I want to apologize in advance. I did something this week that induced my goofy neurons to run amok.
I took a day off and went to the movies with my wife and son. (Yes, the iPhone stayed in the car.)
We saw MoneyBall. It’s a beautiful Sports Life story. You should go see it if you haven’t already. Think Hoosiers and Rudy.
But that message. How pertinent it is to preventing heart disease, to enjoying the race and to finding happiness.
It seems that Mr. Beane, the main character of MoneyBall, is caught up in the show. He battles. He scraps. He inflames. He cares—so much. He even thinks mathematics can influence the outcome. (That is tempting.) If only he works harder and smarter than his foes.
Then Mr Beane becomes like so many of us. He grows so invested in the outcome of the show that he fails to even know that he’s got a ticket to the show.
His daughter, played by Kerris Dorsey, sings Lenka’s song to him:
I’m just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle
I don’t know where to go, can’t do it alone I’ve tried
And I don’t know whySlow it down, make it stop
Or else my heart is going to pop
‘Cause it’s too much, yeah, it’s a lot
To be something I’m not
I’m a fool out of love
‘Cause I just can’t get enough……I am just a little girl lost in the moment
I’m so scared but I don’t show it
I can’t figure it out
It’s bringing me down I know
I’ve got to let it go
And just enjoy the showThe sun is hot in the sky
Just like a giant spotlight
The people follow the signs
And synchronize in time
It’s a joke, nobody knows
They’ve got a ticket to that show
Yeah…
Today, an older, very ill patient asked me what else she could do?
She was on the right medicine; she was exercising as much as she could; she ate well; she loved her family. They loved her back.
What else?
“You have a ticket to the show…
Enjoy it!”
JMM
P.S. Here is The Show–as sung by Ms Dorsey in MoneyBall. It’s soothing effect may be as effective as some anti-arrhythmic drugs.