Honor. Pride. Bragging Rights.

(Note: for maximum reading pleasure listen to the music from this youtube video while reading this blog.  The video is more or less what happened this past week, perhaps with some slight exaggerations)

Honor.  Pride.  Bragging Rights.  This is what was on the line this past week in Seattle.  This is what the Misras live for.  Pie eating contest one day.  Flag football tournament the next day.  One weekend.  One chance.  One victor.  All with the fate of humanity on the line.

On the Friday front was the Battle of Half Eaten Pies.  What started as a simple ward chili cook-off with pies for dessert turned into an atrocity so severe that all types of pies, from apple to boysenberry and even to banana cream, will remember for many years.  8 men and women came to the table.  8 pies were placed in front of them.  The pies didn't even see it coming.  Like vultures they dove down, devouring the pies.  Some of them even turned the pies over, smashed the pies, and literally licked the remains off the table.  Marinda Misra was the worst, with her face literally covered in the gooy chocolatey goodness.  Before the event was the contest for the youth - and Marinda was seen offering a hair tie to a young women so she wouldn't get her hair messy while eating the pie.  What a monster.  The Pie Investigation of Eaters Court (PIE Court) plans on going after this monster at eating pies.  They would, except for one thing.  Marinda eats pies like that for breakfast.

On Saturday it was the Turkey Bowl.  It was a sneak attack if there ever was one.  An event that usually falls near Thanksgiving was pushed to early October because of renovations of Husky Stadium.  "Renovations," or as we like to think - a conspiracy.  What are they conspiring about?  Who knows?  But nothing short of a conspiracy could will this battle royal into existence.  26 teams.  2 chances.  One victor (still).  Amit dared to go into this flag football frenzy with only two flags guarding his sides.  These brave soldiers went in expecting to be eliminated after two rounds.  They came out alive - and more importantly, with honor.  In ancient Sparta they would tell their soldiers to come home with their shields or on them.  Here, they were instructed to come home with their opponents flags or without any of their own.  The first game was difficult - they lost, by only one touchdown.  The next three matches though, let's just say the destruction of the other teams were so complete the footage couldn't even be shown on pay per view.  Believe me, we tried sending it to them and they said no.  Finally, after 4 hours of flag football, our battle-hardened 3rd Ward team, The Tight-Ends, returned with honor to their cheering families on the sidelines.  Doubly eliminated yet single in their awesomeness, they did something only true winners do - they ate free hot dogs.

And when all was said and done, the Misras did something no one would dare - they bought some new flowers.

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It would seem silly to write this blog post using a Macbook Pro without paying tribute to Steve Jobs.  Its incredible to think that when both of us were born (24 years ago) nothing like this would be possible.  People didn't have computers in their homes.  Most people didn't even understand what computers were or how they could possibly use them.  The internet didn't exist.  Granted, Steve Jobs didn't invent the internet (Al Gore did - duh) but he made it possible for you to be reading this on an iPhone, iPad, or just a regular computer that is a million times easier to use than people could have dreamed of back in 1976 when Apple was founded.  But I think one man could have thought of today's technology and how integrated it could be into our lives.  And I know one man did more to make this happen more than anyone else out there.  And that man is Steve Jobs.

Marinda went to the Apple Store that was closed with a large
chalkboard like wall in front of it, with chalk.  She left flowers
and signed her own message, then sat with other Apple fans
watching in silence as people would walk by and read the
words of tribute left.

Marinda wrote her own little memorial:

I grew up in Silicon Valley with my parents in the software business.  I would sit on my Dad's lap while he programmed, and when I was little Ritz Crackers were disks to be put into our "disk drives."  While growing up, my parents would tell us stories about the good guys and the bad guys of computers.  These stories were just as exciting as any fairytale book but more so because it was happening all around me for real.  Steve Jobs was, of course, the white knight who brilliantly fought for all that was good and right and brilliant in the computer world.  I never met or saw him, but he became a real life hero to me. 

As I got older, I learned that people were people, not perfect heros in stories, but my love and respect for Steve Jobs continued to live on.  Now that he is gone, it is like the end of an era in my life - my childhood finally closing and I am now in the very un-magical world of adults.  When I think of people who really made a difference in this world, who challenged the world to take leaps not baby-steps forward, he is among the top of my list.
Rest In Peace Steve Jobs, thank you for inspiring me.

We at the Hub would like to leave our own little tribute in the words of so many Apple followers here in Seattle that you can view by following this LINK.