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Daniel Nest's avatar

Man, that story is nothing compared to this other guy who bowled a perfect game. His name was Simpson. Homer Simpson. If you haven't heard of him, you should probably check out a famous cartoon series they made about his life.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

It's so funny- I watched the Simpsons SO much from 1989 until (let's say) 1998 or so, when I just kind of checked out of all regular TV watching activity for a few years. I might be off by a couple years one way or the other, but the Simpsons persisted as a regular part of my week even after I moved out and became punker than thou. But over the last 25 years, I haven't watched a single episode!

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Daniel Nest's avatar

Yeah, I haven't been keeping up to speed with any new episodes either, and I'm always caught off guard when I am reminded that the show is STILL going strong.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Indeed - I'm glad it's still out there, even if I don't take advantage of it personally. I do think it steadily makes the world better, though.

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Evan Essig's avatar

Bundy sat back being miserable about what could have been. You think about what could be.

Also there is real true glory in the volume of lives you have helped shape over the years by being a great coach, instructor, and conscientious business owner and community member.

I am one of those people you helped. I try to pay it forward by helping others as well.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Thanks, Evan - it means a ton to hear this! You're a genuine dude, and I appreciated our time together, both in proximity and in terms of the projects we worked on.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Bundy's story does have a more positive real life precedent. Let me introduce to you Harold "Red" Grange: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Grange

In October 1924, playing for the University of Illinois against the University of Michigan, he scored FIVE touchdowns running, threw a touchdown pass, and made two interceptions!

Naturally he ended up playing pro for just over a decade after that, though he had to supplement his income by delivering ice in the off-season....

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Great addition here. I wonder if Al Bundy was at all loosely based on Grange! I'm sure the writers must have heard of him.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Now that I think of it, Red did look a little bit like Al, both being stocky white guys…

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Joseph L. Wiess's avatar

4 touchdowns in a single game...Glory, fame....potential college and he married Peggy, the redhead that sucked his soul out. lol.

I remember that show.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

I really liked "Peggy" in "Sons of Anarchy" too! She was a badass granny asskicker, kinda the opposite of Peg in some ways.

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Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

I like your me talk, and I think I came to a similar realization after marching through the first 2/3 of my life never once wanting to rest on any laurels; now I like looking back. It's odd.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

It's so cool to get older in so many ways. I know there's the down side! Nobody needs reminding there, but we probably don't talk about these good aspects enough.

Forgive me if I write about this all over again in a month or so! It's an important theme for me to remember to revisit, since it wasn't always hard-wired into me.

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