Coach Wooden -- A Light in the Darkness

When we decided to keep the boys at home and enroll them in CAVA, I knew that my time would not be my own and that I would have to shift my schedule to accommodate errands, appointments, lunch with the girls (sniff) and other important things like shopping. However, the schedule has limited other things as well, namely my ability to read the newspaper. It was difficult to read the whole thing on a given day anyway, but it is a special pleasure for me to sit and gather up the news in this way. I also can skip the sections or stories that do not interest me that day, usually fashion (duh), sometimes sports and probably the rest of the business section (we have no money for stocks, so why peruse?).

Getting my news from the Yahoo page on my computer is a different type of information- gathering experience. While I do appreciate the immediacy of the news and yes, I can select what I want to read, it is not the same. For instance, there are far more stories about celebrities and their antics, which is okay, I guess, but I find myself drawn to those. When I see that a story is "trending," I worry about that person, only to find out that he or she has decided to split from his or her spouse or wore extremely high heels to her latest movie premiere. This is news? sheesh. At times, though, really cool news stories about my favorite people do appear, like Patrick Stewart being knighted. Make it so!

The other thing that depresses me about Yahoo news is the comments that appear at the end of every news story. Yahoo invites its users to comment on the material in the news story (again, something blissfully missing from the LA Times. Their comments are contained within beautifully crafted letters to the editor ). I'm not sure what purpose this serves other than to annoy those who actually care about grammar and good writing. The ignorance of basic writing and the English language displayed in these comments is breathtaking. It's like a train wreck, and I cannot look away. In addition to the horrible writing is the hatred that most of these people have toward everyone else. Never have I read (or tried to read; I'm serious; these comments are indecipherable) such vitriol, such prejudice, such mean-spirited words, and as I said such ignorance. It makes me sad for our country, and yet I look anyway.

On Thursday of this week, legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden was taken to the hospital. He was listed on Yahoo news in grave condition, and at 99, he was not expected to recover. I saw the story and was immediately devastated. In our house, UCLA is number one, and Coach Wooden is one of those people who is revered, even by those who attend rival schools. Coach died Friday night of natural causes.

If you don't know about Wooden and his legacy, here is a primer: he is the winningest (yes, it's a word) coach in college basketball history, but more than that, he is the coach that everyone refers to when they talk about success. He revolutionized the game of basketball by having his players go back to the basics, even teaching them how to put on their shoes and socks. Why? Because, he told them, everything matters. How you do each thing in your life matters. He developed a pyramid to success that included such things as perseverance and hard work. He made his players wear jackets and ties, be polite, get good grades, treat each other kindly. He knew that success on the court meant that players needed to be successful off the court. He was kind and humble and lived simply.

He also loved his wife. She passed away in 1985, and on the anniversary of her death -- on the 21st of every month -- he wrote her a love letter. When Coach showed Bill Plaschke, the Times writer, around his house (a small condo he lived in for more than 30 years), Bill was shocked to find that Coach had been writing letters to his wife. "I obviously don't have anywhere to send them, he said. But I had to write them anyway." She was the love of life, and he missed her greatly. He was a devoted man, a sweet man, an amazing man. The world is bereft of his goodness, and that makes me sad.

I braced myself for the comments on Thursday after reading about Wooden. This man was the pinnacle of goodness, and I could not stand for him to be slammed in any way. I was prepared to write back if needed. Imagine my surprise when I read comment after comment about the greatness of this man. Imagine my surprise when the comments were short and sweet with reasonable punctuation. Imagine my surprise when I read that people were generally saddened by his condition and wished him a speedy recovery. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find one negative comment, even a hint of negativity. Imagine my surprise when I read comments that gave actual examples of Coach's goodness and how he inspired them in life.

I shouldn't have been surprised. Coach Wooden was such an inspiration to everyone that he could even bring out good grammar in those who don't normally embrace it. He could calm the vitriol in those who normally spew it. He could cause the most hardened of hearts to pause and shed a tear. He will be missed. He cannot be replaced, but hopefully he will be emulated. We need more coaches like Wooden. We need more human beings like him. RIP Coach.