Assessing Blame Bill O'Reilly | May 25, 2013

Assessing Blame Bill O'Reilly | May 25, 2013 So there I am coaching third base for my 9-year-old son's little league team. Man on second, one out. The batter hits a ground ball to third, and the fielder promptly boots it, so I send the runner in to home plate. He's ahead of the ball -- and then, suddenly, the KID STOPS RUNNING! He's tagged out. We lose by one run. Now, I'm old school. I played baseball for 15 consecutive seasons, winding up on an adult team called the New York Monarchs. We played Sunday doubleheaders under the scorching Long Island summer sun. I mostly pitched the second game, because the majority of my working-guy teammates were so hung over from Saturday night that we usually got pounded in the first game. When I was 9, I pitched for O.E. McIntyre, which I think was a furniture store near Levittown. Our coach chewed tobacco. We never stopped running. Too afraid of the coach. But today it's a whole new ballgame. Most parents are so happy their kids are out of the house and away from the computer that they don't care what they do on the field. Just getting them out there is a huge victory. I did not scold the kid who stopped running. But I did ask him why. He looked at me in a daze. I let it go. The after-game meal was at Friendly's, where a fried clam dinner will cost you nearly 2,000 calories. Add the free ice-cream sundae that comes with the dinner, and you're up around 4,000. It says that right on the menu. I ordered an "Asian Salad" and picked off a few clams from my son's plate. Foolishly, I tried to make a lesson out of the play at home that went against us. I asked my son: "Do you know why Ian stopped?" He looked up from his "monster sundae" and said: "Dad, you shouldn't be assessing blame." I swear he said that. Immediately, I called the State Department looking to get him a job on John Kerry's staff. "I'm not assessing blame. I'm just talking about the play." "But, Dad, he's just a kid." I forged on: "The reason Ian stopped running is that he was afraid he might be thrown out. He hesitated because of fear. You can't play anything afraid." My 9-year-old digested that along with his sundae, which was comprised of chocolate-mint ice cream covered with hot fudge (3,500 calories). "But, Dad, it's not his fault." And it really wasn't Ian's fault. We now live in a world where many parents micromanage their children. Outcomes for the urchins are almost assured. So when a situation arises in which the kid has to make a fast decision, there is almost always hesitation. That's way different from 1959, when I was making life-and-death decisions daily. Should I climb the "old oak" tree, which was 50 feet high? Of course I should. Right to the top. Did I ask my father for permission to do that? Would Eddie Haskell have asked his dad? (Google that.) Protecting the kids is usually good. But it comes with a price. Here's a life lesson: Don't stop running if you want to score. And watch those calories at Friendly's. Bill O'Reilly    Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" and author of "Who's Looking Out For You?" and Pinheads and Patriots.   Carl Ray Louk Not racist, not violent, just not silent anymore Fighting for lower taxes, less government, and more freedom. I am Carl Ray Louk and unlike the President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama, I stand with Israel FreedomWorks We are a community of over 2 million grassroots activists We recruit, educate & mobilize across the country Fighting for lower taxes, less government, and more freedom. http://www.freedomworks.org/ "Friendship Never Ends" SG-1996 "Let Love Lead The Way" SG-2000 "The Phoenix Shall Rise" Count Carl Ray Louk 2003 "Even A Man Who Is Pure In Heart And Says His Prayer By Nigh, May Become A Wolf When the Wolf bane Blooms And The Autumn Moon Is Bright." LT-1941 "Flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin when I say come to you, you shall cross land or sea to do my bidding!" CVTD-1895 "From Hell's Heart I stab at thee, for hate sake I spit my last breath at thee" CA-1895 "I have been, and always shall be your friend" Spock "Trick or Treat, Trick or Treat candy is dandy but murder, oh murder, is so sweet" Count Carl Ray Louk-2003 "Eye of newt, and toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog adder's fork, blind worm's sting, lizard's leg, and owlet's wing. For a charm of powerful trouble, like Hell broth boils and babble. Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn, and caldron bubble" WS Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarlRayLouk Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarlRayLouk MySpace: www.myspace.com/carlraylouk Yahoo Group: Yahoo! Groups : LouksHauntedGraveyardhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/LouksHauntedGraveyard/ Yahoo Group: Yahoo! Groups : TheWorldAccordingtoCarlRayLouk http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheWorldAccordingtoCarlRayLouk/