Feel free to indulge yourself with an audio version of this post,  brian cork can run Over the Abyss. click on the link to listen. do it!

so… I found myself being updated around the continuing adventures of Mary Guthries family. I coached two of her daughters in soccer for a couple of years. they taught me a lot. and, like my own daughter, Haley Anne, I’ll likely long consider great days of coaching soccer as being associated with the Guthrie girls, Claire and Grace.

I’ll keep the details of the most recent email exchange with Mary in trust. but, the immediate result would be the following excerpt from that dialogue…

[...]

I am, the eternal optimist.

my own home is under pressure from Satan. I know that sounds dramatic, and it’s meant to be. I don’t know precisely how Satan works because I don’t qualify as as an evangelical Christian. but, in my imagination, this is how dante may have been inspired for the abyss.

but, I always feel like I can prevail and with the balances of forces between good and evil, light and dark, I am a good guy, and thusly hold a tenuous advantage. kind of like the Hal Jordan Green Lantern (my favorite). the ring knows Jordan’s heart is pure, and his greatest test is always his own deeply rooted sense of humanity. that constant test of strength, character and will raises him above many of his brethren, and fuels the awesome power of the ring that is focused against evil.

so Mary, this Fred character makes me think of Sinestro, a Green Lantern arch villain. Or, possibly a Shakespearean villain (actually Sinestro is quite Shakespearean by design, I’m certain, and he is clearly meant to come across as fascist). I’m not prepared to label Fred a “fascist” (mostly because I know hardly anything about him), but he should always offer the courtesy of keeping you in the loop where the kids are involved. but, with that said, I have to believe your daughters approach him with a mix of many feelings, not the least of which is curiosity. but, I would trust them to maintain a level head. you can tell them I expect they’d both to make terrific Green Lanterns.

moods are good. they suggest “feeling” with it’s attachment to life, and change. remind Claire to take a run when she might feel blue. it certainly works for me.

[...]

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

I’m having an admittedly tough day.

some of it has to do with the recent cyber-bullying Haley Anne recently endured (that’s the right word, endured). I had to question my prowess as a Dad to even let that sort of thing happen in her life. I still remember her, at three years old, stomping in a rain puddle, and exclaiming, “Daddy! That’s My Daddy! Hi Daddy!”, waiting outside the garage for me to pull-in, and home from work. She’s banned from Facebook and Twitter, and we’ve taken steps to block the evil from reaching her via iPhone.

and, of course, I’m taking heat from my Lacrosse Club for being over-the-top. but, I’ve formed a covenant with my players; I always do. and, they trust me. my job is to make them better, and then, great Lacrosse players. The Board of Directors can’t keep up with me. but, where is my responsibility? my heart is on my sleeve, all the time, and it’s taking a beating.

Joanne is displeased with me. all I want to do is make my girls happy. it doesn’t always work, so not often enough. so, I act like a Rhodesian Ridgeback. that’s an overly sensitive lot that has an unusually keen sense of fairness.

I had a young entrepreneur practically in tears this morning because he could not articulate a valid Return on Investment (ROI) for his business idea. it was so hard to show him the truth. big dreams break hard and painfully so. I see more of my own daughters in everyone every day and pray someone like me will be there ego guide them, in turn.

but, it’s me that happens to be the common denominator. I acknowledge that. my struggles are hardly Biblical. but, certainly the stuff of a parable, or two, eh.

it’s always the Kobayashi Maru. but, I do find a measure of solace in understanding that character and faith (including in myself) are best when tested.

just give me time, everyone. I promise to pull it all together, for good effect.

today I’m listening to Fall At Your Feet, by Crowded House.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

well…

it’s all quite official, at least in my household, anyway…

Facebook is dead.

this is certainly not the first time you’ve seen my ferocious opinions around Facebook. some example simply must include, Facebook is on a Mission but not from God, why Facebook might be a great bad story, and, Facebook’s contribution to Terrorism. and, there is more to be sure, heck yeah.

to be fair, to a point, I’m reasonably confident my Haley Anne fanned the flames (there, is ample evidence that she is a Cork, after all), but the seething hate that sprung from former friends and other girls across Atlanta through Facebook and Twitter may well have brought several servers to the point of melt-down.

in most cases it was the language they used, but no less the imagery and threats leveled that disturbed my force. some of these kids had been in my home and on my boat, for Gods’ sake. so, when Joanne showed me some of the messages I was stunned, I mean really shocked to my core. I’ve fought like Green Lantern my entire life against bully’s of all kinds. but, these cowardly devils from the abyss known as cyber space realize an unprecedented low.

in any event, Haley Anne mutely surrendered her iPhone and Airbook to her Mom so Joanne could investigate the trail of ugliness and get the right people involved. and, they are.

but, the next and best steps were to close Haley Anne’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. we’ll investigate other platforms. please feel free to make recommendations. do it!

she’ll have a shiny new iPhone 4S for her troubles and the fervent hopes of her parents and better circle-of-friends that she can focus on the better things that life has to offer that might include studies, soccer, and less likelihood of carpel tunnel syndrome.

Zuckerberg has made billions of dollars, and I’m sure he feels great about that. but, I hope one day he understands what he has unleashed upon a culture that was unprepared for his platform to be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

many parents and thought leaders, in fact, decry Facebook. but, how many of you are, in truth and fact, willing to do something about it? you are challenged!

so, I’ve set the example, in my own actions. the rest if left up to the rest of you.

for the record, I do have a Facebook account that was built by my public relations people (Cork has public relations people?), but I don’t accept friends on it and never sure what it could be used for other than to start trouble from somewhere. and, I have a Twitter account. thats how a mere handful of you get notice of my epic blog posts, eh. but, I’m certainly not part of the internet solution there. my blog automatically pushes content out to Twitter, but I don’t follow anyone or even respond to tweets. I’m much too self-absorbed for that with changing the world, and all. so, I’ll have none of that hypocrite hockey puck stuff.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

I found myself offering the following bon mot to a younger fellow in my community based on something of a repartee we’ve found ourselves engaged around:

Keep looking inside. Eventually you will start to recognize what others see from the outside, and your perspective makes more sense to the majority. that makes you relevant.

I get to coach so many people across the four seasons of life that I’m fortunate enough to be constantly reminded that few of us can rest on laurels, or get too relaxed about our critical roles in life.

I had Haley Anne leaning on my shoulder while I was tapping that message into existence. she’s had a tough week with a cyber bully from another school. I’ll discuss this more later, but I despise Facebook all the more, and a lot of the social networking platforms available are simply dangerous platforms from which evil can launch all manner of assault. Haley Anne needed her Daddy. and, we are getting ready to start driving lessons. …wow…

in any event, she read the message aloud a few times and finally rewarded me with:

okay… the more you read that it actually makes sense.

I think it helps that we’ve had a running dialogue, whether she realized it or not, over the past few months about perspective, and what it means. it can be a trying concept. but, it’s foundational. and, it makes my point, here. the fellow referenced above is now over thirty. Haley Anne just shy of fifteen. I’ll be one hundred years old in fifty years.

I have a lot to both learn, and teach. and, I really do need to keep thinking from all the angles.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork