by Randy Gardner

It’s funny how when you are out of touch for one week so many things can change. Our family went on vacation for a week and we turned all of our electronic devices off including the Internet and all video games. It was a rough transition, even for me as I check my email every 10 minutes, to make sure I do not have something work-related.

I think it was hardest on the kids, who live in a world that constantly bombards them with activities, social media, and video screens.

They did not know what to do with themselves. All they wanted to do was come home and play video games and watch YouTube.

   I am afraid of what is going to happen to the kids as they get older and cannot be sensitized 24 hours a day; how will they handle it? They have no idea how to just sit down and relax and be comfortable with just sitting there. This is just not a kid problem either; there are a lot of adults that are the exact same way. I saw families on vacation that would rather play on their tablets and phones than spend time together . . . what a sad commentary on life and family life in today’s world. We all live our own lives though and make our own decisions but just remember that someday we will get to the point where we don’t even talk to each other at all and won’t know how to communicate face-to-face.

Mike Matheny was a Class Act

Now onto what I missed while I was gone, of course I missed one column for the newspaper as I forgot when I turned all my devices off, and that gave me no time to write about the biggest St. Louis sports story of the year which was the “letting go” of St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. This was a total surprise for me in the middle of the season.

   I thought for sure they would let the season play out and see what happened here at the end. If you look back over his record over his seven years, it was actually really, really good. Personally I think it had more to do with clubhouse issues with players. It is sad when a player makes 10 times as much money and has 10 times more pull in a franchise than a manager.

But that is today’s society. I think Mike Matheny is one of those guys, if you read his book and knew him at all, he is very straightforward and faith-based and always looks to do the right thing. You know he will land on his feet somewhere with a coaching or managerial job, but it’s sad that he may have to move his family from St. Louis. Maybe he won’t and he will just take a job here in St. Louis doing something different.

A lot of people once they are here in St. Louis and call it home do not want to move. I am really curious to see what the Cardinals will do here at the end of the season. Will they rally under the interim manager or will they fall apart?

Finally today, I go back to my opening paragraph, life is really all about family and the time that you get to spend with them. Even if you don’t go on vacation, take a few days and turn all the computers and devices off and disconnect from everything. You will be surprised how relaxed you become.

It’s a really a hard thing to do but your family and kids could use the time together. It is amazing. Don’t forget since we don’t have a professional football team that high school football and college games are just around the corner, so get ready!

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