The Lesson From No. 756

If you watched, it happened last night with a steak of white into the night. For a moment everything stopped as the enormity of the moment sank in. Hank Aaron's 33 year old home run record was history. One era was over. Another had begun.

Whatever you want to say about the now number 1 career home run hitter, Barry Bonds, there is a lesson in all of this. Through out it all Bonds has focused on the future, knowing he could not undo the past, nor could he control what others would think of him no matter how hard he tried.

So he chose to control what to some extent he could: the path of the baseball in the air. By focusing on the present, Bonds, however controversial, has made his mark. He is the home run leader. He has hit 756 home runs; more than any one else.

Too Many Diving Deaths

There have been eight diving deaths so far this year in the Florida Keys. That's eight too many. Maybe it's time for a comprehensive review of these incidents to see if dive safety can be improved, especially with some of the tourist dive operations.

We know of an incident, which, thankfully, did not end in tragedy but could have because the crew of the dive boat was not aware the amateur diver was in trouble until after the diver had been pulled to safety by the crew of a nearby boat who had heard the diver and saw that the person was in trouble. This was an incident that should not have occurred. The kind of an incident demonstrates to us that the diver should not have been in the water and the crew of the dive operation should have kept a better lookout.

Diving is a wonderful sport, but it is also more risky for the inexperienced diver. It can be risky as well for the diver operation where the crew is not paying complete attention or an operation that has insufficient crew in relation to the number of divers to do so. There is no easy fix, and there will always be mistakes.

But this year there have been too many fatalities not to take a harder look at the problem. The deaths are not the only incidents that ought to be looked at more carefully. The incidents like we described above are not isolated and should receive intensive scrutiny so such incidents don't end up in tragedy.

We hasten to add that the responsibility is not always or only on the dive operation. Some divers just shouldn't be diving, and that they get into trouble is completely their fault. Unfortunately, when they do get into trouble they put others at risk who may try to help them. That argues for better training all around and more stringent safety considerations for both divers and dive operations.

It's Kentucky Derby Day

Yes, the 133rd year of race of kings will be run today. It's any body's guess as to who will be the winner, but, of course that's not the point any more. The real prizes are the pre-race goings on -- the parties, the gossip, the ambiance. Amidst all these, the race can be anti-climatic.

However, when there is a wide open field, and at least to us, no clear announced favorite you can take to the bank, like there is today, the first Saturday in May can be full of surprises.

So how do you choose your favorite? Just like Mom did for years -- by the one that knows, the jockey, of course. When I was a kid and Mom would take us to the races, we'd pick winners by the jockey. Turns out that's as good a way as any to choose. And logical too. Who, aside from the trainer, is likely to know the best horses to ride? So, if you find a winning jockey, odds are he'll be in the money, even if he can't pull off first. Our problem as kids was that we didn't know any of that. We picked by the jockey, sure enough, but it was not by the jockey's name. It was by the color of his silks.