The middle-class ladder has rungs that no longer exist for many trying to climb higher. Instead, for too many, in too many places, their chore is simply trying to hang on. Mike Barnicle More Quotes by Mike Barnicle More Quotes From Mike Barnicle Baseball isn't a life-and-death matter, but the Red Sox are. Mike Barnicle life-and-death red baseball What is forgiveness? An emotion? A coping mechanism? An element of deepest faith? A way for the heart and soul to combat the type of hate, anger, rage and a thirst for revenge that could ultimately consume a person? All of those and more? Mike Barnicle forgiveness anger faith heart If you want proof of what the country is really all about, just walk through the National September 11 Memorial Museum. Here it is, in the faces of the victims, in the stories of bravery, in the souls and memory of the survivors, the next of kin. Mike Barnicle walk memory you country We have more tools at hand, literally, to make life easier and more productive than ever. We have Google, Wikipedia, iPads, iPhones, iTunes, YouTube, Netflix, and 600 cable channels. We can shop, pay bills, order food, and get nearly everything delivered, all of it with the touch of a finger on a device in the palm of our hand. Mike Barnicle youtube everything food life Rebellion has its roots in government's indifference and incompetence. Mike Barnicle rebellion government roots We live in a culture where everyone's opinion, view, and assessment of situations and people spill across social media, a lot of it anonymously, much of it shaped by mindless meanness and ignorance. Mike Barnicle social-media ignorance culture people Cops, more than firefighters, EMTs or other public safety employees, almost always get the first glance of the human condition at the worst, most lethal moments; nobody calls a cop with good news. Mike Barnicle nobody good news moments It's your glove, your baseball glove. It's got a soul, a memory all its own, and a future that never fades because it has never let go of the grasp the past has on you and so many others. Mike Barnicle memory you future soul That's one of the great gifts of this, the greatest of all games, baseball: it allows you, still, to lose yourself in a dream, to feel and remember a season of life when summer never seemed to die and the assault of cynicism hadn't begun to batter optimism. Mike Barnicle yourself great you life Sixteen times a year, all thirty-two NFL teams give us what we're looking for: speed, skill, violence, fantasy league orgasms and a final score. No confusion. No doubt. No indecision. A winner and a loser. Mike Barnicle skill looking winner violence Baseball is a game that shouts, 'Slow Down' to America. Stop tweeting, texting, blogging, watching cable news, and obsessing about polls, lost planes, and focus-group-driven politicians. Mike Barnicle stop down game news I think blogging, by and large, is basically therapy. And I'm sure, and I know, that there are some terrific bloggers and some legitimate bloggers. But I think, by and large, a huge percentage of people who are blogging are doing it for self-therapy. Mike Barnicle doing think know people Political people give speeches and espouse positions declaring that America is the best and strongest nation in the world. Mike Barnicle best political people world Charleston, South Carolina, is about a 90-minute drive northwest of Beaufort and Parris Island. It is an old city reborn with new charm and an influx of snowbirds from the North attracted by its ease, comfort and accessibility. Mike Barnicle island drive city new Baseball is a movable conversation across nine innings. It is eye contact with the person seated next to you in a park where the pitcher is separated from the batter by 60 feet, six inches or in a family room where a 60-inch TV screen hangs on the wall. Mike Barnicle you family feet conversation Sadly, it seems as if there is no longer any real history. Just momentary reactions to events that disappear like sky-writing with items like Twitter, texts, Meerkat, Snapchat, and Instagram. Mike Barnicle like events real history Everyone has a smart phone, and everything is recorded. One event spills into another. Conclusions come quickly at the near total expense of consideration of what just actually happened. Mike Barnicle everyone phone everything smart Reality is self-defined as the mob, any mob, writes its own history, never to be contradicted by the quiet statement of truth. Mike Barnicle never truth history reality New York is about success. Boston is about resentment. Mike Barnicle new resentment new-york success I am, if nothing else, an optimist. Mike Barnicle am i-am nothing optimist
