04/06/23 It Ain’t Easy Being Green. – Radically Rational

04/06/23 It Ain’t Easy Being Green.

We all live contradictions, inconsistencies and head-scratching self-reversals.

I live mine for four days every April.

I am anti-elitism. Egalitarian R Me. I’ve been this way since I was a little boy. My father gets the credit—or blame—for this. My dad treated everyone with equal respect, no matter what their apparent stations in life. He walked the walk on that, and taught me to follow the same path.

He rejected exclusion, and a big dollop of that even-handedness landed on my head.

So, I’m anti-elitist. Until those annual four days in April.

Nothing is more elitist than The Masters. Yeah, the folks at Augusta National have reluctantly been forced to tone it down in recent decades, but the tournament’s roots in discrimination and condescension run deep.

To be true to my history, my beliefs and my orientations, I should pass on The Masters and watch Andy Griffith re-runs instead.

But starting later on this Thursday morning, I will be in Masters Lockdown for the next four days. Don’t call me. Don’t text me. Don’t bother me. I’m watching The Masters.

We all live contradictions, inconsistencies and head-scratching self-reversals.

I’m saddened by comments made by LSU basketball star Angel Reese, who now says she’s not going to the White House and that the rest of her team should not, either. Yesterday in this space, I gave both Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark a salute for the mature way they appeared to have handled the Jill Biden flap. While the First Lady has since walked it back, she proposed that both the LSU and Iowa teams visit the White House, in the name of “sportsmanship.” Good intentions aside, it was a ridiculous idea, and LSU was understandably offended. Champions go to the White House. Runners-up go to Applebee’s. Iowa’s Clark agreed, and graciously said LSU should bask alone in the spotlight.

But now Reese says she’s not going to D.C. anyway. The problem is her team has already accepted the White House invitation.

Worse, Reese took the completely unnecessary cheap shot that, “We’ll go to the Obamas.” This is why we can’t have nice things, and it makes me sad.

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Paul's Bio

I clearly have the attention span of your median fruit fly.Look! Airplane!

Sorry. I’m back.

It’s both a curse and a blessing. I’ve never bought this stuff about, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But I do think that a wide range of life experiences helps us grow as people, and helps us better relate to other people. I’ve been fortunate. And I am beyond grateful.

I show up on time. I go like hell. I’m a good listener. I hold myself accountable. I own my mistakes. And I have a natural and an insatiable curiosity. I’m never afraid to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t. But then I try to find out.

The flip side is I’m a lousy ballroom dancer and my clothes sometimes fit me funny.

Stuff matters to me. I care. But while I take that stuff seriously, I try hard to never take myself seriously. As a result, I have sometimes been told, “Paul, it’s hard to tell when you’re serious and when you’re just having some fun. Which is it? Serious or fun?”

My answer is “yes.” But I think that is a legitimate criticism. I promise I’m going to work on that.

This has been the quickest and strangest half-century I’ve ever experienced. During that period, I’ve been afforded amazing opportunities in news and sports journalism across all platforms. I have taught wonderful students at the high school and collegiate level. Always, I learned more from them than they did from me. I’ve been a high school administrator. I spent ten seasons as a high school varsity football coach. I’ve been an advertising executive. I’ve hosted nationally syndicated television entertainment shows. In maybe the biggest honor I ever received, I was selected by NASA to be “Chet The Astronaut” for the “Land The Shuttle” simulator at Space Center Houston. (All I can say there, is “Do as I say, not as I do.” I put that thing in the Everglades more often than not.) Most recently, I just wrapped up a decade as a television news director, during which time our teams distinguished themselves in holding the powerful accountable, achieving both critical and ratings success.

What does all that mean? It means I am profoundly grateful. It also means I’m ready for “next.” So here we are. Radically Rational. It’s an idea I woke up with in 2017. I scribbled “Radically Rational” on a piece of notebook paper and used a magnet to stick it on our refrigerator. I saw it every day, and it just would not leave me alone.

I am second in charge at Radically Rational, LLC. My wife, Jo (also known as BB), is the president. Clearly, I have failed in my attempt to sleep my way to the top of this organization.

I hope you will learn that I’m loyal as a Labrador. But I will admit that this doggie can bite every now and then. My promise to you? I will show up on time. I will go like hell. I will listen to you earnestly and attentively. I will hold myself accountable. I will never be the least bit hesitant to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t.

But then I’ll try to find out. Let’s do it.