Heaven-Sent Angel

Angel Cabrera just won The Masters.

Most people are thinking: "Wait a minute, who?"

In the golfing world, which dominated by the likes of Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickleson, and Tiger Woods, Cabrera is a breath of fresh air. He wasn't born into the game like most of his competitors on the PGA tour. He had to EARN it. Born in Argentina, Angel took up caddying to raise money for his divorced family. He quit school after 6th grade to caddy full time. Angel then found out that he could double his caddy money if he beat the other caddies at golf after their rounds were through. He quickly picked up the game and started to make a name for himself as one of the best golfers in the area. When he turned 16, a member bought him his first set of clubs, and from that point on, Angel never looked back. He went to Europe, joined the European tour and later the PGA tour, and now he has won the US Open and The Masters (two of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world).
Angel rose through the classes and became successful. He grew up a poor caddy in Argentina and is now one of the best golfers in the world. What is separating him from the other poor people in Argentina, or even the rest of the world? I'm sure the 10,000 hour rule comes into effect here. I'm also sure luck plays a factor. However, I mainly believe that he fought his way out of the bottom of the social class. He made money at all costs (no pun intended). He quit school to make money. He started working as a 10 year old to make money. He played in golf tournaments partly because of his love for the game, but also because of the money. Is this what people like Jerry from The Zoo Story need to do to escape their social environment? Is this always possible? The answer, sadly, I believe is no. But if you do succeed, if you rise to the challenge, you just might win what Angel won. Respect from from millions.

Great Expectations... Part II

News flash! President Obama has a 60% approval rating.

We are talking about the president that came into the White House with some of the highest expectations in US history. We are not even 100 days into his presidency, and his approval rating slipped from nearly 67% to 60%. Give the man a break! He has to single-handedly fix our country, and roughly 7% of Americans won't even give him 100 days? Granted, if I could have voted in the past elections, it would have been for John McCain (no, my parents would not have put me up to it) but I realize that it takes time to fix a nation. Usually, presidents are given 4 years to do their job, maybe even 8. But I guess following America's most unpopular president has it's consequences.
True, Obama has made some unpopular decisions about the economy (as FOX put it: "far more left from center). He also hasn't "made Darfur a priority", like he said in his campaign. He hasn't created a colorblind America, like so many of his followers expected he would. We just have to accept the fact that President Obama IS human, and that he has a better plan for the future. Despite unpopular decisions, party affiliations, or unfulfilled promises, he is still our president. We must, as a people, calm down and believe that he is not another George W Bush. We must hope that he will not mess up our country as much as the last president did. However, only time will tell.