The Big Three: Tongue in cheek

The world can be a crazy place. Sometimes it helps to step back and list a few of the things you’re grateful for. I’m making it a habit each week to list three blessings. Here’s what I’m grateful for this week, April 6 – 12.

What I’m grateful for:

—Coloring outside the lines. On Albert Einstein’s 72nd birthday in 1951, a birthday celebration was held in his honor at the research center where he worked. United Press photographer Arthur Sasse caught Einstein as he was leaving in the back seat of a car and tried to persuade him to smile for the camera. Einstein had been smiling for photographers all evening. Tired, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist instead playfully stuck out his tongue.

Sasse captured the moment and it became one of the most recognizable images of Einstein and one of the most iconic photos in history. Einstein reportedly liked the photograph so much he asked for copies. He gave one copy to news anchor Howard K. Smith writing that “A civilian can afford to do what no diplomat would dare.” He gave another to a friend and wrote that his outstretched tongue “reflects my political views.” Einstein, who was Jewish, had fled Nazi Germany and knew what it felt like to be the subject of a government-led witch hunt. Thanks to that, he did not condone the Cold War or Senator Joseph McCarthy’s search for alleged communists.

For me the photo says much about politics in our society, but it also says much about creativity. It makes me grateful for the ability to think outside of the box .

—Orange crush. Fresh, squeezed orange juice and toast. Perfect.

—Smart planning. In the 1980s TV show “The A-Team,” the leader of the band of outcasts and ex-special forces soldiers, John “Hannibal” Smith, regularly expressed his satisfaction when a carefully planned operation succeeded. He would take a deep sign, let out a big smile, and say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

I like to schedule some time together with my wife every few weeks to compare our upcoming calendars. She rolls her eyes at me. In face, I can feel her rolling her eyes at me as I write this line. Let’s just say, I can get a little obsessed over the calendar. I guess I have a little Hannibal in me. When we’ve gone over our calendars and haven’t forgotten any last minutes dates or events, I always feel more organized and on the ball. Yes, I love it when a (good) plan comes together!

What gave me a smile?

I might be the only who finds this statistic on the power of brotherly love amusing. Something tells me, however, that others will like it too.

Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Aaron Nola primarily throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball, curveball, sinker, and changeup. In his career, he has thrown a total of 10,000 fastballs. Nine of them have been 96 mph or faster.

A total of nine pitches.

It gets better. Of those nine fastballs clocked to be 96 mph or faster, three were thrown to his brother Austin Nola.

In total, Aaron has faced his brother, Austin, a total of six times in the regular season, with Austin managing a hit, a walk, and two strikeouts. When they both made it to the National League Championship Series in 2022 and faced each other in Game 2, they became the first brothers to face each other as pitcher and batter in MLB postseason history.

Competition between brothers. Oh, there’s nothing else like it. The thrill of victory and agony of defeat take on even bigger meaning.