The 'Excuse' Word

Ever since Barack became President there's this one thing that just absolutely grinds me about his emphasis on blaming others for his problems. There is always a reason why he couldn't get things done, i.e. congress, George Bush, hurricanes, floods, fires, Iraq, Afghanistan. You name it and he is never involved. Yesterday, it hit me. I was attending a christian retreat for high school kids. Actually, I was a chaperone but I listened to what the speakers had to say. There was one young man name Mav who related quite well with the students. He talked about the need to have friends from high school all the way through college to help you meet and conquer the tough times. And then he said it, the E word--excuses, the reasons given for not making serious, long time friends. I hearkened back to my high school football coach. I've mentioned him in a recent post but he had a saying that never wears out. His name was Mr. Laurence Paar and whenever he heard, "It wasn't my fault", "I tripped on a stick", "the sun got in my eyes", he had one standard saying that put one in their place. He always said, "Excuses only satisfy the ones who give them". It was good in 1962 and it's still good today. Our president should have played football for Coach Paar.