Among the bounty...................

........................left at our house by Santa was Bill Lyon's Deadlines and Overtimes:  Collected Writings on Sports and Life.   Santa must read this blog.  Faithful readers may remember that, in large measure, my love for the printed word was nurtured by my much younger self's perusing the works of the great sports writers of Philadelphia's three daily newspapers.  Lyon wrote sports columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer for more than 30 years.  A quick scan of his book turned up these quotes:

     "Sports is where, for all that is petty and pig-headed here on the third rock from the sun, we are privileged to witness pride and passion, valor and resiliency, perseverance and persistence...great, shining examples of the fierce, unbending indomitability of the human spirit.  It gives us that rarest of gifts.  Hope."

    "Grief is like religion, a thing to be done with the heart and on one's own terms, none of it anybody else's business."

    "Nothing lasts forever...well, with the exception of public television pledge drives."

Thanks Santa.