No. 1 vs. No. 2

[BeeBee]

I'm sorry Bellator, I didn't mean to offend you nor the sport.

You have to know John Irving's background and have had read several of his books in order to understand my comment. Wrestling, bears and midgets are three of his recurring themes, hence I paired two together.

You may not know but he was a high school and a college wrestler from age 14 to 34 and also a coach for a number of years after.

Check out this link.

http://www.wvmat.com/welker/irving.htm

He credits much of his success as a writer from the disciplines he learned as a wrestler.

"I think the sport of wrestling, which I became involved with at the age of 14... I competed until I was 34, kind of old for a contact sport. I coached the sport until I was 47. I think the discipline of wrestling has given me the discipline I have to write." John Irving

He was asked to do the introduction for and was also inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Here's a video on the importance of college wrestling and then a link to an introduction he gave concerning how the rules came about, in case you are interested.

Check out this link, I think you will find it very interesting.

http://wn.com/Professional_Wrestling_Hal..._Inductees

Although I have yet to read it because it didn't get the best of reviews, one of his more recent books might interest you because of the subject matter. It's entitled Until I Find You.

[Bellator]

(01-09-2012 04:15 PM)BeeBee Wrote:  I'm sorry Bellator, I didn't mean to offend you nor the sport.

BeeBee, I am many things.
Offended is not one of them.

Communicating by this means makes it hard sometimes to convey a meaning. I was actually laughing to myself when I was typing that response. I can't imagine you actually ever offending me.

Thanks for the info. on John Irving. Interesting stuff there....

[BeeBee]

(01-09-2012 10:16 AM)Andrea Wrote:  

(01-09-2012 09:10 AM)BeeBee Wrote:  

(01-08-2012 09:48 PM)Andrea Wrote:  John Irving is a writer. He wrote The World According to Garp and several other best sellers. He went to Iowa and usually has some character in his books who is a wrestler.

Owen Meany, is one of my all time favorite books. I really loved it, and it is one I have always kept a copy of throughout the years.

After having read it, and after my son was born a normal size almost 8 lbs, but then gradually started to fall off the growth charts, I refused the docs advice to give him growth hormones because of this book. It had a profound impact on me.
Io
FYI, turns out he was just a late bloomer. He's now 26, is taller than I and helps get things down that are too high for me to reach.

I haven't read that one. I'll have to get it. The last one I read is Cider House Rules. It has stuck with me very strongly. There are so many images from that book that come back to me from time to time.

I'm glad to hear that everything came out fine for your son!

It didn't bother me that our son might be someone of a smaller stature, but both my husband and my father back then, as men were concerned about what type of effect this would have on his life.

After reading Owen Meany, (and let me first preface this by saying I was still in my twenties) I became concerned about messing with his destiny by better living through Pharmaceuticals.

Yes, he did catch up, but even if he hadn't, the question to me back then was, did I have a right to intervene with what nature or the spiritual world had intended for him?

We are not speaking of withholding life saving anti-biotics, or trying to correct a severe deformity, we are speaking of his size. He was healthy, height to weight ratio was fine, just not growing according to the charts for his age.

Now revisiting this subject at a later date, I'm not sure if I believe in pre-ordained destiny or not but I'm still not sure if I believe in interfering with what someone was naturally supposed to be.

Who are we to judge and do we always know better?

We may at some point be able to perfect the body, but what if we take away all the imperfections that are all part of the human spirit and our characters, those that give us our individual personalities and the struggle to overcome?

What then do we become?

Barbies, Kens, Obamabots, the Borg?

Just some random thoughts, that this thread touching on John Irving, reminded me of, that I have yet to sort out.


Your friend,

Bee