A Newsworthy Man

This is NOT Charlie Sheen.  Thank goodness!  This here is a regular good guy -- working a 9 to 5 job, fathering 3 children, supporting 1 quirky wife, balancing a mortgage, several cars, 1 wayward cat and 1 elderly dog.  You may know of one in your corner of the world.  You won't soon hear about him on NBC or CBS or ABC or any other news outlet because what he does is not considered newsworthy.  He doesn't have a drug problem supported by a grandiose ego and enabled by those around him who are either too starstruck or too worried about missing the story to confront him with the ugly truth. 

Though in high school he excelled in several sports, and he passed on his athletic ability to his one and only son (as evidenced below in what I must modestly proclaim to be a rather outstanding shot), his prowess on the field and the court did not translate into a multi-million dollar contract.  It actually ended without any newsworthy fanfare after a knee injury, followed by knee surgery, sidelined him from a semi-professional football team in his early 20's.  Thus ending his chances of becoming a retired-athlete-announcer on ESPN.

This regular good guy spends a rather large portion of his valuable breadwinner time on a computer, both at the job site and at home.  (At home, he must compete for screen time on his laptop with that self-entitled feline of ours . . . who quite literally spends his nap time ON the computer!)  He considers himself a PART of the team and NOT the pivotal player who MADE the team what it is.  Hmmm, definitely not Charlie Sheen.

When he's not busy speaking programmer's mumbo-jumbo on his iPhone, palavering with his peoples about various technical support and system crash issues which leave my head reeling, he likes to pick his (NO, not his NOSE) guitar and bang on drums.  There he is on the far right, providing excellent percussion to our church worship music.

Though his career path veered away from coaching, encouraging his son through his victories and losses fills that niche quite nicely.  While he won't sign any lucrative contracts, he can rest assured that his player won't suddenly up and take his ball/bat/singlet to another team.

In times of minor crisis, this regular good guy steps in to assist -- without fanfare or cameras.
(Save that one family paparazzi to whom he's been married almost 22 years this month!) 

Often for something as simple as burying the poor Valdez hamster, Snickerdoodle.

No one will call for an interview.  There will be no probing questions about his choice of 'casket' or burial site.  No queries as to the fine craftsmanship of the rubberband-and-stick cross -- compassionately constructed by the saddened high school freshman boy.

Instead of trashing my reputation and accusing me of outlandish behavior, he encourages me to do that all by myself through my blog!  Though I sometimes judge and pester him, he hasn't traded me in for two post-pubescent goddesses, yet.

He's a brother and a son.  I think they would both agree that he has not brought shame upon the family.  On the contrary, they all mutually respect and admire the accomplishments of one another.  Quietly.  Behind-the-scenes.

His children not only have a cozy roof over their head, neat clothing to cover the rest, and filling food for their bellies . . . they can also count on their dad to be home at night, present at their important functions, lucid, loving, and capable of putting others ahead of himself.

If he has any vice, it's that danged chewing tobacco those cowboys back in high school hooked him on (but you'd never know it to see him -- perfect oral hygiene).  Oh, and strong black coffee in his favorite pink cup!

You know, if you hadn't guessed, I'm just tired of hearing about Charlie Sheen when there's an entire planet worth of other subjects, other people, other men.  What's new about a famous guy with an inflated sense of his own importance getting caught up in drugs and alcohol, making a complete fool of himself, bringing children into the mix, leaving a trail of women in his wake, living in complete denial thanks to the walking paychecks surrounding him, escaping jail time thanks to fancy lawyers when regular guys like my brother pay through the nose?  The only thing new is the mass media attention he has garnered as every network and magazine jumps through hoops so as not to be the only one without coverage.  Coverage which will air on some primetime special when this very ill man self-destructs and his abused body finally gives out.  

If we need to hear about men who struggle with life but continue to soldier on despite their flaws and the challenges of the everyday, I'd rather watch a story on the regular good Jimmys, Jeremys, Jerrys and Johns,  Daves, Darrells and Duanes, Kens and Kevins, Rodneys and Rons, Chucks and Clarks, Marks, Phils . . . you get the drill?! 

NO MORE CHARLIE SHEEN!  EVER-R-R!!!  (At least until he's dried out and humbled?)