Little League World Series

[Palolo Joe]

Re: Little League World Series

Sounds like you've never been a father. Me neither, but I think it's admirable that this dad was willing to quit his job in order to be there for his son. I also think he's doing it with the hopes that his employer will want to avoid negative PR and give him his job back.

I don't think you understand how big it is for the boys from Ewa Beach to win the Little League World Series and be the first ever from Hawaii to do it. It's been 17 years since a team from Hawaii played in the U.S. Championship.

But I can see where you're coming from. Maybe some of the fathers out there can shed a little light on what was going through that one guy's mind when he decided to walk away from 60k a year.

[pzarquon]

Re: Little League World Series

What father are we talking about, here?

I don't even think I need to know. He made his own choices, as we're all free to do. On the scale of "poor choices," I don't see how this even rates.

And sure, we glorify sports stars more than we do academic stars. Oh well. It's hardly just a local or even national phenomenon. At least this story isn't about some jock who quits school because he was offered seven figures before even putting on a jersey.

Some kids from Hawaii made history, hit the top of their game on the world stage, and had fun. Good for them.

Hell, I can come up with a basketful of things about, say, Christmas that trouble me. I suppose I could say I'm "very uncomfortable with the message." But something that generally brings joy to so many people is certainly not something I'm going to "avoid all discussion about" or "refuse to watch." It's part of the community I live in, and their happiness is my happiness.

And while I can be sensitive to people who are not fans of Christmas (I might even be one of them), I know there's a time and place for debating deep sociological issues, and a time and place for just being happy for someone else. I'm sure not going to rag on Santa while the kids are still opening their presents.

Sounds like you've never been a father.

You think? Consider the converse. Your son's team makes it to the World Series. You think to yourself, "Ideally, I should be there, but practically, I should stay home and work." Imagine how proud your kid is, and yet how intimidated he might be about getting on that plane. Well, I don't think there's a loving dad on earth that wouldn't give that trip some serious, serious thought. I need my job, but I can't tell you that I'd be able to just pat him on the back and wish him godspeed from his gate at HNL.

Deciding to "be there no matter what" is not a practical decision. But neither is having kids.

[lurkah]

Re: Little League World Series

On the other hand, I confess to feeling very uncomfortable with this message. Sure, I understand that family is much more important than work, but not seeing your boy play a ballgame so that you can continue to meet your obligations is NOT telling your kid that work is more important than family; it's telling your kid that work is more important than play.

I'm reminded of the movie, Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams, in which teacher John Keating tells his students, "'Carpe Diem, lads! Seize the day! Make your lives extraordinary!'"

I know where you're coming from in regards to staying responsible and holding on to your job so that you can meet your long-term financial obligations, but this was no ordinary ball game -- this was going to be a once in a lifetime father-son life experience opportunity in which the father decided he needed to go for broke and seize the day so that he and his son, along with all the rest of his family and friends, would be able to revel and share in the experience and memories that would last them the rest of their lifetimes.

The father quit his truck driving job because his boss wouldn't let him take leave without pay. I'll tell you what, if he came and applied for a job at my trucking company and told me the reasons why he had to quit his last job, it wouldn't bother me a bit.

[Moto]

Re: Little League World Series

Let me just say that I probably would not have made the same decision as Mr. Enos, however, despite the message that his decision was not the best in terms of responsibility, I believe his message to his son that he will be there for him was a larger message. Nobody knew how big this would be at the time Mr Enos quit his job. Hindsight being 20/20, Mr. Enos would have been kicking himself, had he stayed back home. There's also the story of another one of the parents, where they came back home after the Northwest Regionals because they were out of vacation time. Their friends saw that they were not at Williamsport, PA during the early broadcasts and donated money to these parents so they could go back to be with their son. In this case the companies that they worked with were supportive and allowed them to attend the game while being on Leave without pay.

On the other hand for Island Ready Mix Concrete, who looks to be the bad guys in all of this, I would say that I understand their decision too. As much as I would have wanted them to show compassion, their decision was strictly a business decision and being a small company, they may have had no other options but to take the hard stand. Another way to look at this is, what if Mrs. Enos was gravely ill and he wanted to take some time off to be with her, would the company have let him take the leave? Now, if you could afford to have him gone for that reason, what is the difference here? Now you're making decisions based on what you (Island Ready Mix management) belive is a good reason or not. Now that it is over, if I was them, I would reoffer Mr. Enos his job back. I understand that Mr. Enos, has had many job offers since the new broke.

Bottom Line, this was a case where parents had to weigh the pros and cons of the issues. I wouldn't have made the same decision as Mr. Enos, however, I admire him for standing up for what he had to do.

[cezanne]

Re: Little League World Series

Mr. Enos did what he felt he had to do. Sure he walked away from a 60K job... but the way things are going in Hawaii's construction industry now, he more than likely will have a job when he comes back. Might not be the same company but he'll definitely be getting the same check every week.

Congratulations to Ewa Beach! Great job representing Hawai'i and the US!

[LikaNui]

Re: Little League World Series

I watched the entire game and loved it! Thought it was over for our boys when the umpire made the bad call on tagging the Curacao kid sliding into home plate, but the Ewa Beach boys fought back beautifully.
Congratulations to all the kids, and more congrats to all the coaches who volunteered their time and to the parents (all of them) who supported them.

[lurkah]

Re: Little League World Series

Nice pat on the back this morning for coach Layton Aliviado.

"He had installed the microchip of faith in each one of them long, long before that moment, strengthened that connection in countless sweaty hours on an 'Ewa-side ballfield, so that when he looked those kids in the eyes and said, "Let's go," they simply did."

[Linkmeister]

Re: Little League World Series

not likely but does anyone know if the final game will be retelevised? (yup, i missed it )

Check ESPN2. Since Disney owns both ABC and ESPN, and since ESPN2 sees fit to televise billiards and poker, maybe it'll show a replay to fill an hour or so.

[pzarquon]

Re: Little League World Series

I heard there was a bit of a flap on the East Coast, where ABC cutaway from the game just as it was tied in the sixth to cover the hurricane. I think a lot of folks will be looking forward to a rebroadcast, somewhere.

So where is the story of this gave-up-his-job dad? Wherever he is, major PR points go to the first company that hires him at 61k. Heck, his old company should make the gesture. The industry doesn't strike me as one that's short of job openings right now...

[Exit 6]

Re: Little League World Series

ACK!!! My DVR recording stopped at 1230pm at the start of the 6th inning. Does anyone have a copy of the game for at least the last couple of innings?

Shoot me a PM if you do.

Mahaloz!!

[LikaNui]

Re: Little League World Series

Does anyone have a copy of the game for at least the last couple of innings?

I'll bet the kids parents do!

All you've gotta do is figure out how to contact them.

[scrivener]

Re: Little League World Series

We can at least agree that there are perhaps some jobs that you would never quit in order to watch your son play in the Little League World Series, yes? For example, you didn't see any soldiers in Iraq leaving their posts for this.

Teachers are in an interesting spot; we're free to leave if we must, but when we do, we totally screw hundreds of students and the administrators. When I agree to do this job at the start of the year, there's an implied commitment that I'll be there at least through to the end of the year. You can bet that if I'd quit my job now, in the second week of the school year, to see my kid play baseball, it's not the kind of thing that makes other schools line up for my services, and they certainly wouldn't be offering me a thousand bucks more than I made at the school I quit!

As for the guy getting his position back, I'd like to know what you'd tell your other employees. Is there some kind of line beyond which an event is important enough that you could tell all your employees that you'd hire them back? Last year, the Moanalua High School orchestra played Carnegie Hall. For a performing musician, it doesn't get much more once-in-a-lifetime than that. Are all you people who fully support this father's decision saying you'd support him doing the same thing to watch his kid play Carnegie?

[Palolo Joe]

Re: Little League World Series

Are all you people who fully support this father's decision saying you'd support him doing the same thing to watch his kid play Carnegie?

Sure, but you're talking about apples and oranges. These kids from Ewa Beach were the first group ever to make it to the LLWS final. They were the first ever to win the whole thing.

A kid from Hawaii playing in Carnegie - it's happened before. A special experience, definitely, but not ground-breaking.

And if a dad wanted to take off from work to see his kid play at Carnegie, we would be talking about a trip that lasted only a few days, not weeks as was the case for some of the Ewa Beach parents.

[jdub]

Re: Little League World Series

i think scriv's got a salient point, but i guess it's up to each parent to make their own choices...and i think we all know how parents feel about being told how to raise their kids...

i was watching one of those talking-heads sports shows, and the question came up about whether or not ABC should have showed the losing Curacao kids bawling after their loss...i figure, hell, it's part of the game ain't it? how 'bout it?

[Moto]

Re: Little League World Series

I think it just showed how much those kids really wanted to win this game. It could also reflect some frustration because they were just 3 outs away from being the repeat champions of the world and it slipped away. I hope that most of the viewers realized that the team from Curacao had nothing to be ashamed of. They played a great game as did our team from Ewa Beach. It is a shame that one team had to lose.

I don't believe it was shown with any malice, but it was shown to indicate how much the game meant to both teams and the contrasting difference between the two teams after the game. believe capturing the footage would be in line of the old ABC Wide World of Sports depicting the agony of defeat.