Weekly Wrap-Up: June 7

What Is This?

Every Monday, I document the happenings of the past week. The original (and still primary) intent is to track my progress in meeting my writing goals. Increasingly, I’ve been discussing more than just writing. For example, I’m a sports nut, so occasionally I’ll throw in a sports tidbit. I may talk about World of Warcraft, do-it-yourself projects, travel, food, or beer and wine. I think potpourri fits very well. *grins*

Writing

Weekly Word Count

My weekly goal is 2,000 words. I use an Excel spreadsheet to track all my work by category (blog post, copyediting work, creative writing) and item. So all I need to do is add up the “words” column and I’m good to go. Blog posts and creative writing count full credit. Copyediting for other writers is counted at ten percent of the starting word count for the document; style sheets for that copyediting will count twenty-five percent. Editing my own work, if and when I get to that point, will count fifty percent of the starting word count. This week’s word count: 1,359. Fail x2 x3. Okay, I promise to do better this week.

• Blog Post: “Weekly Wrap-Up: May 31,” 991 words
• Copyediting: Feather Path, Chapter 12 (twice) @ 10 percent: 256 words

Thank goodness for Iris! Just in case you haven’t visited her blog, I heartily recommend you do so, posthaste, if you enjoy speculative fiction in any form. Her novel, Feather Path, is an excellent work that tells the story of a demon huntress chasing an angel, to kill him for an underworld boss. And no, I don’t mean La Cosa Nostra. Let me make a slight correction: a boss from the Underworld; i.e., Hell. Except, someone else wants the angel dead, too—someone Kaiyu, the demon, dare not cross. Unfortunately, that may have already happened. One of the chapters of Feather Path is an accounting of The Fall, and presents those events in a much different light than, say, Paradise Lost. And I daresay (because I have, a couple times already), Chapter 12, “The Offering,” is the best and most dramatic chapter to date. I enthusiastically recommend this story (and don’t forget to let Iris know how much you enjoy it, when you do visit!).

Potpourri

They Call Him “Coach” — John R. Wooden, 1910–2010

Friday evening came word that the legendary former basketball coach at UCLA (my alma mater), John Wooden, was hospitalized in very serious condition. Since he turned 99 on October 14, this news wasn’t shocking, but of course it was unexpected. He passed at 6:45 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Saturday. To say I was saddened would be a huge understatement. More than any other person, Coach was my hero. But not just my hero: He was the hero, mentor, teacher, friend to millions—and that is no exaggeration.

John Wooden was a three-time All-America basketball player at Purdue University, leading the Boilermakers to a national championship in his junior year. He was an English teacher as well as high school and college basketball coach. English was his first love, and up to his dying day, he could quote poetry or Shakespeare without missing a beat. As a basketball coach, he had one losing season: his first, as a high school coach. At UCLA, where he coached from 1948–1975, his teams won an unmatched ten national championships over a twelve-year span, and an unbelievable seven in a row. I was there for four of them. In a stretch from 1972 to 1974, UCLA won 88 consecutive games. Those are records that, due to the changes of the past 35 years or so, will never be equaled, much less surpassed. He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. He was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian award.

But Coach Wooden’s influence was even greater off the court. His most famous players, Lewis Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton—both members of the collegiate and NBA Halls of Fame—almost left the team because of their disagreements with Coach Wooden’s style. Years later, both came to be very, very close to Coach Wooden, and in fact last night, they offered a tribute to the coach before the tip-off of the second game of the NBA Championship Finals.¹ At the start of his junior season, Walton came to practice with a beard, in violation of Coach’s strict hair-length policy. Walton argued, fairly eloquently, that it was his right to grow his hair and beard however he liked. Coach didn’t disagree; he merely said, “We’ll miss you around here, Bill.” The beard was gone the next day.

I could go on and on about Coach Wooden, but if you’re interested, I suggest you read the LA Times articles by Bill Dwyre, T.J. Simers, Bill Plaschke, and others. However, I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t mention the most important thing in the Coach’s life: his beloved wife, Nellie. She was the only girl he kissed, the only girl he dated, and his only love in life. He said many, many times that he only spent the years since her death in 1985, preparing to meet her in “the Yonder.” On the 21st of every month (the day of her passing), he wrote her a love letter, which he placed in a bundle on their bed. When UCLA wanted to name the basketball court at Pauley Pavilion after him, Coach agreed on the condition that her name not only be included, but precede his. Hence, the Nell and John Wooden Court at Pauley Pavilion.

Wooden wrote five books, and his Pyramid of Success is used worldwide as a model for businesses and other organizations to reach their potential. His latest book was released on his 99th birthday, last October. I have one personal memory of a meeting with Coach: It was a late spring evening in 1970, I believe. My girlfriend and I were in the UCLA student center, playing pool. We were the only people in the poolroom, when Coach Wooden and his assistant, Denny Crum, walked in for a game of eight-ball. I was awestruck, and we watched them play. I honestly don’t remember who won, which makes me suspect it was Coach Crum (who would, of course, go on to the University of Louisville, leading them to a national championship). One thing I do know: The word “basketball” was never uttered during that game.

Finally, some words of wisdom for all of us, from the man they call “Coach.”

Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Be quick, but don’t hurry.

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Coach Wooden