these years, it was confirmed. They do wear diapers in space for nature's callings. I've often heard the question posed but never, until this week, have I been privy to the answer. For some reason, I thought they were probably hooked up to a built-in mini septic system. It is kind of uncanny (no pun intended) to think of just how one performs those bodily functions in a weightless state.

Indeed, the story about the astronaut, which revealed outer space toilet secrets, was about as bizarre as they become. It definitely made for late-night comedy fodder, just as the strange sequence of events unleashed lots of questions about what went wrong with this lady.

First came the shock that someone of astronaut stature and perceived sterling human character would succumb to such raw, out-of-control and bizarre behavior. Then, the jokes, and then the out-and-out realization that all humans are endowed with the potential for self-destruction. It will be interesting to see just what went wrong with this lady who seemingly had it all and threw it away.

Anna Nicole Smith had it all too----that voluptuous body, all that money, all that fame, all those drugs and all that entourage of vultures hanging around waiting for their opportunity to capitalize. The timing of her sudden death was a surprise, indeed, but the apparent circumstances around it seemed to surprise no one.

I heard time and again from her family, her friends and those who saw her in action that they expected as much. Like Elvis, like Marilyn, she has, however, sealed her immortality, especially in the tabloids. As long as there's one more angle which will sell one more tantalizing account, Anna has found herself a secure place in the annals of pop culture. I wonder if she enjoyed life or if it was all a blur.

Then, came the story closer to home----two Zags busted for drugs, thrown in jail for the night, suspended from playing indefinitely. One, the up-and-coming big star; one, the injured red shirt. This news hit like a swift kick in the gut, which I've experienced first tummy, by the way---twenty-one years ago when my young colt Rambo landed one dead-on with his razor sharp hoof. I dropped to the ground unable to breathe, while my sister stood over me and couldn't stop laughing while listening to me groan out loud. Some people do laugh at funny things.

Anyway, to say that this news was a shock is an understatement. As one of the huge legion of Gonzaga fans across the region, I could only wonder how magnified that swift kick was to the coaches, the team, or the families. The arrest made headlines across the country within hours. Folks were stunned, to say the least.

Since that arrest, I've read the cliches launched in quick judgment of those Gonzaga fans who are in shock, i.e., what young person hasn't made a mistake, isn't a person is innocent until proven guilty, etc.? Just as those young men have their day in court, just as we understand that young people make mistakes, don't we still have the right to be shocked, stunned and disappointed?

Don't we have the right to wish that some teams like our beloved Bulldogs do serve as a shining beacon above all the depressing, dark behavior that we read about and watch every day in the world around us? Are we wrong to expect that maybe there still exist those refreshing exceptions to the rule where respect for what one's stature represents to the masses will supersede selfish behavior?

The shock-and-awe of yesterday's Gonzaga revelation hit hard. The end of the story for these players has yet to be written. We know from the news reports that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong stuff in their car. The rest of their legal story will be determined in court. The remainder of their life story depends on choices they will make in the future. Let's hope this hard lesson sets them back on course and provides some positive chapters ahead.

The magic of the Cinderella basketball team, which has brought so much joy to so many, took a brief hit yesterday, but I believe last night's display of teamwork, determination and leadership demonstrated for us another lesson in life. We may collapse to the ground after taking one of those swift kicks, but if we rise up more determined than ever, good things can and will happen.

Therein shine Thomas Edison's lightbulb and the human spirit. It's not all dark.