Back in the days when football coaches also taught classes, the senior high varsity football coach, Coach Tyree, also taught eighth grade Algebra. Now I don’t put coach in the category as the “most memorable teacher” I ever had. Nor was he “the teacher who most influenced.” But, I do remember his gruff voice, how he would get frustrated when basic algebra didn’t sink in to his students, and for his sayings. The most memorable being, “Hubbell, if it were raining silver dollars, your barrel would be upside down.” It has stuck with me, as well as the memory of “rain barrels” at the end of every gutter of my grandmother’s house. I bet many of my readers don’t know what I’m talking about.
I read recently a similar wise saying. “Some people are living in pint pots, with the covers down.” Coach Tyree and my recent reading remind me that until we are free of anxiety regarding any matter, we are not the master of it. I must be open to new experiences, new approaches, and new ideas if I’m to develop. My life, like Coach Tyree’s barrel, must be ready to receive whatever may fall. Where are you living, is your barrel right side up?
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