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The parallel lives we are living these days are both humbling and frightening.
College football is heading for the home stretch of the regular season, and college basketball always has our attention this time of the year.
Major League Baseball playoffs began with AL East champion Baltimore, top seed in the league with 101 wins, going out in the wildcard round in three straight to Texas. The Atlanta Braves, NL East champ with the best record in baseball, are on the verge of losing to the wildcard Phillies. All exciting and fun.
Pro football is off to a weird start, but at least some of the division races will be interesting, if we can get the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce news off the sports pages. The NBA and NHL are in preseason getting ready to start.
If you are interested in politics, Donald Trump’s four indictments are usually dominating the cable news channels, but the vacant Speaker of the House chair became the bigger story overnight. And, of course, local races concerning our town government and schools are among those things that have remained normalized.
Suddenly, Israel’s third war for its existence in the last 75 years has knocked everything below the fold and into news wrap-up segments. It is both shocking and heartbreaking to watch the Hamas terrorist invasion unfold on TV and social media. Do we want to watch the madness at home and in the Middle East, or lose ourselves in our favorite books or sports teams or binge-watch TV series?
Almost out of nowhere, a name from both worlds popped up on Wednesday. Former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather filled his plane, Air Mayweather, and sent it to Israel with supplies to support the IFD, the Israeli Defense Forces. This was an eye-catching, and well-received, headline.
Mayweather retired from boxing in 2017 undefeated after winning 15 major world championships in six different weight classes. He won a Bronze Medal for the U.S. in the 1996 Olympics, overshadowed by the bombing in Centennial Park. Turning pro, he became a wild and wealthy, self-indulgent and misunderstood multi-millionaire.
His plane, packed with food, water and bullet-proof vests, is partnering with relief organizations. “I stand with Israel and Jews around the world,” Mayweather said. “I condemn antisemitism at all cost. I stand for peace. I stand for human rights. Terrorism is never the answer.”
To those who thought money and fame were most important to him, Mayweather also helped more than a hundred people who lost their homes in the Maui wildfires.
Thanks, Champ, for giving us a different and much-needed look at our world today.
Featured image via Associated Press/Lynne Sladky
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