It's been difficult to get myself all excited about the University of Arkansas being granted a permit to peddle beer and wine in 13 indoor club areas of the Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium beginning this fall.
I winced, then squinted, pursed my lips and even hopped up and down to boost circulation. But the thrill wasn't happening. So instead of gasping, I yawned.
It's not as if the alcohol hasn't already been flowing in the stadium's private skybox suites (and around the stadium). But now the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division has stamped its approval on some 9,000 other fans being able to legally consume it as long as they keep their drinks indoors.
That distant cha-ching you may hear is the sound of all those resulting thousands in revenue being rung up for the athletic department.
Funny, I've always believed the effects of alcohol were the same whether one is seated inside or outside a stadium, or anywhere for that matter.
I mean, if one consumes the stuff in the shady indoors and steps outside into the sun, does his or her sobriety level somehow change?
Shows what I apparently don't know about the finer points of blood alcohol levels. But wait, hmmm. Then what about all those who entered the stadium after those big pre-parties in the parking lots? I'm now officially a tad confused.
Actually, the Southeastern Conference has a policy that prohibits sale or possession of alcohol in public areas of athletic stadiums, which keeps the Razorbacks in bounds here when it comes to that rule.
Yet I can't help but believe that once beer and wine sales in the indoor club areas is established and proven lucrative for the athletic program, the economics alone will be enough for the powers that be to move toward selling such drinks to the other 60,000 who also paid handsomely to watch games after well-lubricated "tailgating" outside.
We might as well deal with reality here, right, valued readers?
Life's heroes
Forty-six years have passed since Pat Moles lost his left arm at the elbow and two fingers on his right hand (along with numerous serious internal injuries) to a land mine outside a firebase in Vietnam.
I watched my partner, now 68, at the popular 10th annual United Way Golf Tournament in Harrison (where Pat formerly served as the town's mayor) slide his seven iron into the custom-tailored sling that holds his clubs in what remains of his left arm as he swings.
The rain was showering down on us as he drew back and sent the white dimpled ball flying high toward the green, settling 130 yards away about 12 feet from the pin. He'd done it again! And then he made the putt.
It's a good thing for each of us to have heroes in our lives. Their courage and strength of will can't help but serve as encouragement, inspiration and perspective for the rest of us, especially those who prefer whining and complaining to accepting and overcoming life's endless challenges.
So I want to say that Pat Moles, formerly of the U.S. 82nd Airborne, has become one of my heroes as we've enjoyed losing and winning together as partners in this tournament for seven years now.
Just watching and appreciating his determination and truly remarkable ability makes me a better person with improved context and perspective. I suspect all others who know Pat share my feelings.
And as for this year's event, co-sponsored by the town's Community First Bank, FedEx Freight and Magness Toyota (with 40 others) entertained 74 teams and now has raised an astounding $120,000 for local charities since it began in 2004. This could be an effective example for other communities in need of support for their agencies.
And, as last year, the former big-city radio personality Dan Timbrook from Harrison kicked off the two-day tournament by belting out the national anthem a cappella. As I've written, this gathering is bound to be the only two-person scramble community tournament in the country that kicks off with the Star Spangled Banner.
Dropping attachments
I've long appreciated the late Jesuit priest and author Anthony de Mello of India. He departed this world in 1987 at age 55. His keen insights into the human condition were nothing short of divinely inspired as he cautioned us in his book Awareness to wake up because we are sleepwalking through our brief lifetimes.
Here's one message he left that we all can learn from when it comes to something as enormously complex as human relationships:
"I have no fear of losing you, for you aren't an object of my property, or anyone else's. I love you as you are, without attachment, without fears, without conditions, without egoism, trying not to absorb you. I love you freely because I love your freedom, as well as mine."
Strikes me that this message is what we wannabe perfect human animals ought to strive for during our lifetimes ... before we invariably run headlong into our heavily conditioned insecurities, egos and fears.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected]. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.
Editorial on 06/22/2014