I’m difficult for people to explain or describe. despite my well-chronicled adventures, my friends and family have always had a challenge describing me to people that have never met me.

I was recently asked to provide a description to a Venture Capital organization that is recruiting me to run their strategy for the next five years. So, I sent them pretty much what you see below.

just for the heck of it, I’ll drop this other post I wrote a few years back about,

Sammy: The best argument I ever knew for Dogs in Heaven.

meanwhile, and to be clear, I’ve lifted the following description of the Rhodesian Ridgeback directly from an internet source.

the reason I’ve done this has less to arrogance or flippancy, and more to the point of a genuine desire to be transparent.

if you don’t like a good dog, you won’t care for me.

I am often compared to the Ridgeback breed. to be fair this is a better testament to myself, and less so for that august animal. and, of course the primary reason I picked Rowdy, the world famous Ridgeback,  is because I figured I could relate to him, in some manner. 

If God recycles us, in another manner, I was probably a Ridgeback, at some point, or should be. either way, this explains much of my world view, and physical characteristics.

to wit…

by physical description, the Ridgeback is a large, muscular hound. the broad head is flat between the ears. the muzzle is long and deep, with a defined stop. the nose is either black, brown or liver, depending on the coat of the dog. the eyes are round and are usually brown depending on the shade of the dog. the medium sized ears are set high, dropping down, wide at the base and tapering to a point. the chest is deep. the front legs should be very straight and strong. the tail is fairly long, thicker at the base, tapering to a point curving upward slightly. dewclaws are sometimes removed. the coat is short and dense with a clearly defined symmetrical ridge of hairs growing in the opposite direction down the middle of the back. coat colors include light wheaten to shades of red sometimes with a little white on the chest and toes.

I’m not as handsome as most Ridgebacks.

so… I’d be a blue-eyed Ridgeback that most reasonable breeders would stand skeptical over.

the Rhodesian Ridgeback is ferocious and fine hunter, but calm in the home. he is a gentle, obedient, good dog. the breed is good-natured, but some do not do well with small children because they may play too roughly and knock them down (my daughters will never let me live-down an episode involving soccer in our backyard).

Ridgebacks are intelligent, skillful and straight-forward dogs that are loyal to the family. they are brave and vigilant. a key characteristic is they can be reserved toward strangers, yet socialize well.  Ridgebacks possess considerable stamina and without enough mental and physical exercise they can become high strung and unmanageable. this breed needs a firm, confident, consistent pack leader (or a wife) who can provide rules the dog must follow, and limits to what it can and cannot do.

it must be noted that meek and/or passive owners, or owners who treat the dog like a human, rather than a canine, will have a hard time controlling this breed and may also cause them to become combative with other dogs. When given what they need as the canine animal they will be excellent companion dogs, but are not recommended for most people, as most do not have the time nor energy to put into them. Ridgeback’s react best to an extremely consistent and firm – but calm approach to training. they are extremely intelligent and learn quickly, but are very sensitive and will be stubborn and willful if they are more stronger-minded than the humans. Ridgebacks have an uncanny sense of fairness in terms of right and wrong.

Ridgebacks can smell hypocrisy a mile away, like prey, and instinctively resist it. training should be gentle, but firm and should start young while the dog is still small enough to manage. 

Ridgebacks are also very good watch dogs, but not suggested for guard dogs. they are very protective of owners. this has to be addressed during their early training. this breed can be more destructive than a Lab if not given enough exercise and is not convinced the humans are his authority figure.

Rhodesian Ridgebacks are a hardy breed, able to withstand dramatic changes of temperatures. do not overfeed this breed. provided this dog meets cats and other pets when it is young, any potential problem will be prevented. Ridgebacks make excellent running companions. 

I don’t care for cats.

Sammy. Heaven.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

Related posts:

1. brian's new Buddy!
2. Rowdy can Run
3. Rowdy is sleeping
4. rowdy is Rowdy
5. rOWdy
6. levity, in a manner of speaking
7. Rowdy's Boat
8. coolest dog Ever
9. Rowdy is alive and well
10. Happy Birthday (insert name here)

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here we go!

or, where do we go from here?

is it the end of the world, as you think you know it? or, are the best days of your lives, yet ahead?

hey… what if the Mayans just some how knew about the Democrats and the Fiscal Cliff? timing is everything if nothing.

in any event, Merry Christmas.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

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2. christmas Eve
3. Sammy: The best argument I ever knew for Dogs in Heaven
4. a generation of Risk-takers thumping their chests at Darwin
5. furious resolve if not Survival
6. obama's grandma isn't driving Healthcare
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I’ve been ever so busy with life. it’s good to be certain. and, those that know mw well, and perhaps not so much, all understand that it’s both Lacrosse and Soccer season.

that said, a newish friend of mine responded to a TeamSnap team email where I mentioned Mom being an Old Sacramento Debutante. he came back with some interesting information. my response is below. some of the information is new to some of you, not so much, for the rest. but, good insight into me, and whnce I come, just the same….

————

My Dad was a South Dakota farm boy and a 2nd Lieutenant when he met my Mom at a soiree in Old Sacramento in early 1959. They were introduced by my Dad’s best friend (my Godfather), who was also very close to my Mom.

My Mom grew up with Max Baer, Jr. (Jethro Bodine from Beverly Hillbillies and the son of Max Baer, the heavy weight champion) as her next door neighbor. She had the only back-yard pool of its kind in the city in that era.

A few months later, when Dad was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, he showed-up on Mom’s doorstep and, as the story goes said, “I have to go to Nebraska. If you’ll have me I need you to meet me there in a month. Plan on staying”.

She did just that. She and my Godmother jumped on a train and never looked back. I was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1960. I was evidently a “Mai Tai baby”, according to my Mom. There were witnesses.

We then found ourselves at Beale AFB when Dad made Captain. My younger brother Greg was born at Roseville General Hospital in 1965. I had many adventures all over Beale AFB, rather like Huck Finn.

In 1968 or 1969 my Dad headed to Southeast Asia for the first of two one-year tours. While he had two B52′s shot out from underneath his navigators chair my Mom held post back in Sacramanto. We lived in a rented house but visited the Mathers AFB Officers Club pool through the summers. I attended Albert E. Schweitzer Elementary School. Through all that we often visited my Nana Lenci (my Moms Nana) whom lived in Old Sacramento and ran bootleg gin out of her bathtub in the ’20′s. She made the best tortellini and brood soup you can imagine. She had also taught my Mom how to dive from the towers in Merced during the summers growing-up.

After that it was mostly midwest duty posts. Dad was highly decorated. Always promoted “below the zone”. He was the first navigator in SAC history to command a B52 Wing from the Navigators Chair. Later he moved over to Peacekeeper Missiles and commanded a Missile Wing. I believe he is also the only SAC Colonel to have commanded two Wings under separate missions.

After my Mom died of cancer in 1985, Dad sent me off to Los Angeles with my college degree to work at Northrop Corporation. Thats where I double-dipped and played another round of college Lacrosse at Loyola Marymount, where I received one of my two advanced degrees. I spent every hour I could surfing, playing Lacrosse and volleyball and building a commodities trading model that I sold to Dean Witter. I had a house in Manhattan Beach, a Condo in Pacific Palisades, and a loft in Santa Monica. That’s where I also met Joanne, twenty-two years ago, this December. I’ve never “seen” another girls since (just like my Dad).

I still surf, have the girl of my dreams, and love Lacrosse. Most of its tied to California, some how.

I’m certain my own daughters will read these stories one day. perhaps they will remember the “face of their father” and value his memories – they’ve formed me, after all. so, I’m delighted to share them with all of you, as well.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

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5. the face of my Father
6. Obama responds conclusively to brian Cork
7. Dan the Man
8. a generation of Risk-takers thumping their chests at Darwin
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so…

I took more than the usual heat this weekend for prior posts such as, french are practical and damn silly Basterds. but, I stand by it, all of it

just like I’ll stand by Lance Armstrong.

I knew a couple of days before the papers (internet, actually) unleashed the news on a stunned world. Matthew McConaughey called with the words, “Lance is gonna walk away, man”.

headlines outlined the reality… Lance Armstrong Ends Fight Against Doping Charges; Will Be Stripped of Tour de France Titles

so… after more than two decades of out-pacing opponents and a decade of outrunning accusations that he had “doped” during his celebrated cycling career, Lance Armstrong, one of the most well-known and accomplished athletes in history, finally surrendered, so-to-speak on Thursday afternoon, etching a dark mark on his legacy by ending his fight against charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

that reads rather officious. but, I mean it appear stern and bleak. those words ring true in my own life, albeit on a different scale.

Lance and I both gave-up the face-of-our-fathers (name) with the expectations that we could move-on with our lives.

I won’t pretend, and not for a moment, that I am somehow on-par with Armstrong. what he accomplished as a professional athlete, and as a transformative champion against cancer are unequalled. my own athletic achievements, and what I attempt daily as a Dad, businessman, and youth coach will always be overshadowed by what happened to me in Colorado.

but, God knows that my heart was pure. and, I work every day to earn my own sense of redemption. and Lance has that opportunity before him.

Armstrong, who won the Tour de France an unprecedented seven straight times, said on Thursday night that he would not continue to contest the charges levied against him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which contended that he doped and was one of the ringleaders of systematic doping on his Tour-winning teams.

Armstrong’s decision, according to the World Anti-Doping Code, means he will be stripped of his seven Tour titles, the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Olympics and all other titles, awards and money he won from August 1998 forward. it also means he will be barred for life from competing, coaching or having any official role with any Olympic sport or other sport that follows the World Anti-Doping Code. the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency erased fourteen years of Lance Armstrong’s career Friday, including his record seven Tour de France titles – and, banned him for life from the sport that made him a household name and hero to millions of cancer survivors after concluding he used banned substances.

but, it does not mean he actually doped, mind you. it means he has more important things to focus on.

Armstrong clearly knew his legacy would be blemished by his decision. but, he said he has grown tired of defending himself in a seemingly never-ending fight against charges that he doped while piling up more Tour victories than anyone ever. Lance has consistently pointed to the hundreds of drug tests that he passed as proof of his innocence during his extraordinary run of Tour titles.

“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now,” Armstrong said Thursday night, hours before the deadline to enter arbitration.

“Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances,” he said. “I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities.”

that said…

Livestrong donations skyrocket in wake of Lance Armstrong’s decision to stop fighting charges

go to hell Jim Lewis.

that won’t make sense to anyone else, but me, and Joanne, probably. however, it makes me feel a bit better.

in any event, many wondered if Livestrong – the foundation for cancer survivors founded by the seven-time Tour de France winner and testicular cancer survivor – would suffer as a result.

It doesn’t look like it.

on Friday, McConaughey said that Armstrong had told him that donations to Livestrong were up twenty-five times over the prior Thursday and Wednesday averages.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Armstrong wrote on Twitter.

Doug Ulman, Livestrong’s chief executive, confirmed on ESPN that the foundation had received seventy eight thousand dollars in unsolicited donations in the twenty-four hours following the announcement of Armstrong’s decision. Compare that to Thursday, when Livestrong received just $3,200 (just so we are clear, I did not do that, you did).

and, Ulman told our own foundation director that Livestrong has seen a thirteen percent increase in contributions in the last twelve months, in the light of all the allegations.

moving-on, past obstacles just as he does with opponents, in a manner that will always define Lance Armstrong, he is still competing in bike races. on Saturday, Armstrong finished second in a thirty-six mile mountain bike race in Aspen, Co., where he made his first public comments since being hit with the lifetime ban.

“Nobody needs to cry for me,” Armstrong told reporters. “I’m going to be great.

“It’s not so much about racing anymore,” he continued. “For me, it’s more about staying fit and coming out here and enjoying one of the most beautiful parts of the world, on a beautiful day, on a very hard course.”

maybe the bottom-line is this… since Armstrong launched Livestrong in 1997, the foundation has raised close to $500 million.

“Drugs or no drugs,” pro-cyclist Matthew Serge wrote on Twitter, “anyone that raises $500 million to fight cancer is cool by me.”

“I’m focused on the future,” Armstrong said after the Colorado race. “I’ve got five great kids, a great lady in my life, a wonderful foundation that’s completely unaffected by any noise out there, and we’re going to continue to do our job. The people like the people who are standing around here or on the course, they voiced their opinion in the last 48 hours and are going to support us.”

Jeremy Swanson, a photographer who shot Armstong in Aspen, tweeted: “#StillMyHero.”

McConaughey says that the winner of Saturday’s race, 16-year-old Keegan Swirbul, added: “I’m so psyched right now – to beat the seven-time Tour champ.”

titles, pride, prejudice… none of it matters in the face of integrity, force-of-will, a raison d’être, or that little voice in the back of your head that pushes you over huge hills and life obstacles grimly telling some of us that we can do it, we still have a battle to win, we have value and can contribute.

and, we shall.

redemption is always at-hand. so, how do we define redemption? I tried it recently with another post, how do You define Redemption. read it. do it now!

I suppose the masses will judge Armstrong with a shallow view. but, Lance and God know that his legacy is bigger than racing titles. Lance is bigger than life. God gave that ability to him, and may want Armstrong to leverage it in ways most others can’t comprehend. so, with the world still his stage, perhaps his best achievements lie before him. that can be his legacy.

that’s what I want for myself.

that is it’s own form of redemption, right. how well do we finish? what is the final score, tally, result.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

Related posts:

1. lance is a Yellow basterd
2. my lance armstrong perspective: character and integrity are the same but different depending on strategy if not American ingenuity
3. french are practical and damn silly Basterds
4. I hope you will write about Me some days
5. good food and Hope
6. my hero, today
7. authentic human progress
8. how do You define Redemption?
9. the life of being a Hero

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